By all accounts Rex "The Arizona Cowboy" Allen was the last of the singing cowboys and with him went the last of the singing Westerns. These were a sub-genre of the traditional Western and were popularized by the likes of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. Allen followed in their footsteps through his 5 year (1950-1954) run at Republic Pictures. Accompanied by Koko, the "Miracle Horse of the Movies", he rode and sang and fought his way through 19 pictures before hanging up his six-shooter.

Unlike some of his contemporaries, Allen actually WAS a cowboy before ending up in the movies. As a result, he was extremely afraid that people would try and discredit him, or say he was copying another actor's style. So he consciously made several choices to be different than any of the big screen cowboys that had come before. Choosing a horse that looked like nothing anyone had seen on film before. Wearing a single gun, and holstering it backwards, as well as his style of hat, were all conscious decisions made on his part to distance himself from comparisons and make him stand out as a result.

In Colorado Sundown Rex and his buddy, Slim Pickens (who would later go on to infamy as Major "King" Kong in Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove), are headed to Pine Valley so that Slim can claim an inheritance. Also entering Pine Valley are Miss Jackie Reynolds and her maid, Mattie, so that Jackie can claim her part of the inheritance. The two parties first meet when the stagecoach taking Miss Jackie to town suddenly takes off… without its driver. Rex manages to catch it just in time, but rather than being the hero, he gets tongue lashed, as Miss Jackie thinks the whole things was his fault to begin with.

Once at the ranch that's to be inherited, everyone makes themselves at home and waits for the lawyer to arrive. Mattie whips up a big feast, as Slim has hired several of the locals (played by the "Republic Rhythm Riders") as ranch hands for his new property. Just as the lawyer is about to get things under way, Carrie and Daniel Hurley show up. They are the evil brother and sister whose timber mill has fallen on hard times due to logging laws passed to protect the ranchers from floods. They have been trying to get their hands on the ranchers lumber regardless of the dangers it will cause if a storm should hit. When the lawyer announces that the ranch is to be shared three ways among the various parties, Daniel immediately takes issue to Slim's claim on the property and a fistfight ensues.

Realizing that physical violence won't solve anything (at least not yet), the Hurley's begin to spread the rumor that a Bark Beetle infestation has broken out and is taking over the trees on the ranch, rendering the land worthless. Miss Jackie and Slim are almost taken in by this ruse, until Rex and Mattie and one hilarious wagon ride later, arrive to stop them from signing over their portion of the ranch to the Hurley's. Rex suggests that everyone wait until he contacts a friend at the Forestry Dept. Little does Rex know, but when a Forestry agent visited the Hurley's before, they poisoned him. Giving Dusty, their youngest brother, the dead agents' uniform the Hurley's send him around to the various ranches to condemn their trees to feed their mill.

With several exciting fights and chases, shot in director William Witney's deliberately undercranked style, Colorado Sundown is certainly big on action. It's also big on singing, with at least three full musical numbers, including the song "Down By The Riverside", ironically delivered in the midst of a raging flood. However, some may find themselves scratching their heads as the climax hinges, not on feats of daring, but on a medical autopsy straight out of C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation. Still, Rex and Slim make a good team (this was their first film together) and the Villains chill you every time they're on screen.

The DVD:

Picture: This movie is presented in a 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio, with some minor edge enhancement. The transfer is rock solid with a crisp B&W picture.

Audio: This film is in 2.0 Dolby Digital Mono.

Extras: Included as Extras on this DVD are the first episodes of the Radar Men From The Moon and Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe Serials, also distributed by Roan. These episodes each run about 20 minutes.

Conclusion: Sadly, Colorado Sundown is the only Feature Film on this DVD. After having watched the John Wayne: The Early Years Collection DVD with 5 Hour Long Features on one DVD, it left me wanting more. Rex Allen and Slim Pickens teamed up on 10 Features between 1952 and 1954, they could have included any one of these to help round out this DVD. Instead, they chose to include the first episodes of 2 Serials which they also release. I guess that's ok, especially since I had loved Radar Men From The Moon growing up and enjoyed seeing Buster Crabbe in his Flash Gordon role. Still, Colorado Sundown turned out to be so good, it left me hungry for more adventures of Rex Allen and Koko, the "Miracle Horse of the Movies".