Saving the Fish Hatchery

Susanna Pass (1949)

starring: Roy Rogers, Trigger, Dale Evans & the Riders Of The Purple Sage

Yet another later year B-western gem from screen legend Roy Rogers! Owing great thanks to Republic Pictures, we are treated to a presentation in full TruColor. As far as these types of movies go, this is top notch quality screenwriting, directing, and acting. In between the action and mystery solving, there are the standard western songs and sidekick laughs for good measure, all helping this 65 minutes along. Of course the ultimate outcome has the hero saving the day again.

Interestingly, there's almost a pro-environment feeling about this movie, at least in afterthought. There certainly was in Roy's little speech to the audience at the end of the film. An entire reservoir, used as a fish hatchery, could have been completely decimated in the name of oil. Isn't oil and making money more important than anything else?!? Many would like you to think so . . . but it's not. Roy knew that the answer wasn't DRILL FOR MORE OIL!!! . . . somehow he knew the answer was alternative fuels plus he knew the importance of a fish hatchery, to provide a source of recreation away from the bustle of busier areas, to provide youth a reason to get out in the country, away from the stoplights, Sprawl-marts and $tarbucks. I'm sure a lot of "conservative" Republicans today could very easily look at Roy Rogers as a swell role model. Why, then, aren't most of them conservation-minded when it comes to the environment?

Conservative . . . conserve . . . protect . . . not destroy.
That always boggles my mind.