The Far Frontier (1948) User Reviews

Goniff Smuggling Cowboys

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 12 May 2011]

I was intrigued with the premise of The Far Frontier, cowboys in the smuggling racket where the items smuggled are criminals back and forth from the USA. I could have seen it done in a much bigger feature film.

This particular Roy Rogers movie while observing some parameters for the Saturday afternoon kiddie trade was a pretty violent outing for Roy. In this he's a border patrolman which is his involvement with bringing down this particular racket.

One of his fellow border patrolmen is Clayton Moore who stumbles on the racket and gets clipped on the head with a wrench and left on the trail. Moore is the son of Francis Ford, John's brother, and the amnesia he develops allows him to be framed for a murder that was committed for no other reason than to frame him. Francis Ford is a long time enemy of Robert Strange who was the head of the smuggling operation.

But that particular murder is just one of many acts committed by Strange's men under the leadership of his number Roy Barcroft one of the great B western villains ever. The crimes Barcroft commits here must have staggered those Saturday matinée kids in 1948.

Roy's leading lady in this film is Gail Davis, usually found opposite Gene Autry in his westerns. Also along is Andy Devine who did several films with Roy in the Forties.

There is a scene toward the beginning of the film where Barcroft and some of the criminals they're smuggling have a disagreement as Barcroft holds them up for more money. These guys are wise-guys and it would have made a great film premise to have their friends evening the score with these goniff cowboys.

Just O.K.

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 18 June 2014]

It's good to see that some Roy Rogers vehicles escaped the slaughter that cut them down into mincemeat for TV viewers. But this one, alas, despite some game attempts to make the action more realistic, is not one of Rogers' better vehicles. As in several other movies in the series, Rogers is often forced to play second fiddle to Andy Devine's Cookie Bullfincher who is along mainly for comic relief. It's hard to believe that the good citizens of a hot spot near the Mexican border would be stupid enough to select a clown like Bullfincher for such a sensitive post. (At least the sheriff's role is capably handled with a bit of dignity here by Edmund Cobb). It's also impossible to credit that smart, wealthy criminals would allow themselves to be transported in oil drums – especially oil drums as small and as solid as these which don't appear to have any air holes! Well, disregarding all that – which probably won't bother Rogers' admirers unduly – what will annoy many fans is that Rogers' screen time is rather limited. In addition to the incursions by Judge Devine and villainous Roy Barcroft, Robert Strange has a leading part to play, despite his position way, way down the cast list. Rogers also faces competition on the right side of the law from Clayton Moore, who plays Tom Sharper and has a significant slice of the action. When allowed his head, which is not often, director William Witney stages some effective fights and chases. However, it's odd to see Gene Autry's Gail Davis supporting his rival, Roy Rogers, even though her role is small, insignificant and utterly forgettable. Available on a very good Alpha DVD.

"Oh you, you..., and that goes for your horse too!"

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 30 July 2012]

Well I have to admit, after a few hundred 'B' Westerns and almost fifty alone starring Roy Rogers, here's a story concept I've never seen before and it makes for an entertaining picture. Apparently a band of outlaws led by Willis Newcomb (Robert Strange) is using a smuggling racket to bring fellow criminals back across the Mexican border into the States for a hefty fee. When Roy's border patrol buddy is put out of commission by the bad guys, he takes up the case to uncover the enterprise and bring the bad guys to justice.

Plenty of surprises for Western fans here - the border officer who gets amnesia is none other than Clayton Moore, making an appearance just about a year before he debuted as TV's Lone Ranger. I've seen him in a couple of Gene Autry and Durango Kid films as a villain, but catching him here with Roy was a first. Not only that, but another Autry regular is on hand here too, with Gail Davis showing up without having to be an obligatory love interest for our hero. Rather refreshing I would say. Apparently Andy Devine was so well established by this time as a regular that he appears in the credits as Cookie Bullfincher, even though his last name was never mentioned, but if you're a Roy Rogers fan I guess you just take it for granted.

There's a host of other B Western regulars appearing in the picture as well, all of whom showed up more than once in Roy's TV series in a couple of years. There's Roy Barcroft (henchman Bart Carroll), Holly Bane (henchman Rocco), Lane Bradford (as henchman Butch) and Tom London (rancher Anderson), and if you're any kind of Roy Rogers or Gene Autry fan you'll recognize them on sight.

I have to say though, Roy's strategy for treating Tom Sharper's (Moore) amnesia was somewhat questionable. When singing with Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage failed to bring him back to his senses, Roy figured beating the snot out of him might be a worthwhile strategy. Fortunately it worked, but today he probably would have been arrested after having the clip show up on You Tube. Not to mention having to deal with all those barrel clichés that you could come up with as a result of the story. Come on now, I know you can come up with a couple yourself.

Trigger Remembered by Whitney

[beresd-21725 · 20 October 2016]

In one scene the bad guys are rolling barrels off a truck to stop Roy Rogers and Trigger. Trained jumpers were 'doubling' Trigger, but found the barrels too frightening and shied off. Trigger was finally allowed to try, ridden by Roy's stunt double Joe Yrigoyen. Joe ordered Trigger to jump too soon for a stationary object. Trigger trusted Joe and jumped when Joe commanded. He cleared the barrel, but a bit awkwardly. Trigger did better on the 2nd barrel. By now he thought it was fun, and for the rest of the scene you can see Trigger moving from side to side so he can jump as many barrels as possible! We read the book and got the movie just so we could watch Trigger jumping the barrels in this scene.

Stop The Pigeon!

[boblipton · 6/10 · 14 July 2023]

Francis Ford is the former US Marshall of the district, and now the town's biggest landowner. Mostly, though, he's proud of his son, Clayton Moore, who's an officer of the border patrol. He's worried, because Tom is missing, and former scalawag and now unaccountably successful businessman Robert Strange accuses the missing lad of some nefarious doings. So Roy Rogers whups him, because Ford isn't up to it. When Moore shows up after a bank robbery, judge/sheriff Andy Devine has to arrest him, but he has amnesia.

There are some surprisingly corny bits in this Roy Rogers vehicle, and some fairly shocking ones too: we never see the dead people in the barrels, thank goodness. But even though the audience is informed of what's going on, there's still some fun in watching this practiced troupe figure it out under the direction of William Witney and the camera of Jack Marta; Republic didn't stick to the classic Seven Western Plots for Roy, and there are always a few good songs between Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers. In this one, the comic "I Still Love The West" is the best.

Roll Out the Barrel

[wes-connors · 3/10 · 8 September 2007]

Roy Rogers is back on border patrol, investigating the smuggling of criminals across the U.S.-Mexican border. Clayton Moore (as Tom Sharper) is a fellow border patrolman who discovers the wicked smugglers, and is left for dead; instead, he gets amnesia. Andy Devine (as "Cookie") is a helpful judge, and Gail Davis (as Susan) adds femininity. Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage add harmony.

Production-line Rogers western story, with better than average performances. The supporting players are rather good, and there are a few exciting moments. The song dubbing is distractingly poor, and the story very weak -- you'll wonder about some story contrivances... Rogers and Moore (later "The Lone Ranger") have a jail-cell fistfight; incredibly, Rogers beats Moore up to cure his amnesia!

*** The Far Frontier (1948) William Witney ~ Roy Rogers, Gail Davis, Andy Devine

Roy Rogers Teams Up With Clayton Moore!

[FightingWesterner · 8/10 · 9 June 2010]

When border patrol agent Clayton Moore goes missing after being crowned by bad guys smuggling criminals back into the US in barrels of oil, potential witness Roy Rogers winds up being subpoenaed by judge Andy Devine to help get to the bottom of Moore's disappearance, only to have him reappear, a framed man.

This above average Roy Rogers vehicle contains some good action sequences, a group of really ruthless heavies (the best kind), and an excellent, action-packed climax filled with great stunts.

It's also notable for a great co-starring role for Clayton Moore, who put on the iconic black mask for "The Lone Ranger" the following year! I wonder if his performance here had anything to do with it.

Foy Willing and The Riders Of The Purple Sage take over for The Sons Of The Pioneers as Roy's backup band. The difference in styles makes for a refreshing change of pace, away from the pop sound that was typical of Rogers at this point and back to a more traditional country and western sound. The songs are great.

One thing I disagree with Roy about though, is the wisdom of helping a person suffering from a traumatic brain injury regain his memory by starting a fistfight with him! I don't think that works in real life.

He has amnesia? Leave it up to Dr. Roy to cure him!

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 24 October 2020]

The version I found on Amazon Prime is the shortened television version. I am mentioning this because perhaps the full version, if it's even available, might be a bit different.

The story begins with Roy taking some cattle over the border. Out of the blue, a truck comes barreling along...nearly hitting him and scattering the cattle. Clearly, the drivers are no-goodnicks. Soon, the truck passes through the border checkpoint...but the officer there spots something odd and gives chase. The baddies inside the truck bash the agent over the head...nearly killing him and leaving him for dead.

What were these baddies up to and why would they attack the border guard? Well, it turns out they are smuggling in wanted criminals inside barrels. But the American public doesn't need to worry about this contraband, as the jerks transporting them soon toss the barrels (with the criminals inside) into a reservoir!! Clearly these smugglers are kindness impaired!

As for the border agent, the man in charge of all these shenanigans has a plan. He hates the agent's father...and he uses the injured man against his own father. How does he do this and how does Roy save the day? See the film.

This film should be accompanied with the message on the screen saying 'Kids....don't try this at home!'. Why? Because the border patrolman has amnesia after the beating and Roy cures him by beating him up...with the assumption that another head injury will restore his memory!! This is insane....though the rest of the film is reasonably enjoyable and not nearly as stupid!

sad of all the deaths

[sandcrab277 · 2/10 · 18 May 2020]

Roy barcroft was never more of a heavy than in this film, he was responsible for at least 7 deaths by his own hand ... most of these oaters a thousand shots are fired yet no one dies but barcroft has a special method of execution, death by barrel roll

Stay Away From Oil Barrels !

[dougdoepke · 25 February 2017]

Action filled oater that really should have been titled Rolling Barrels. Seems a smuggling crew is using the barrels to sneak crooks across the border. On one trip they injure border guard Tom who loses his memory. His ex-border chief dad is broken hearted, and wants revenge. Roy gets involved when his cattle herd is part of the same border crossing. Good thing he gets help from the District Judge. And guess who that is—yup, it's Andy Devine. All in all, it's gonna be a real battle.

Lots of hard riding and flying fists, but not much fast shooting. Speaking of flying fists, what about those two old guys—now there's a switch. Good thing Roy gets important help from the speedy Trigger who comes to his rescue. And catch cutie Gail Davis before she went over full time to cowboy Gene Autry. In ways, there're some rather brutal scenes, more so than usual. Not much scenic background, mainly b&w from greater LA and a near-by mountain dam. All in all, it's an interesting Rogers entry. But from now on, I'm staying away from oil barrels.