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  • Because this is a Roy Rogers picture no one could or would expect the same kind of sexual ambiguity situation with Dale Evans spending some of the film masquerading as a boy like Katharine Hepburn did in Sylvia Scarlett. At least not for long.

    Dale's a young heiress from Chicago with a yen to see the place where her wealthy father sprung from, a desire not encouraged by Robert Emmett Keane as her father. She runs away and stows away on a train where her singing idol Roy Rogers is returning to Texas. It just so happens he's returning to the town of Dalrymple named for Dale's family.

    Dale doesn't spend too much time in drag, Roy's fans were definitely not the kind to appreciate the subtleties of gender bending humor. The action returns to traditional western fare with Sheldon Leonard in an accustomed place as the gambler/villain looking to cash in big on a pony express style relay horse race.

    Not bad, but a little out of the ordinary for Roy and Dale's fans.
  • Here's a Roy Rogers western based on a Max Brand magazine story and starring Roy with DALE EVANS, TRIGGER and SHELDON LEONARD as the gambling villain.

    It's poorly edited in the version shown on TCM with abrupt cuts from scene to scene and fadeouts that reflect the low-budget production values. The choppy editing even extends to the final "The End" credit where the music is suddenly cut off.

    The story is a trifle with Dale masquerading at the start as a boy when she's a stowaway on a train carrying Roy Rogers and Trigger. GEORGE 'GABBY' HAYES gets her to admit her masquerade and before you know it the plot, with some nice musical interludes, is off on a fast pony express contest that Rogers finally wins--in time for a final musical version of a sprightly number called "Rainbow Over Texas." Roy briefly takes time out to solve the shooting incident in a crowded barroom before the fadeout.

    It's nothing much, but I'm sure it pleased Roy's fans back in 1946. The very slim plot all takes place within a brisk hour.

    The Sons of the Pioneers do a nice job on a couple of pleasant western numbers and both Dale and Roy sing their songs with professional ease.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Dale(Jackie Dalrymple) is infatuated with Roy singing Western songs. She's been to his concerts and plays his records. But, her father hates cowboys and Western music, and breaks her records. He discourages her from thinking about marrying a singing cowboy. So, he tells her they are going on another cruise, to get her mind off such. But, she gets an alternative idea, dressing up as a boy, and hopping in a mostly empty box car on a train going from Chicago to Texas, where she hopes to visit her father's hometown of Dalrymple and his ranch. Her father used to be a cowboy there. But he wants to forget that, promoting his identity as the president of a large meat packing company in Chicago. Meanwhile, Roy is on an extended nationwide tour, with the Sons of the Pioneers. They've just finished giving concerts in Chicago, which Dale attended...........As luck would have it, her boxcar contains Trigger and his things. Roy comes to check on Trigger, and discovers her hiding in a straw pile. At first, he treats her as if she were a boy, but it doesn't take him long to figure out that he's a she...........When they get to Dalrymple, (once called Rainbow),Dale jumps on Trigger and gallops away. Roy chases her in a small wagon. Sheriff Gabby Whittaker follows Roy at some distance away. Trigger's saddle starts to slip off, slowing Dale. Thus, Roy catches up, and pulls her off, down a ravine. She tells Roy that she just wanted to get away from Sheriff Gabby, as he might have some information about a runaway girl. Roy misdirects Gabby, thus allowing the 2 to ride back to Dalrymple in Roy's wagon. ........Several songs have been or will be soon sung. The catchy title song is sung several times, including during the opening credits, again when Roy performs on stage in Dalrymple, and yet again, at the end, when all join in the singing. In addition,Roy and the Sons of the Pioneers had sung the title song from another film: "The Lights of Santa Fe", as well as "Head for Texas, USA"........In a saloon, Dale confides in Gabby who she is, not wanting Roy to know..........A man robs the saloon's safe and gallops off. Roy gallops after him, tracing him to the ranch house of Jim Pollard, whom he finds recovering from a blow to the head. Roy wounded the thief in the arm, and Pollard has no such wound. Roy fakes Pollard's death, for the benefit of Gabby. But, later Pollard would be murdered for real. Who did it? Saloon owner Haynes(Sheldon Leonard) has a motive, since Pollard designed the mechanism controlling the spin of the roulette wheel, hence involving him in fixed gambling. Roy discovers that henchman Pete has a bullet wound in his arm, hence making him a strong suspect for the saloon robbery. He admits that he was present when Pollard was shot, but denies pulling the trigger. He's about to tell who did. Just then, Haynes levels his pistol at Pete, from upstairs. Roy sees him, and shoots Haynes first, he dropping over the banister, to the floor below. However, apparently, he didn't die, as the newspaper has a headline that he is on trial for murder.
  • Despite what the title says, this is not a gay western...and my daughter was very disappointed (she seriously said this and was disappointed!). "Rainbow Over Texas" is actually one of those films that has everything and it's the perfect film for a first-time Roy Rogers viewer. This is because it has nearly every possible element you'd expect to see in one of his films....Gabby Hayes, Dale Evans (Rogers' wife), Trigger the horse as well as Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. While Roy made about a hundred such films, many lacked one, two or even more of these elements...this one has them all.

    In this story, Roy plays a movie version of himself....a singing movie cowboy. He and the Sons of the Pioneers (a group he founded in real life) are on tour when they come upon a stowaway on their rail car. It's Dale Evans dressed as a boy--a disguise that isn't super convincing. Fortunately, the writer had Roy see through this guise right away...not having him do so might have been silly. What Roy doesn't know is that his old home town to where he's now headed is that the old town was essentially bought up by a meat packing magnate...Mr. Dalrymple...and this girl is Darlymple's daughter! It seems that she is sick of her father and she longs for life back out west...and her father has his agents out looking for her. What's next? Well, a robbery in which the bandit is shot in the arm...and Roy soon helps the man accused of being this criminal. Sounds confusing? See the film to find out more.

    As I said, this movie has all the Roy Rogers elements you'd want to see and because it's mad in mid-career, it's quite good (his later films were generally not quite as good). A very good film...one of Roy's better ones. However, be forewarned...the Sons of the Pioneers sing a terrific spiritual number...in black-face! Uggh!
  • Warning: Spoilers
    This is another one of those Roy Rogers flicks in which he portrays himself as a well known and popular singing cowboy, working his way around the country on a national tour. There's a gal named Jackie Dalrymple (Dale Evans) who has a major crush on him, attending five of his Chicago concerts, and heading off to the town of Dalrymple where her father grew up and made a name for himself. Trouble is, Dad (Robert Emmett Keane) has no use for cowboy crooners in general, and Roy in particular, and forbids his daughter to play his records. He even breaks one she's listening to!

    Jackie temporarily disguises herself as a boy to hitch a ride on a railroad freight car to Dalrymple on which Roy has Trigger stabled. The ruse works for a little while, but you might as well say it didn't work at all since Roy sees through the disguise, along with Sheriff Gabby Whittaker (Gabby Hayes) when they all meet up in town. While in Dalrymple, Roy decides to take part in the Annual Celebration horse race after attempting to foil a casino holdup at the Dalrymple Club. It looked like a no-holds barred horse race once it got going, as riders routinely attempted to sabotage each other, with casino owner Kirby Haynes (Sheldon Leonard) directing his rider McAvoy (Kenne Duncan) to get rid of Roy and insure his winnings. In a bit of unusual script writing, Roy didn't own Trigger in this flick; he was part of the elder Dalrymple's stable. Even odder, during the race in which three relay stops were made for the riders to get fresh horses, Roy appeared to mount Trigger four different times!! At least it worked, earning Roy the win, after which he put down bad guy Haynes in front of the saloon crowd.

    The story is bookended by the film's title song, along with some additional tunes by Roy and Dale. Bob Nolan and his Sons of the Pioneers get into the act too, and they even throw in a little dance choreography into one of their musical numbers. I caught this on one of the streaming Western channels as part of the Happy Trails Theater with Roy and Dale hosting from back in the Eighties. Before and after the screening of each movie, they would talk about the making of the movie and other related stuff. This time they both explained how they came about their professional stage names. In case you didn't know, Roy's real name was Leonard Slye, and Dale's was Frances Octavia Smith!
  • This is my favorite Roy Rogers movie with a great cast and Trigger had a big part as well. Dale Evans is most fetching as a young heiress from Chicago with some wonderful singing too. Sheriff Gabby Hayes could not have been better as the sheriff who is in a heap of trouble harboring a runaway and stealing Wooster Dalrymple's (Robert Emmett Keane) horses to be used in the Pony Express race. Producer/Director Sheldon Leonard, well know in TV land played the crooked gambling hall owner and Kenne Duncan was superb as as the top henchman. Rounding out a great cast were, Minerva Urecal, George J. Lewis and Gerald Oliver Smith. All that and to top it off the fabulous Bob Nolan and the Sons of Pioneers made this a most memorable film.