| Twilight in the Sierras | |
|---|---|
 Theater poster with top billing given to Rogers and his horse Trigger, 1950 | |
| Directed by | William Witney |
| Written by | Sloan Nibley |
| Produced by | Edward J. White |
| Starring | Roy Rogers Trigger Dale Evans Estelita Rodriguez Pat Brady |
| Cinematography | John MacBurnie |
| Edited by | Tony Martinelli |
| Music by | Stanley Wilson |
Production company | Republic Pictures |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
Release date | |
Running time | 67 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Twilight in the Sierras is a 1950 AmericanTrucolorWestern film directed byWilliam Witney and starringRoy Rogers and his horseTrigger (billed in the film's opening credits as the "Smartest Horse in the Movies"), along withDale Evans,Estelita Rodriguez, andPat Brady.[3][4][5]
Ricardo Chavez is a convictedcounterfeiter, who after serving time in a California prison, is released onparole to work on a ranch, as he begins his new law-abiding life. The reformed criminal, however, is soon abducted by a gang of outlaws andblackmailed to engrave printing plates to makecounterfeit currency for Matt Brunner. Brunner is secretly the gang's leader, but presents himself in public as only the owner of aMorongo Valley hunting lodge. Although Ricardo now wants to pursue an honest life and forget his criminal past, Brunner threatens to harm or kill his sister Lola if he refuses to do the illegal work. Roy Rogers is Ricardo's parole officer, and with the help of Pat Callahan, a female deputy sheriff (Dale Evans), Roy uncovers the counterfeiting operation while clearing himself of a false murder charge, saves Ricardo and Lola, and defeats the gang.
Reviewers in 1950 generally foundTwilight in the Sierras predictable but entertaining, especially for Republic Picture's targeted younger or "juve" (juvenile) audiences.Variety commented about such targeting as part of its own assessment of the production:
"Twilight in the Sierras" is a standard Roy Rogers pic slanted at the juve action trade. All the ingredients are used in thisoatuner, which boasts a better-than-usual score. But the kiddies will go for the hard-riding, rootin'-tootin' yarn, which keeps the characters galloping from start to finish.Trucolor tinting adds to the production values despite the overall untrue reproduction of facial and landscape hues....Rogers is as standard as the script, getting a good assist from Dale Evans, as the daughter of the local sheriff; his hoss, Trigger, and theRiders of the Purple Sage vocal group. Top songs include "It's One Wonderful Day" and "Rootin', Tootin' Cowboy" with Estelita Rodriguez, as a visiting Cuban gal, neatly handling "Pancho's Rancho".[9][10]
Another widely read trade paper in 1950,Motion Picture Daily, echoedVariety’s comments regarding the standardized appeal of Rogers' films. The New York-based paper cites in its review the ingredients inTwilight in the Sierras that made it yet another successful addition to the ongoing series of films by the King of the Cowboys. "Roy Rogers", reportsMotion Picture Daily, "gives his fans just about everything in this Trucolor Western complete with perfect hero, dastardly villains, much suspense, amountain lion, and singing cowboys."[11]
