Lights of Old Santa Fe (1944)

Rival rodeos are operated by good guy Gabby and bad guy Richard Powers. Dale is trying to choose between them, aided ultimately by Roy and the Sons of the Pioneers (who are radio singers).

Director:

Frank McDonald

Writers:

Gordon Kahn (original screenplay), Robert Creighton Williams (original screenplay)

Stars:

Roy Rogers, Trigger, George 'Gabby' Hayes

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Roy Rogers	...	Roy Rogers
Trigger	...	Trigger
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Gabby Whittaker
Dale Evans	...	Marjorie Brooks
Lloyd Corrigan	...	Marty Maizely
Tom Keene	...	Frank Madden (as Richard Powers)
Claire Du Brey	...	Rosie McGurk
Arthur Loft	...	Bill Wetherbee
Roy Barcroft	...	Ken Ferguson
Lucien Littlefield	...	The Judge
Sam Flint	...	Sheriff
Bob Nolan	...	Bob - Leader Sons of the Pioneers
Sons of the Pioneers	...	Musicians

Storyline

Sandwiched in between the numerous musical numbers, the Gabby Whittaker and Madden rodeo's are competing for bookings. When Gabby gets a date in Albuquerque, Madden has his man destroy his equipment. Roy finds a broken rawhide rope at the scene and uses it to bring Madden to justice.

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Plot Keywords:

rodeo | horse

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Taglines:

Action As You Like It!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Musical | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 November 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Luzes de Santa Fé

Filming Locations:

French Ranch, Hidden Valley Road, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min 56 min (cut) 78 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

During the scene where Gabby tells Marjorie he has hired Roy and the Pioneers, she tucks the collar of her dress inside the neckline. But when he leads her out to show her Trigger, her collar is back outside again.

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Quotes

Gabby Whittaker: Jumpin' jackrabbits. What kind of jigity you call that?
Marjorie Brooks: That's a ballet of wood nymphs.
Gabby Whittaker: They ain't wearin' enough clothes to flag a handcar.

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Connections

Edited from King of the Cowboys (1943)

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Soundtracks

"Trigger Hasn't Got A Purty Figure"
Written by Tim Spencer
Performed by Roy Rogers

User Reviews

Roy Goes Ben-Hur

In Lights of Old Santa Fe, Roy and the Sons of the Pioneers are busy trying to save a wild west show that is owned by Dale Evans and run by Gabby Hayes.

Dale's an eastern girl who inherited the show from her father and of late it's gone to seed. She's gotten two good offers from Tom Keene, one to buy the show, the other a proposal of marriage. Keene's a rival owner and he's determined to get the show one way or another.

Of course all that doesn't sit well with Roy who smells a rat and in these films, Roy's nose is unerring.

The highlight of the film is when Keene challenges Rogers to a chariot race. Not as silly as it sounds because the chariots are part of the show. The two of them go at each other worthy of Stephen Boyd and Charlton Heston. Of course Heston and Boyd were working in a film with a slightly bigger budget.

Roy and Dale do make some pretty music together and even Gabby gets to warble a verse from the title song.

That alone might make a fan curious.