Colorado Sundown

 

Though perhaps not as famous as Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, Rex Allen did okay for himself in the B-Movie west, riding the range with (usually) Slim Pickens and foiling a variety of villainous plots. 

In 1952's Colorado Sundown, adventure arises when Slim inherits part of a ranch in the titular state, with Rex riding along to make sure his not-too-bright sidekick gets a fair deal. There are several other people involved. The young and pretty Jackie Reynolds (Mary Ellen Kay) will get a third of the ranch, as will the siblings Carrie and Daniel Hurley.

The Hurleys, though, don't want to share. They own a lumber mill and want full access to all the trees on the ranch. But aside from ownership problems, there's an agent from the Forestry service who is telling them the trees can't be cut down regardless, as the many ranches in the area would then be subjected to flash flooding when the seasonal rains hit.

The Forestry agent isn't fooled by a scam claiming the trees are infected with bark beetles and he proves too stalwart to bribe. Carrie Hurley solves this problem by putting some poison in his tea, hiding the body, and getting yet another brother to take the agent's place and condemn all the trees in the valley.

And they would have gotten away with it if it weren't for that meddling singing cowboy. Rex is suspicious from the get-go and convinces Jackie and Slim not to sell out to the Hurleys for a low price. The Hurleys respond by framing Rex for murder.

In the end, Rex has to prove his innocence quickly enough to prevent an impending range war between the ranchers and the lumbermen.

Colorado Sundown is a fun movie. Rex is a likeable and capable protagonist, Slim (who would become a noted character actor in both film and television) has enough comedic chops to pull off the funny sidekick role and the villains act intelligently enough to pose a real threat to the good guys. June Vincent's ruthlessly cold-blooded portrayal of Carrie Hurley is particularly noteworthy.

As in any singing cowboy movie, the songs are a bit random, but Rex has a nice voice and these interludes are pleasant enough. 

Also, the fist fights are well-staged and very entertaining. Here's an example: