Nonureva Really Surprised!

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Michael_Elliott Colorado (1940) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Union troops are needed in the East but a scuffle in Colorado has them tied up in matters there. The Army sends in Lieut. Jerry Burke (Roy Rogers) who quickly discovers that it's his very own brother behind the trouble. Here's yet another "B" Western from Rogers but the end result this time doesn't rank among his best films. It's weird because the story itself is somewhat interesting but sadly it just never goes anywhere and in the end the 55-minute running time seems a bit long. I thought the idea of Union troops being held up could have led to an interesting story but very little is done with it once the familiar bit of the heroes brother being behind the crimes starts to take shape. From this point on the story is just one familiar thing after another as the hero obviously has to go after someone he loves and it just leaves the viewer rather cold. Rogers is pretty good as usual and we also get some nice supporting performances. This includes Pauline Moore as the love interest and Milburn Stone really comes across very effective as the brother. Then we have the one and only George 'Gabby' Hayes who at least brings some nice laughs to the film including a very funny bit about what he was doing in the war when he got hurt. The action scenes are fairly well staged and I'll at least give the movie credit for a very effective ending. With that said, Colorado will appeal to those who want to see everything Rogers has done but there's no question that there are better movies out there.

MartinHafer I had a hard time figuring out whether or not to give this one a 6 or 7. All I know is that even if you are not a fan of Roy Rogers, this is an enjoyable and pretty well-done movie--and better than average for this prolific star.The film is set during the Civil War. There is some sort of Confederate resistance going on in Colorado and the Lieutenant (Rogers) is sent to investigate. Soon he sees that many of the local officials are Confederate spies--including a judge and many other public officials. What's more surprising, however, is that one of the leaders of this group is Rogers' own brother!! Can Roy and Gabby sort all this out or is the North destined to lose the war? While the undercover agent during the Civil War isn't exactly a new idea, it was handled very well here. Enjoyable acting and dialog make this one worth seeing.By the way, like so many of Rogers' films, this one was originally longer but was cut down for TV in the 1950s. Considering that this often meant less singing, it's something that I can live with--even though I am usually a purist and want the producer's original vision. But, without so much singing, the movie is tighter and without the loss of momentum songs usually create.

krorie Roy Rogers deserved his title "King of the Cowboys." He was a singing cowboy who could really sing and act. Having started his career with the legendary Sons of the Pioneers, Roy (or Leonard Slye back when) could warble with the best of them and could yodel better than anyone around at the time, since the blue yodeler, Jimmie Rodgers, had passed on. The only rivals he had among the singing cowboys were Tex Ritter and, later, Eddie Dean. Roy has time for just one song in this Civil War horse opera, but he makes the most of it by adding a little romance - beautiful Pauline Moore, a former model, plays the woman who loves two brothers, one of them Roy. The other brother is played by the highly underrated, Milburn Stone, now known to all oater fans as Doc from "Gunsmoke." The conflict of good brother vs. bad brother is well handled by the two lead actors and by the script writers. One of the highlights of "Colorado" is the appearance of Gabby Hayes, who was always at his best when playing the comical sidekick of Roy Rogers. Unlike so many of the cowboy sidekicks in the low-budget westerns who generally appealed to the kids, Gabby's humor could make adults laugh as well. Roy & Dale (Dale had not yet entered the scene when this film was made in 1940) had a TV show on the Nashville Network during 1980's where they would show one of their old movies and then reminisce about it and life in Hollywood in general. On one show Roy told a story about Gabby which may have been apocryphal, but is still funny. Gabby was visiting with Roy and Dale when he looked out the window and saw a small boy sitting on the porch steps crying. Gabby went out to comfort the little tyke. "What's the matter, Buckaroo?" Gabby inquired. The boy looked up at Gabby. "I can't do what the big boys do," he sobbed. When Gabby heard this, he sat down beside the boy and began to cry too.The plot is an effective one with Roy, a federal agent, attempting to clean up parts of Colorado of secessionists posing as Union defenders. The Confederate sympathizers are led by Roy's own brother. When most of the Hollywood movies of the period, such as "Gone With the Wind," were promoting Southern interests (many of the early directors & producers had Southern roots), it's refreshing to see a Union slant for a change.Roy Rogers and Saturday matinée cowboy fans should enjoy "Colorado," one of Roy's early films that isn't shown as much on TV as some of his others, but should be. I saw it recently on the Encore Westerns Channel.

classicsoncall "Colorado" takes place during the Civil War years, with Roy Rogers portraying a Union government agent investigating unrest in the Colorado Territory, where Union forces are being detained to contain outlaws, Indians and Confederate sympathizers. With direct authorization from President Lincoln, Lieutenant Jerry Burke (Rogers) comes to learn that his own brother is behind the trouble, under an assumed identity as a Union Officer, Captain Dan Mason. However Mason's allegiance is with the South, and he's in league with Indian Commissioner Jim Macklin (Arthur Loft), as they sell guns to the Indian tribes. Their main goal though is to prevent Union Forces from joining General Grant's army, thereby aiding the Confederate cause.You may have difficulty as I did in recognizing a young Milburn Stone as Captain Mason; Stone went on to portray Doc Adams in the Gunsmoke series. George "Gabby" Hayes is on hand as a cantankerous old timer who cheerfully latches up with Burke for the adventure. The love interest is supplied by Pauline Moore as Lylah Sanford, originally engaged to Mason, but eventually choosing Burke in a rather quick turn. Rogers and Moore also teamed up in "Carson City Kid", released in the same year, 1940.Other than the Civil War backdrop, the story is rather formulaic, as Lieutenant Burke brings the villains to justice. There is a rather unique close to the story though; with Mason in custody, he wistfully explains to his brother how if this were Mexico, his captors would at least allow him to make a run for it, since he's going to hang for his treason anyway. As Burke contemplates this, Mason makes a break with predictable results. It's probably one of the most unusual endings for a Roy Rogers film, although the final scene is one where the Rogers' character gets the girl to give the film a happier ending.