Highly Overrated But Still Good

A Masterpiece!

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

"Sunset in El Dorado" (formerly available on a cut-to-blazes GoodTimes DVD) is an unusual ROY ROGERS entry that tends -- even in this cutdown version -- to out-stay its welcome as Dale Evans re-lives the role of her grandmother in the El Dorado past. It was certainly very ingenious to cast all the characters from the modern story into the dream sequence but, despite solid sets, good acting and a fair-sized budget, director Frank McDonald gets very little or no tension into the proceedings. I'm surprised to see this film has achieved a rating of 6.6 here on IMDb. I would be more inclined to give it a five.And I wonder too which version people are rating. As I said above, I am rating the TV cut featured on the GoodTimes DVD. That is why I take that fact into consideration. Frankly, I would give this cut-down no more than a "5", but I assume that some really good footage has hit the cutting-room floor! That is what usually happens! Hence , I rate the film, "6".

This is a most unusual western for Roy Rogers and Dale Evans taking place in both the past and present. It's like one of those British films where the same woman plays a variation on herself in several centuries.In the present in Sunset In El Dorado Dale Evans has run away to the west rather than marry stuffy Hardie Albright. One look at Roy Rogers astride Trigger has definitely got Dale reevaluating her future. But aunt Margaret Dumont and Albright have come after her. Dale's grandmother was the legendary Kansas Kate from the former boom town of El Dorado which is now a ghost town. When she visits there and meets up with Gabby Hayes who was around back then, Dale wanders back to the old west where she becomes Kansas Kate and all these people assume roles in her life.Sunset In El Dorado is an unusual type film for Roy and Dale, but it does fit them quite well. This is a chance to see Dale in a part that at one time she would have had hopes of doing. Before meeting and marrying Roy, Dale wanted a career in musical comedy. Imagine her instead of Doris Day doing Calamity Jane or her instead of Betty Hutton doing Annie Get Your Gun. Those were the parts she aspired to and I think she could have done them if fate hadn't intervened and given her a different personal and career direction.And who wouldn't have chosen Roy over Hardie Albright?

Here's a sweet little "oater" from Republic that probably entertained the girls in the audience more than their guys. It's really a Dale Evans movie all the way, told totally from her viewpoint and she appears in practically every scene.The hook is that the entire cast plays dual roles: one in present day, and one in the 1890's in which may either be a flashback or a dream. The plot centers on unhappy career woman Dale who makes a fast break for the country to reconnect with her roots, namely her deceased Grandmother who was a notorious saloon hall songstress. Her aunt Margaret Dumont and her fiancé Hardy Albright follow, and they're not happy when Dale meets flirtatious cowboy Roy Rogers. He gives Dale a tour of the now deserted town of El Dorado, winding up in the saloon where Dale's granny sang. Sleepyhead Dale nods off, and dreams up an alternate reality where she's now playing her own grandmother, and all the cast members are there only with different costumes and names.There's some shootouts and chases, all handled expertly by Roy Rogers at his athletic best. And of course, between the bullets, he sings a couple songs and two duets with Dale. The supporting cast is great, and it's a joy to see old pros Gabby Hayes and Margaret Dumont playing scenes together. There's a lot packed into the short running time, although the denouement seems a bit rushed.So Dale Evans really proves that she has star quality in this, and looks fabulous in both the contemporary and gay nineties fashions. And not far away is Roy Rogers, leading Trigger and looking handsome in his trademark cowboy gear.*** out of *****

This lesser known 1945 Roy Rogers western is actually very good, though it has an off the wall plot. Dale Evans "flashes back" to earlier times while reminiscing about her Grandma. Roy and Gabby are in fine form in this film, completing what was the most entertaining western pairing of the day.Western vets Roy Barcroft & Tom London are again on board for this film and the Sons of the Pioneers help with the musical interludes. Dale Evans gave one of her best performances in the series, stealing the spotlight in some ways from Roy & Gabby.An enjoyable, light western saga.