dougdoepke Roy, Trigger, a scruffy dog, and a boy like I used to be. Add some baddies, Trucolor, a pretty girl, and comic relief (Devine), and what else could this front row geezer ask for. And catch that surprise opening. As that scene shows, Roy plays a version of himself as cowboy hero. Seems some new West connivers want to steal Trigger for ransom and they've got a misguided youngster (Chapin) as part of their plan. Meanwhile, Roy's got his movie career to think about. And what would that career be without the world's smartest horse. Actually, a big part of the story is Roy and co. preventing cruelty to animals, whether horses or dogs. That means the bad guys are really bad. There's not much action til the end. The story, however, moves along nicely, with Director Witney even using close-ups astutely, especially with little Ted. But don't look for many tunes from the Sons of the Pioneers. They're mainly along for the ride. No, there's no Oscar bait here. Just the kind of afternoon entertainment that might hook some of today's youngsters if given half-a-chance.

MartinHafer This is a very unusual Roy Rogers film in that it is in the public domain and yet is complete--and in really nice condition. Many of Rogers' films are in the public domain but they are truncated versions--chopped to pieces in order to fit them into TV time slots back in the 1950s. It's nice to get a chance to see one in its entirety.Unlike many Rogers films, this one features neither Dale Evans nor Gabby Hayes. I have no idea why they weren't in this film but instead Jane Frazee and Andy Devine are on hand to fill these roles. And, both seemed up to the task.Like so many of Roy's later films, he essentially plays an idealized version of himself. Like in real life, this Roy is celebrating ten years in Hollywood. And, after completing his latest movie, is going back to his Double-R ranch for a needed vacation. There he learns that some local baddies are killing range horses. Roy sees one of these guys about to kill one when he intervenes--and you KNOW that these two will become instant enemies.The baddie (Lige) is a brute and he and Dad both mistreat a nice little kid, Ted, and are crooks. They plan on stealing Roy's best friend, Trigger, and hold him for ransom. But it becomes a lot more serious when later one of the gang is murdered to keep him from telling Roy where his horse is. Can Roy solve the murder and rescue the smartest horse in movies? And, what of poor Ted--he's in need of an operation and needs a good home!! Well, this last part is a bit schmaltzy--though the rest of it is quite nice. Overall, while not a great film, it's very enjoyable worth seeing--particularly if you enjoy B-series westerns.

disdressed12 Roy rogers plays himself in this western.(not too much of a stretch,i guess).i guess it's movie,but it felt more like an episode of a TV show to me.as far entertainment goes,this feature is moderately entertaining.there's a bit of singing by Roy,and by The sons of The Pioneers(of which Roy Rogers was an early member),a popular singing group of the era.i actually like the singing.the best actor of the bunch,in my opinion was Andy Devine as Cookie Bullfincher.he was the comic relief of the movie,and specialized in playing comedic characters.the movie itself was not quite in the awful range,but just above mediocre.for me,Under California Stars is a 4.5/10

classicsoncall I was curious about the premise of this picture, since an early scene reports that it's Roy Rogers' Tenth Anniversary in movies. Sure enough, a check of Roy's film credits shows "Under Western Stars" as his first feature role for Republic Films back in 1938. He had appeared in about a dozen films before in bit parts, usually as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers, and usually credited as Dick Weston or by his real name, Leonard Slye.It was a bit odd to note that Dale Evans wasn't around for this flick with the female lead going to Jane Frazee. Another reviewer on this board posits that Dale may have been in a motherly way at the time of shooting. Frazee's character is a cousin to Andy Devine's 'Cookie Bullfincher', and the story gets some comic relief from additional Bullfinchers on hand who Cookie has hired during Roy's absence. Ever the softie when it comes to his close pals, Roy takes it all in stride.The story reminded me a little of the 1946 picture "My Pal Trigger", as that one also involved a kidnapped horse. In that story it was Trigger's dad, going by the name of Golden Sovereign, and Roy was framed as the kidnapper! The villains this time though were a much more dastardly lot, as they threatened bodily harm and even death to Trigger, Roy, and a young boy who figures in the story's outcome, played by Michael Chapin. A hundred thousand dollar ransom for Trigger doesn't sound like a whole lot today, but sixty years ago I'm sure it was a pretty big deal."Under California Stars' winds up being a fairly standard Western for Roy and his sidekicks as they outwit the bad guys during the run for the ransom money. There's the usual share of double crosses that trips up the bad guy bunch, as the 'Smartest Horse in the Movies' spends a fair share of his time doing battle with the baddies as well. Fans of Rogers might notice as I did that the ten years of working for Republic must have been pretty good, as Bob Nolan and his partners all seemed to have added a few pounds around the middle. Roy however looks as trim and fit as ever, even though it's fairly evident a stand-in took his place for a running rear mount in the latter part of the picture.