Director: William Witney
Studio: Republic Pictures Corporation
PLOT SUMMARY:
During the Heldorado Pioneer Parade in Las Vegas, wealthy socialite Carol Randall (Dale Evans) is sworn in as deputy sheriff of the Nevadan town, she meets up with her date, playboy Alec "Allie" Baxter (Brad Dexter), once a prominent member of society until he and his family slid into poverty. In the spirit of good fun, the two decide to take a crack at the roulette wheel located within the hotel's casino, only to lose a thousand dollars.
As it turns out, Baxter has been passing black market bills at the casino and Sheriff Glenn (John Phillips) entrusts the task of investigating the origins of the tainted money to Nevada State Ranger Roy Rogers (Roy Rogers). The sheriff considers Baxter to be a patsy for a larger crime syndicate, who is using him to pass the cash throughout Las Vegas. While the sheriff takes Baxter down to the station for questioning, Rogers ventures to Baxter's room to investigate. One of the syndicate's henchmen confiscates the money, Rogers discovers him and gives chase. The henchman steals Carol's horse and she gives chase as well. She takes a tumble off her horse, allowing Rogers to become distracted and the hoodlum to get away.
The next day Roy, Carol and Gabby Whitaker (George "Gabby" Hayes) participate in the Heldorado Rodeo, when a message, meant to be conveyed to Roy but instead relayed to Carol that there has been a shooting at the local dam and that Baxter is the victim. Carol heads off to investigate, when Roy shows up to put a stop to it. Roy and Carol discover some of Baxter's effects, including four tickets to the Heldorado Carnival. The two venture off to the carnival for further investigation.
Carol tricks Roy by imprisoning him in a makeshift jail cell at the carnival while she ventures off to investigate. She discovers the car used by the murderer, she and Roy decide to mingle among the crowd while keeping the car in view. Meanwhile, C.W. Driscoll (Paul Harvey) wanders over to the shooting gallery and this provides the two syndicate thugs the opportunity to get away. Carol wants to give chase but Roy is skeptical of Driscoll and his intentions.
Roy heads to the casino and catches one of the roulette workers concealing the tainted money in a roll of papers, Roy invites the fellow into a nearby office where the man confesses and informs Roy that more bills are on their way. Later at the Heldorado treasure hunt, Driscoll charges his two right hands to ensnare Roy into a trap. Meanwhile, Carol discovers Driscoll is headed to receive more filthy funds and attempts to alert Roy, but he proceeds to ignore her. She entrusts Gabby with the task of finding Roy and informing him of the transaction.
As Roy participates in the treasure hunt, Carol arrives at the railroad station to confiscate Driscoll's baggage. Driscoll and his men arrive, find Carol and lock her up. Gabby finally notifies Roy of where Driscoll is and Roy heads to the railroad station. A fight breaks out, with both Roy and Carol giving the galoots a thrashing. Driscoll escapes but trips and falls off a ledge. Carol and Roy arrive and apprehend Driscoll.
FILM REVIEW:
Heldorado was quite a lot of fun and brilliantly suspenseful in its final act. Director Witney milks the suspense for all it is worth which keeps viewers at the edge of their seat. Of course, we all know that the heroes will be the victor and the villains will get theirs but it is how the final battle is executed in Witney's films which separates them from the rest of the pack. If Alfred Hitchcock is the master of suspense, then Witney is his analogous in the "B" western film genre. Using the Heldorado festival as the backdrop of an elaborate muddled money scheme is brilliant, even if Gabby Hayes is wasted in this particular outing, playing more of a background participant than upfront with the action, at least until the final act.
The more I watch Roy Rogers and Dale Evans together, the more I become smitten with the partnership. Those who were readers of mine during the Cinema Crazed days will likely remember me comparing the two favorably to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and I still hold the comparison true. The duo is unforgettable and gel together like a well oiled machine. Even though there are some remarks made by Roy in the film that would make modern feminists wince, Dale is still center to the action and shines beautifully, even allowing herself to get physically involved in the fight at the end. Dale stood tall and proud and she never backed down from a great fight and this is what I love about her. So often the heroines in these films present themselves as bland, one-note cardboard cut-outs, so it is refreshing to see someone like Dale Evans mix it up with the baddies and take charge and it is she who uncovers a lot of the clues in the film. However to be fair, she still fills the "damsel-in-distress" quota, which will make the aforementioned feminists roll their eyes and groan. However, it must be said that these films were not produced with them in mind.
I quite enjoyed Heldorado, any chance to spend an hour with Roy, Dale and Gabby is a great one in my view and this one was a lot of fun. However, I must admit to preferring their earlier 1946 effort Roll On Texas Moon over this one. However, it must be said that even one of Roy and Dale's middling films are still superior to some of other stars better pictures.
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