"Trigger, Jr." is one of Roy Rogers' later B-westerns and like so many of these later films, it was made in TruColor...a two-color film process that was much cheaper than Technicolor. Considering it is a B, you can understand why the studio often used TruColor...though the colors, over time, really aren't that true as they tend to look very washed out and the color spectrum isn't very lifelike. Fortunately, this TruColor print on YouTube looks better than most (aside from its amber sort of tint and it being slightly blurry) and is full-length (many of Rogers' films were trimmed for television and only the TV prints are available in some cases). Also, like many of Rogers' later films, his sidekick or comic relief is Gordon Jones and I never particularly liked him in these goofy parts and much preferred Gabby Hayes or even Roy without a sidekick.
When the story begins, the self-appointed 'Range Patrol' has just taken Trigger and Trigger Jr.. It seems there was a storm and the pair escaped...and Roy and Splinters (Jones) arrive to claim their rightful property. But the Range Patrol jerks refuse to return the horses...and Roy and Splinter's knuckles teach them the error of their ways! You then learn that this patrol is a shakedown racket that charges local ranchers a fee to 'protect' their horse sand cattle! When the Colonel and Roy refuse to join this 'association', the Patrol decide to try out their new weapon...a demonic horse! This is a stupid gimmick, but supposedly this white horse is evil...and murders horses it comes into contact with out on the range. Their plan is to use this horse in their efforts to shakedown the ranchers! Can Roy, or an exorcist, stop this horse of evil and the Range Patrol??
There's a very nice song at the horse auction and some of the film is enjoyable. But the plot about the evil horse is just so completely stupid I had a hard time enjoying this silly and ill-conceived story. You wonder why Rogers even agreed to make this movie considering how silly the plot was. Other reviewers, apparently, were able to look past this evil murderous horse plot...I just couldn't.
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