Bells of Rosarita (1945)

Sue Farnum inherits a circus, but her dead father's partner is trying to take it away from her. Roy and Bob Nolan are filming a movie on location at the circus. They and a number of other ... See full summary »

Director:

Frank McDonald

Writer:

Jack Townley (story)

Stars:

Roy Rogers, Trigger, George 'Gabby' Hayes

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roy Rogers	...	Roy Rogers
Trigger	...	Trigger, Roy's Horse (as The Smartest Horse in the Movies)
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	'Gabby' Whittaker
Dale Evans	...	Sue Farnum
Adele Mara	...	Patty Phillips
Grant Withers	...	William Ripley
Addison Richards	...	Slim Phillips
Roy Barcroft	...	Henchman Maxwell
Janet Martin	...	Rosarita
The Robert Mitchell Boy Choir	...	Boys Choir (as Robert Mitchell Boychoir)
Sons of the Pioneers	...	Musicians (as Bob Nolan and The Sons of the Pioneers)
Bill Elliott	...	Wild Bill Elliott (as Wild Bill Elliott)
Allan Lane	...	Allan 'Rocky' Lane
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Don Barry (as Donald Barry)
Robert Livingston	...	Bob Livingston

Storyline

Sue Farnum inherits a circus, but her dead father's partner is trying to take it away from her. Roy and Bob Nolan are filming a movie on location at the circus. They and a number of other western movie stars come to Sue's aid, putting on a show and catching the bad guys.

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Plot Keywords:

circus | shooting blanks | kidnapping | circus parade | movie studio | 

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Taglines:

THE GREATEST CAST OF WESTERN STARS EVER ON THE SCREEN!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 June 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Os Sinos de Rosarita

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min 68 min (original) 54 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Three of the four actors who portrayed Red Ryder on the screen appear in this film. Don "Red" Barry, the first Red Ryder, Wild Bill Elliott and Allan "Rocky" Lane. Jim Bannon, not in this film, was the fourth Red Ryder.

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Quotes

[Bad guys Ripley and Maxwell are astonished that their car has been stolen]
Maxwell: There must be some crooks around here!

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Connections

Referenced in Blue Collar (1978)

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Soundtracks

"Bells of Rosarita"
Written by Jack Elliott
Sung by Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Sons of the Pioneers
Reprised by cast

User Reviews

Good Roy Rogers Feature

This is a very good Roy Rogers feature, perhaps among the best of his many B-Westerns. It is, as usual, primarily light entertainment, with a lot of humor and music, and this time there is some clever irony deriving from the setting - Roy plays himself, acting in a cowboy feature and at the same time getting involved in a situation that in some respects parallels his film. Dale Evans and Gabby Hayes complete the picture, and there are short appearances by several other Western stars of the era.

The story starts with Dale and Gabby heading west to try to save a circus that belonged to the father of Dale's character, while the unscrupulous Ripley (Grant Withers) has plans to take it over himself by any means necessary. As soon as Dale and Gabby arrive, they find themselves mixed up in a scene from the movie (whose title is also "Bells of Rosarita") that Roy and Bob Nolan are shooting. It's a funny scene, and cleverly done, and it sets up the story that follows as well as establishing the connection between film and reality. Most of the actual plot is not to be taken too seriously - the villains are, as usual, pretty incompetent - but it has a very pleasant tone, and a pretty good variety of action and entertainment.

This is very good for a B-Western, and certainly recommended for any fan of Roy Rogers or for those who like Westerns of the era.