Such a frustrating disappointment

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Blistering performances.

Verteran Western Screen writer Robert Williams wrote this script which mixes music, stunts, decent filming, and a decent cast together with a mix of unique intrigue. The film is so much like it was written while shooting was going on that singing cowboy Rex Allen is actually playing himself and later on given the name of a prison escapee. Allen's performance is OK given the feel of this film.Allen and Buddy Edsen are treasury agents looking for Mexian Gold Coin Counterfeiters. This plot line is not classic but it is enough to hang about 70 minutes of film around. Dorothy Patrick, a decent blonde actress who never achieved huge fame is sort of an almost love interest for Allen though little time is given to her other than 2 scenes.Buddy Ebsen is here working on the side kick role he would perfect on television a couple of years hence for Disney's Davey Crockett when he would be George Russell with Fess Parker doing the lead. Here he is Homer Oglethorpe, an agent who is in charge of keeping Allen alive and being part of the team.You get a feeling of the mixture of times here early as there is a western street scene which has a quick glance of a 1950's car driving on it. Percey Helton gets to be Dorothy Patrick's Dad, and owner of a ranch and Gold Mine that is in danger of being sold to the bank because all of his gold shipments are being stolen.The nice thing about this is that the action moves quickly and except for the songs which are short, it is a good example of Republic work in the early 1950's with a couple of decent stunts and a helicopter thrown into the mix.

This Republic picture outing for Rex Allen does have the look and feel of a Roy Rogers film from its modern setting down to the fact that Rex yodels during his singing of one of the songs. Of course no one could ever yodel like Roy Rogers.Rex and sidekick Buddy Ebsen are a pair of treasury agents who are on the trail of counterfeiters who are stealing gold and transporting it across the Mexican border and are doing it in a most ingenious manner that I cannot reveal lest it spoil your viewing pleasure. Rex first ingratiates himself with mine owner Percy Helton and daughter Dorothy Patrick and then with the gang as he pretends to be a well known counterfeiter escaped from the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth.Perennial western villain Roy Barcroft is here for the gang muscle work and Frank Ferguson is the counterfeiter/engraver. What they are doing is counterfeiting Mexican gold coins with real gold on Mexican soil which does bring their police into the investigation as played by Alberto Morin.Allen sings some fairly forgettable songs. He was the last of the Republic singing cowboys, but after Republic lost its battle with television westerns, Allen's career continued quite nicely as an actor and country recording artist. Under Mexicali Stars is a good example of his work in films.

Gene Autry left for Columbia. Roy Rogers was preparing to head off to television production. Republic tried to keep their inexpensive series of singing cowboy westerns going. For this one, they tried out Rex Allen, a real cowboy from Arizona with a penchant for singing traditional songs in a deep voice. They surrounded him with some good secondary talent, including Buddy Ebsen, ex-Goldwyn Girl Dorothy Patrick and short, funny Percy Helton as her father. The script, about a gold-stealing ring, is well done too.The real standout is the cinematography by John MacBurnie; the Lone Pine never looked as good, and even the interior shots are nicely handled. Notice how MacBurnie turns a two-shot into a three-figure composition by use of shadows. This was one of the old pro cameramen who worked for Hal Roach in early sound days (he was DP of Laurel & Hardy's first talkie, UNACUSTOMED AS WE ARE) and then worked in B westerns and TV for the next thirty years. Definitely worth your time.

Does it seem to you like there was a preponderance of old time Westerns utilizing the 'stars' theme? There was Gene Autry's "Under Fiesta Stars" in 1941, and Roy Rogers' 1948 film "Under California Stars". As Roy's replacement at Republic Studios, Rex Allen got into the act with this 1950 entry, and if you go for this kind of stuff, it's a fairly entertaining flick with plenty of action and some gorgeous cinematography amid the black and white landscapes. I happened to catch it tonight on it's debut showing on Turner Classics, part of a month long Friday night tribute to classic singing cowboys.One of the surprise treats of the story is seeing Buddy Ebsen as Allen's fellow undercover Treasury Department agent Homer Oglethorpe. Together, they're after a gang of gold smuggling counterfeiters, which had me scratching my head a bit, because after all, if you've already got the gold, there's no need to turn it into fake money. So while I'm thinking about that, Rex runs into a bit of a gold digger herself, pretty Dorothy Patrick as 'Mad' Wellington, who has an interest in phrenology, that is, the study of the size and shape of human heads. She would like to get her hands on Allen's fifteen hundred dollar winning purse in a covered wagon race at the start of the picture. I thought it a bit odd that Allen would hand over the money so easily to her Dad Nap (Percy Helton) to become a partner, but it's probably best not to dwell on it too much.The finale is actually a pretty exciting affair with a chase scene involving a helicopter, horses, the Mexican Secret Service and a flying Rex Allen. You can bet the bad guys (Roy Barcroft and Walter Coy) don't stand a chance once Allen kicks it into gear. The fast paced action almost catches you off guard if you're expecting a traditional 'B' Western, as the modern era had a way of making it's presence felt with automobiles, telephones and airplanes along with the traditional stagecoaches and horse chases. Speaking of which, the Arizona Cowboy's horse Koko acquits himself here quite well, even though he wasn't mentioned by name. Koko has his fans that consider him the most beautiful of the Western movie horses, resplendent in this restored 1950 film with his dark chocolate brown coloration with blond mane and tail.