Lights of Old Santa Fe (1944)

Director:

Frank McDonald

Writers:

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

Release Date:

6 November 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Musical

Tagline:

Action As You Like It!

Plot:

Sandwiched in between the numerous musical numbers, the Gabby Whittaker and Madden rodeo's are competing for bookings...

Plot Keywords:

Rodeo | Horse

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Roy Rogers	...	Roy Rogers
Trigger	...	Trigger, the Smartest Horse in the Movies
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

Runtime:

56 min (cut version) | 78 min (original version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #10334)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Republic Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

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.

Movie Connections:

Edited from King of the Cowboys (1943)

Soundtrack:

The Nerve Of Some People

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.