Roy Rogers in TruColor and Uncut (2 Viewers)

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by DeWilson
Whatever listing you saw was a mistake - THE COWBOY AND THE SENORITA ran (and was listed at TCM.com) as running 78 minutes. It was unedited, but clearly from an unrestored (but overall clean transfer) 16mm print.

It was in the listed TCM NOW PLAYING printed monthly guide as running 52 minutes. In any event, like Richard, I missed that one on TCM, but did manage to record the others.

The TCM print of THE GOLDEN STALLION ran 66m 46s, so it was complete. Robert Osborne even mentioned in the introduction that it runs 67 minutes. The running time of 63 minutes that was posted above by John Sparks is not correct, but he was right about the Trucolor shifting to turquoise throughout the presentation. Even so, it was a nice print and a great film.

 

[John Sparks]

 It was in the listed TCM NOW PLAYING printed monthly guide as running 52 minutes.  In any event, like Richard,  I missed that one on TCM, but did manage to record the others. The TCM print of THE GOLDEN STALLION ran 66m 46s, so it was complete. Robert Osborne even mentioned in the introduction that it runs 67 minutes. The running time of 63 minutes that was posted above by John Sparks is not correct, but he was right about the Trucolor shifting to turquoise throughout the presentation. Even so, it was a nice print and a great film.
  

If you look at post #73 and see the running time from TCM, it shows that the Golden Stallion is listed at 63 min. I just figured that's what they showed, I didn't time it.

 

[Professor Echo]

If you look at post #73 and see the running time from TCM, it shows that the Golden Stallion is listed at 63 min. I just figured that's what they showed, I didn't time it.

It wasn't a slight toward you, John, only that I was referencing the running time that was in your follow up post to the one with the TCM link. You had posted your reactions to the prints shown so I had assumed you had also timed them. I actually appreciated your mini-reviews and just wanted to add the minor correction to the running time lest anyone think these were cut versions.

It's such a shame that we have to go to so much trouble for these great Roy Rogers films just to determine if they are uncut in all their various incarnations.

 

[DeWilson]

It's such a shame that we have to go to so much trouble for these great Roy Rogers films just to determine if they are uncut in all their various incarnations.

Yes, it is - because when you think of Cowboy stars of that time period, more people will think of Roy than Gene.
I beleive even if Gene wasn't in the service for WW2, that Roy would have still over-taken him as the #1 singing cowboy.
Roy has a better screen presence,a likability. Gene is a singer/songwriter who acts in movie, and Roy is a singer/songwriter who is an actor.
However, they were BOTH the closest thing the "B" westerns had to being "A" stars.
Roy was also in the public eye longer,while Gene retired and went off to run his broadcasting company.

 

[Steve...O]

I agree wtih Glen and Denny 100% on their posts. While I preferred Gene as a singer (primarily on the strength of the material he had to work with), I always found Roy's movies to be more entertaining due in no small part to his (Roy's) immense charm and screen charisma. The fact that the Rogers film catalog (both theatrical and television) is a mess causes me sadness.

Denny's last sentence illustrates the irony: Gene faded from public view somewhat to run his business ventures. However it was his business savvy that kept his cataglog safe and secure and now, in the second decade of the 21st century, his films still can be made available in high quality uncut versions.

The flip side is that Roy continued to be accessible to his fans (via his museum) almost until the point he passed away and the good works he and Dale performed (and the example they set) had a more direct impact on their fans for decades after his film career ended.

 

[Rodney]

I just found out that Film Chest is releasing a (restored in Original Color) version of Springtime in the Sierras this Tuesday. They are giving the running time of 75 minutes, so it appears uncut.
Does anyone have any further information on this release?
-Rodney

 

[Richard--W]

Isn't Film Chest a public domain label?
There appears to be a clean, sharp transfer of Springtime In the Sierras, sourced from a 35mm dupe, in color and uncut circulating among collectors.

 

[Bob Gu]

Film Chest Media Group did the restoration work on VCI's recent release of THE PERILS OF PAULINE, the 1933 serial, and it looks pretty terrific, eye-popping and sharp. So I did order Film Chest's SPRINGTIME IN THE SIERRAS restoration as I am interested to see how they might enhance the color, versus the versions, of SPRINGTIME, now available through Alpha, Sinister Cinema, Reel Enterprises, and collector's versions.
I have a collector's version of SPRINGTIME and when I receive the Film Chest version, I will compare them and also compare them with the color in the Lion's Gate/Artisan DVD of BELLS OF CORONADO and the excellent VHS of SUNSET IN THE WEST.
Amazon mentions that the Film Chest edition has an extra: an Easter episode of THE CHEVY SHOW, hosted by Roy and Dale.
Oh, and if anyone in interested in cheap Roy Rogers, oldies.com is having their $3.99 Alpha sale now.

 

[Bob Gu]

The Film Chest restored DVD of SPRINGTIME IN THE SIERRAS is worth getting.
I believe the color copies of Springtime in the Sierras that are around now are all from the same source print. Compared to my 'collector's copy" DVD-R, the Film Chest version is a visual upgrade. They took out black vertical lines, jumpy flip frames, white streaks and scratches, and corrected and balanced the color taking out a green tint. The result is a brighter more colorful detailed picture, although, since the source was a little soft, the long shots are not always sharp, but the close-ups look nicer and sharper.
Colorwise the color looks better than the Republic VHS Trucolors from 1991-2, especially because of the removal of that green tint. But, the best examples of Trucolor Roy Rogers are still the two Lion's Gate/Artisan/Republic licenced releases: BELLS OF CORONADO on DVD and SUNSET IN THE WEST on VHS.
The reference book runtime of Springtime in the Sierras is approx. 75 min. My bootleg runs 74:50 min and the Film Chest 73:40 min. So we have a missing minute or so.
I started to do a side by side comparison of my two versions and did notice one riding sequence was a few seconds shorter on the Film Chest edition and then my second TV conked out and I could not continue. So maybe a few seconds here and there were lost, tightening transition scenes and when they took out flips. My sense when I watched the movie, all the way through, was that nothing was missing story or music wise. So I think it's OK to still consider this uncut in a 'close enough' kind of way.
The Sinister Cinema DVD-R is probably also worth checking out as they do clean up their DVD-R releases. Anyone have The Sinister or Alpha releases for picture and runtime comparison?
The extra on the Film Chest release is a nice find: It's an April 1961 Easter episode of THE CHEVY SHOW, hosted by Roy and Dale with guests "Charlie Weaver", Eddie Arnold, The Limeliters, and get this, George Maharis and Martin Milner with their ROUTE 66 Corvette. Maharis even sings, kinda like Sinatra. Since this was an NBC show I was surprised by the "another network" cross promotion with other Chevy sponsored shows. MY THREE SONS was also mentioned.
The print of the CHEVY SHOW has a 59 min runtime which includes Chevy commercials one with Milner and Maharis. Since this is a black and white print of a color show, we miss seeing the ROUTE 66 Corvette in color. SEE THE USA IN A CHEVROLET!
Addition 7/13/12: I picked up the Alpha version of Springtime in the Sierras and it appears to be the same restoration, without the tightening, as the Film Chest edition, and runs 74:50 min. And the cover art on the Alpha is a nicely restored version of the same poster the Film Chest edition used.

 

[Archie Goodwin]

Color versions of all of Roy's color films can be found in various places, even if it's the excellent VHS Republic/Artisian tapes, you can find color versions of all of Roy's films EXCEPT for the following 6:
Apache Rose
On Old Spanish Trail
Eyes of Texas
Night Time In Nevada
Grand Canyon Trail
Far Frontier
If anyone can find a COLOR version (I know b/w versions are available) of any of these 6, let me know. These seem to be the only 6 color films of Roy that are not available. Anyone know where a color version of any of these 6 are?

 

[Richard--W]

Six months later and "Archie Goodwin"'s questions are still pending. So I guess no one knows of color versions of those 6 titles.
Re-reading this thread as preparation to update my Roy Rogers collection, but it does not appear that any new DVD releases have come in the past year.
Except for Film Chest's Springtime In the Sierras, that is (not to be confused with Gene Autry's Springtime In the Rockies) which is nice but could stand improvement:
http://www.amazon.com/Roy-Rogers-Springtime-Restored-Original/dp/B007W144CK/ref=pd_sim_mov_1
Roy Rogers still needs to be rescued from dupey cut prints in public domain hell while the clean sharp negatives still languish in Republic vaults.

 

[JeffT.]

I heard good things about the TWILIGHT IN THE SIERRAS (1947) DVD and bought it but have not as yet actually seen it.
I am hoping that THE BOWERY BOYS DVDs that I ordered will be waiting for me when I get home from work tonight.
I'm not a Roy Rogers fan per se but I acquired an interest in the late 1940s early 1950s trucolour films which in the mid-1970s when I first saw them on television were aired in black-and-white. I was naturally intrigued to know just how these B-film doublebill programmers would actually look in colour.
A line of VHS tapes were issued sometime in the early 1990s and while not perfect I was very pleased to finally see these rarities in colour at long last.
The two I would like to especially acquire in a restored and remastered trucolour DVD release are NORTH OF THE GREAT DIVIDE (1950) and the Christmas-themed TRAIL OF ROBIN HOOD (1950).
There was a BELLS OF CORONADO (1950) DVD released through Lionsgate Home Video in beautiful trucolour and uncut which I thought was very good but unfortunately no others were made available.
Jeff T.

 

[Richard--W]

I commiserate.
I believe there are a couple of Trucolor westerns in Warner Archives MONOGRAM WESTERNS box-sets, volume 1 and volume 2.
NORTH OF THE GREAT DIVIDE (1950) and TRAIL OF ROBIN HOOD (1950) are among my Most-Wanted on DVD in good quality, as well.
Which TWILIGHT IN THE SIERRAS (1950) DVD are you referring to?
Do you mean this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009MEDV/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=
It's a faded, dirty, damaged dupe print cut by several minutes with the running time padded out by 1980s talk-show stuff.
Bob Gu talks about the restored Trucolor VHS tapes released by Republic in the backpages of this thread. Here is the link to TWILIGHT IN THE SIERRAS :
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6300209202/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=
Lionsgate's DVD of THE BELLS OF CORONADO (1950) is a lovely transfer but heavily interlaced, unfortunately. It's still worth owning because it's the only way to see the film in a quality transfer:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00008RV0F/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

 

[JeffT.]

I made an error! As I said I am not a Roy Rogers expert. I meant SPRINGTIME IN THE SIERRAS (1947).
Those Roy Rogers "Happy Trails" television show edited versions are attrocious the only real value being the oncamera commentary by Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and a featured guest. I was really shocked to see just how much the lovely Penny Edwards had aged over the years. So sad!
It is interesting that after 1950 the trucolour production seems to have been completely abandoned and the films were photographed in black-and-white before Roy Rogers left films entirely to pursue his successful television series.
Anyway let us hope that more quality Roy Rogers trucolour DVD releases will be made available. Especially NORTH OF THE GREAT DIVIDE (1950) and TRAIL OF ROBIN HOOD (1950). I (naturally) enjoyed seeing all the classic western film celebrities appearing as themselves in the rousing conclusion of the latter.
Jeff T.

 

[Richard--W]

I'm not an expert, either. Everything I know about Roy Rogers I learned from Bob Gu in this thread.
I gather you have the Republic VHS editions of NORTH OF THE GREAT DIVIDE and TRAIL OF ROBIN HOOD, which are restored in Trucolor.

 

[Richard--W]

Roy Rogers titles are surfacing on MOD's from Desert Island Films.
For example:
The Cowboy and the Senorita
http://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Senorita-Roy-Rogers/dp/B005LXWZE0/ref=sr_1_9?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1354312092&sr=1-9&keywords=The+Cowboy+and+the+Senorita
The Bells of San Angelo:
http://www.amazon.com/Bells-San-Angelo-Roy-Rogers/dp/B00551WVQ0/ref=sr_1_23?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1354312304&sr=1-23&keywords=bells+of+san+angelo
Does anyone know about this outfit?
Or is Desert Island Films a fly-by-night exploiter like Synergy?

 

[Vic Pardo]

I'm new to this thread, but not new to Roy Rogers. I'm as interested in the Trucolor films as the rest of you and was very pleased with some of the VHS transfers (e.g. THE GOLDEN STALLION). However, I want to ask about the Roy Rogers TV show and thought this would be a good place to do it. I watched some episodes contained in the Ultimate TV Westerns box set from Mill Creek (link below) and it was the first time I'd seen the show since I was a little kid. I was surprised at how much action each episode contained and how much of a participant in the action Dale Evans was--and on an equal level with Roy! And she was over 40 at the time (as was Roy). Pretty impressive, I daresay. I'm guessing the answer is no, but has there ever been a legit release of the TV show? I couldn't find one on Amazon. I would love to see high-quality editions of episodes from the show. And weren't some episodes done in color? (Or am I confusing it with "The Gene Autry Show"?) http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-TV-Westerns-150-Episodes/dp/B000EOR0BY/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1361563605&sr=1-1&keywords=ultimate+tv+westerns+150+episodes

 

[JoeDoakes]

I'm new to this thread, but not new to Roy Rogers. I'm as interested in the Trucolor films as the rest of you and was very pleased with some of the VHS transfers (e.g. THE GOLDEN STALLION). However, I want to ask about the Roy Rogers TV show and thought this would be a good place to do it. I watched some episodes contained in the Ultimate TV Westerns box set from Mill Creek (link below) and it was the first time I'd seen the show since I was a little kid. I was surprised at how much action each episode contained and how much of a participant in the action Dale Evans was--and on an equal level with Roy! And she was over 40 at the time (as was Roy). Pretty impressive, I daresay. I'm guessing the answer is no, but has there ever been a legit release of the TV show? I couldn't find one on Amazon. I would love to see high-quality editions of episodes from the show. And weren't some episodes done in color? (Or am I confusing it with "The Gene Autry Show"?) http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-TV-Westerns-150-Episodes/dp/B000EOR0BY/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1361563605&sr=1-1&keywords=ultimate+tv+westerns+150+episodes

The final season of Gene Autry was in color and will be released by Timeless soon. Don't know about Roy. Hopefully, someday we'll see his show done right.

 

[DeWilson]

The final season of Gene Autry was in color and will be released by Timeless soon. Don't know about Roy. Hopefully, someday we'll see his show done right.

Well, Classic Media has the reworked package THE ROY ROGERS SHOW prepared by UPA in the 1980's - edited (on video) and new generic opening and ending (Color VT) of Roy at his Museum - they did the complete series that way. No word if the original,unedited elements exist - there's conjecture about that.

 

[Richard--W]

The final season of Gene Autry was in color and will be released by Timeless soon. Don't know about Roy. Hopefully, someday we'll see his show done right.

I'd like to see his films done right, too. Out of over 80 feature films only one DVD is professionally sourced, The Bells of Coronado. All the other DVDs are cut, butchered and sourced from low-quality 16mm dupes several generations removed from a Republic 35mm negative.