Sunset in the West (1950) Roy Rogers, Trigger, Estelita Rodriguez, Penny Edwards, Gordon Jones Movie Review

Sunset in the West (1950)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Roy Rogers in Sunset in the West (1950)

Roy's Going Loco

When a train doesn't stop to take on board the cattle he has lined up, former deputy, Roy (Roy Rogers), rides to the main town where his old friend Tad Osborne (Will Wright) is sheriff and former deputy, Splinters (Gordon Jones), is the town's barber. It seems Tad is under pressure to quit due to there having been a series of train hijackings which are inconsistent making it a case which is hard to solve. But Roy, whilst getting close to the sheriff's daughter Dixie (Penny Edwards), discovers who ever is hijacking the trains is using them to run guns.

"Sunset in the West" is a tick list Roy Rogers western which if you don't know what that means I am basically saying that the ingredients you would find in other Roy Rogers movies are in this one. It starts with him singing, then there is the heroics as he tries to board a hijacked train, there is some romance as he meets Dixie, comedy thanks to Gordon Jones as Splinters and Estelita Rodriguez as saloon singer Carmelita, a bar room brawl, more singing and of course Roy getting to the bottom of which corrupt person is behind the train hijacking and gun running.

The only thing which comes close to being out of the norm is that director William Witney has made "Sunset in the West" a very colourful western with the sort of rich tones which really stick out when the action has clearly been shot in a studio with impressive artwork as a back drop. That isn't a complaint as the vibrant nature of the colours make this a bit of an attention grabber.

What this all boils down to is that "Sunset in the West" is a colourful but routine Roy Rogers western which is little more than an entertaining distraction.


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