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!
