Border Saddlemates (1952) User Reviews (4)

Rex in a solid western outing

[revdrcac · 7/10 · 18 May 2006]

The Arizona Cowboy rides again in this tale of a Wild West veterinarian on the trail of some pretty cagey criminals. As always, Allen's rich baritone voice is featured in a couple of sagebrush ditties.

Slim Pickens provides the comic relief in an always pleasing performance. As always, the budget, script and songs are high caliber . Rex Allen's voice, demeanor and screen presence make him very believable in the heroic role of a frontier vet. Fans of the action-filled westerns of the early 1950's will enjoy this one. Nicely done!

What a pity that his career began as the B-westerns were coming to the end of the trail ........

Fox-Napping

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 24 January 2013]

After seeing a number of Rex Allen films recently I've come to the conclusion that Herbert J. Yates was trying to create a new Roy Rogers and Dale Evans by teaming Rex in so many films with Mary Ellen Kay as a singing partner. In Border Saddlemates they even recycle one of Roy's best songs Roll On Texas Moon into Roll On Border Moon. Sad to say that the day of the B western programmer was coming to a close and Yates at Republic did not have a clue.

This is obviously a Roy Rogers plot here. Rex Allen is a veterinarian in this film who is starting a new practice and he retains Slim Pickens as his assistant as a most unsuccessful dog catcher. Dr. Allen gets himself involved with Mary Ellen Kay, her younger brother Jimmy Moss and their uncle Forrest Taylor. They run a fox farm, they raise foxes that are trapped in Canada and shipped to Montana. Roy Barcroft who runs a trading post north of the border traps the foxes who eventually will wind up as fur stoles.

The veterinarian before Allen was a dupe however, his function was to inspect the foxes for disease as they go across the Canadian border. But Barcroft is shipping counterfeit money in false bottoms of the cages. And Taylor sells the foxes to certain buyers in the states who distribute the the bogus money. He's in the racket because Barcroft knows about his criminal background that the kids don't know.

When young Moss's pet fox gets sick, Allen wants to examine and treat him and places a quarantine on the foxes being shipped. That throws a monkey wrench into the plans of the villains and Barcroft orders the pet to be kidnapped killed and the body hidden so Allen can't do an autopsy and prove there was disease in the fox population. That fox-napping sets off all the chain of events that bring the villains down.

I have to say this one was original in plot if nothing else. And the fox-napping leads to a hilarious scene with Slim Pickens. Barcroft's henchmen order him to take his boots and pants off and they throw them into the furnace to prevent him from following. But that deters Slim not a wit as he straps his gun over his long johns and follows picking up a fully clothed Allen all the way. As a funny sidekick Slim was at his best in Border Saddlemates.

In fact this is one of Allen's best films for his time at Republic Pictures.

After the Fox!

[bsmith5552 · 7/10 · 26 October 2020]

"Border Saddlemates" was one of star Rex Allen's better Republic westerns. He plays a veterinarian sent to the border town of Pine Rock, Montana to replace the resident vet who is away. His "assistant" turns out to be local dog catcher Slim Pickens. Rex goes to visit the Richards Fox Farm wher he meets Mel Richards (Forrest Taylor), his pretty young daughter Jane (Mary Ellen Kay) and her young brother Danny (Jimmy Moss). The Richards raise foxes for sale.

Rex is also asked to go on a fox hunt in Canada just over the border held by Steve Baxter (Roy Barcroft). In a spectacular scene, Baxter gets his foot entagled in his horse's stirrup when it is spooked by a cougar. Rex and Slim rescue him in an exciting sequence. Baxter however (hey it Is Roy Barcroft) is running a counterfeit ring. The phoney money is printed on the Canadian side of the border and smuggled to the U.S. in the false bottoms of the fox cages that are shipped across the border.

All is going as planned until Danny's pet fox becomes ill. Rex is forced to place the fox ranch in quarantine until he can determine if Danny's pet has a contagious disease. This upsets Baxter. He arranges to have the sick animal stolen from Rex's office by Ned Sheldon (Bud Osborb

After the Fox!

[bsmith5552 · 7/10 · 26 October 2020]

"Border Saddlemates" was one of the better Rex Allen westerns. HE plays a government veterinarian sent to Pine Rock, Montana to stand in for the resident vet who is away. He meets his "assistant" Slim Pickens the local dog catcher.

Rex is invited to the Richards Fox Farm where he meets owner Mel Richards (Forrest Taylor), his pretty young daughter Jane (Mary Ellen Kay) and her young brother Danny (Jimmy Moss). As the local vet, Rex is also invited to attend a planned fox hunt headed by Trading Post owner Steve Baxter (Roy Barcroft). As the hunt progresses, Baxter's horse is spooked by a cougar and he is dragged by his horse. Rex and Slim come to the rescue, in an exciting sequence.

Baxter it seems, is running a counterfeit ring, printing the bogus currency in Canada and shipping it to the U.S. in a hidden compartment in the fox cages being shipped across the border.

Danny's pet fox comes down with an illness which Rex cannot diagnose. He takes the animal back to his office. While he looks for a cause of the illness, he imposes a quarantine on the Richards farm which includes pelts packed up for shipping to the U.S. Baxter arranges for the sick fox to be stolen from Rex's office by henchmen including Ned Shelton (Bud Osborne). Rex and Slim pursue the bandits and catch one of them. As he is about to talk, Shelton bushwhacks him.

As luck would have it, Mel Richards is reluctantly a part of the scheme. Baxter holds Richards' past over him to force him to be a part of the operation. When Richards threatens to expose Baxter, henchman Matt Lacey (Zon Murray) guns him down.

Young Danny, meanwhile has found his pet in the wilderness and brings him to the Richard's barn to hide him. While there Baxter's men arrive and begin to load the counterfeit money into bags. Danny see them and they nab the youngster. Rex discovers the phony cage bottoms and put two and two together.

Baxter fearing capture escapes with Danny as hostage. Rex and Slim go after him and.......................................................

Allen and Kay make good couple much like Roy and Dale. She had a pleasant voice and the songs could have been written for Roy and Dale. Rex had a backup group known as the Republic Rhythm Riders a poor man's Sons of the Pioneers, I suppose. The songs were spread out enough so not to detract too much from the story.

Hard ridin' Slim Pickens had been a rodeo clown prior to his entering pictures. He had a long and prosperous career in "A" features following the Allen series. Roy Barcroft, Republic's busiest bad guy is as mean as usual.