''King of the Cowboys'' is a 1943 film directed by

Joseph Kane Jasper Joseph Inman Kane (March 19, 1894, San Diego – August 25, 1975, Santa Monica, California) was an American film director, film producer, film editor and screenwriter. He is best known for his extensive directorship and focus on Western fi ...

and starring

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

and

Smiley Burnette Lester Alvin Burnett (March 18, 1911 – February 16, 1967), better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, a ...

. It is set in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Life Magazine published an article in their July 12, 1943 by H. Allen Smith about Roy Rogers calling him the "King of the Cowboys-Roy Rogers Kisses the Horse, Not the Heroine".p. 248 Pando, Leo ''Trigger: The Lives and Legend of Roy Rogers' Palomino'', 2d ed. McFarland, 12 Mar 2019

Plot

Starring in a rodeo, Roy Rogers is secretly summoned by the Governor of Texas who asks Roy to volunteer to track down a sabotage ring. Roy discovers they are members of a travelling show that Roy and Smiley join up with.

Cast

as Roy Rogers *

as Frog Millhouse *

Bob Nolan Bob Nolan (born Clarence Robert Nobles; April 13, 1908 – June 16, 1980, name changed to Robert Clarence Nobles in 1929) was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers, and compo ...

as Singer *

Sons of the Pioneers The Sons of the Pioneers are one of the United States' earliest Western singing groups. Known for their vocal performances, their musicianship, and their songwriting, they produced innovative recordings that have inspired many Western music perf ...

as Themselves *

Peggy Moran Peggy Moran (born Mary Jeanette Moran, October 23, 1918 – October 24, 2002) was an American film actress who appeared in films between 1938 and 1943. Early years Born in Clinton, Iowa, Moran was the daughter of Earl Moran, an artist wh ...

as Judy Mason *

Gerald Mohr Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows. Early years Mohr wa ...

as Maurice, the Mental Marvel * Dorothea Kent as Ruby Smith *

Lloyd Corrigan Lloyd Corrigan (October 16, 1900 – November 5, 1969) was an American film and television actor, producer, screenwriter, and director who began working in films in the 1920s. The son of actress Lillian Elliott, Corrigan directed films, usually ...

as William Kraley, Governor's Secretary * James Bush as Dave Mason * Russell Hicks as Texas Governor Shuville * Irving Bacon as Alf Cluckus * Norman Willis as Henchman Buxton *

Forrest Taylor Edwin Forrest Taylor (December 29, 1883 – February 19, 1965) was an American character actor whose artistic career spanned six different decades, from silents through talkies to the advent of color films. Early years Taylor was born in B ...

as Lawman with Tex

References

External links

* * * 1943 films 1943 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Films directed by Joseph Kane Republic Pictures films 1940s spy thriller films American spy thriller films World War II films made in wartime 1940s English-language films {{1940s-Western-film-stub