Bells of San Angelo is a 1947 American TrucolorWestern film directed by William Witney and starring Roy Rogers. The first Roy Rogers film shot in Trucolor, this modern day Western mixes half a dozen songs with mystery, international smuggling of silver, violence, a pack of dogs and comedy relief with one character packing a "16-shooter" from which 22 shots can be heard during the musical number "Hot Lead" performed by the Sons of the Pioneers.
Plot
Roy is a "border inspector" ever on the alert for smuggling silver between Mexico and the United States. Roy's Mexican friends have told him that one of their own has important information about a silver mine on the American side of the border, but their contact is shot and killed by the mine guards. Before shooting him, they plant a piece of ore containing a high level of silver on his body.
The American mine owners say they play rough, as no towns or law enforcement are anywhere near them and their mine is just across the border, making it a tempting target for robbers who plan to rob the mine then escape to Mexico.
Other events are happening in the area, such as the arrival of Western mystery author Lee Madison, whom Roy and his friends feel ridicules the West and those who live in it. The gang does not know that Lee is really a woman, so when Lee becomes aware of their dislike for her writing, she hides under an alias.
Lionel Bates arrives from England saying Scotland Yard is on the hunt for an English national named George Wallingford Lancaster. Roy notices the news greatly alarms dog-loving sheriff Cookie Bullfincher.
