|
| |
Roy Rogers eBay Main Page •
Register with eBay now
- OR - Learn about registering with eBay
Roy Rogers Movie: Lights Of Old Santa Fe (1944)
The Roy Rogers movie "Lights Of Old Santa Fe" is a classic Roy Rogers
movie. It features Roy Rogers, his golden palomino stallion Trigger, Dale Evans,
Gabby Hayes, the Sons Of The Pioneers, and a light, entertaining plot with just
enough singing, action, and bad guys to keep things interesting. Dale Evans is
once again at her best in this one, playing a feisty role that brings out the
chemistry between herself and Roy Rogers, reminding us why their movie personas
have been internationally popular and famous for decades. The Sons Of The
Pioneers and Gabby Hayes are also heavily featured in the movie and they deliver
superb, toe-tapping music and charming characters. For a complete synopsis of "Lights Of Old Santa Fe"
please scroll down.
Partial Credits For The Movie
- Director: Frank McDonald
- Roy Rogers - Roy Rogers
- Trigger, Roy's palomino stallion - Trigger
- George "Gabby" Hayes - Gabby Whittaker
- Dale Evans - Marjorie Brooks
- Lloyd Corrigan - Marty Maizely
- Richard Powers - Frank Madden
- Claire Du Brey - Rough Ridin' Rosie McGurk
- Arthur Loft - Bill Wetherbee
- Bob Nolan and the Sons Of The Pioneers -
Bob Nolan, Tim Spencer, Hugh Farr, Karl Farr, Ken Carson, and George ''Shug"
Fisher
|
Songs In The Movie
- "Amor" - Sung by Dale Evans
- "The Cowpoke Polka" - Sung by Roy Rogers with the Sons Of The Pioneers
and Gabby Hayes
- "I'm Happy In My Levi Britches" - Sung by Roy Rogers and the Sons Of The
Pioneers
- "Cowboy Jubilee" - Sung by Sung by Roy Rogers and the Sons Of The Pioneers
- "The Nerve of Some People" - Sung by Dale Evans and Roy Rogers
- "Trigger Hasn't Got a Purty Figure" - Sung by Roy Rogers
- "Lights of Old Santa Fe" - Sung by Roy Rogers, and also by Roy along with
Dale Evans
- "Ride 'em Cowboy" - Sung by the Sons Of The Pioneers
|
"Lights Of Old Santa Fe" Movie Synopsis
Warning! There are plot spoilers in the following
synopsis.
 |
In "Lights Of Old Santa Fe" Roy Rogers plays Roy, a singer and
rodeo performer. As the movie opens he is introduced to
Marjorie "Margie" Brooks (played by Dale Evans), a young woman who is owner of
Brooks International Rodeo, an old and respected rodeo company. Margie and the
audience both soon learn that her rodeo company is on the brink of financial
ruin, a fact that has been kept from her by her friend and manager Gabby
Whittaker (played by George "Gabby" Hayes). Gabby is an honest man and has only
kept Margie's financial troubles from her to protect her while he attempted to
turn the business around. Though friends with Roy Rogers and the Sons Of The
Pioneers, Gabby is too old-fashioned to hire them as entertainers for Brooks Rodeo, feeling
strongly that singers just don't have a place in a rodeo company. |
|
Above: Gabby Whittaker (played by
George "Gabby" Hayes) and Roy Rogers (played by Roy Rogers) arrive at
a benefit show. |
Margie is being courted by a man named Frank Madden who not only wants to
marry Margie, he wants her to combine Brooks International Rodeo with his newer
and currently more successful rodeo company, Madden World Wide Rodeo. Madden
soon hires Roy Rogers and the Sons Of The Pioneers for his rodeo company, but
Roy and the Pioneers quit almost as soon as they're hired when they learn Madden
only wants them to sing and won't allow them to ride and perform as specialty
acts, too. Needing jobs, they happen upon the Brooks ranch and are quickly hired
by Gabby (who has changed his mind about singers in a rodeo company) for both
their singing and their riding.
|
As Gabby, Roy, and the Sons Of The Pioneers are on their way to the first
performance of the season for Brooks Rodeo a mysterious man sneaks into their
camp at night, running off the livestock and setting fire to the wagons. The
damage is so bad that the rodeo company can't perform, and Roy decides to fake the
performance to help keep Margie's spirits up. He manages to borrow sound
equipment and special sound effects from a radio station, and arranges for
Margie to get lost on the way to the rodeo so she is forced to listen to it on
the radio. Margie is ecstatic with the successful way the rodeo sounds, and as
her formerly cool feelings for Roy begin to thaw she starts making big plans
for her rodeo company. She is crushed when Frank Madden finds out about the
phony rodeo performance and tells her about it, and she finally agrees to marry
Frank and combine their rodeo companies. Just as she is walking down the aisle
Roy is able to find out that it was Frank Madden's hired man that sabotaged
Brooks Rodeo, putting a stop to Margie's marriage and helping to get Brooks
Rodeo back on its feet. |
 |
|
Above: Dale Evans (playing Marjorie "Margie"
Brooks), sings "Amor." |
 |
The Best Part Of "Lights Of Old Santa Fe"
The best part of "Lights Of Old Santa Fe" is the classic pairing of Roy
Rogers and Dale Evans mixed in with strong showings from Gabby Hayes and the
Sons Of The Pioneers, all combined with a light and fast-paced plot with plenty
of Western action. Roy and Dale were always at their best when Roy's good-guy
orneriness was combined with Dale playing a feisty role, and "Lights Of Old Santa Fe"
knows just how to make the most of the two of them. They are backed by Gabby
Hayes, who set the standard for playing the crusty but kind-hearted sidekick, and
also by the Sons Of The Pioneers. The Pioneers get to do a lot of singing in
this movie, and it's wonderful to hear them every time. George ''Shug"
Fisher and Bob Nolan also get a few speaking lines, with Shug easily handling a
few comical scenes. |
|
Above: An annoyed Margie Brooks (played by Dale Evans) and Roy Rogers sing "The Nerve Of Some
People." |
"Lights Of Old Santa Fe" Highlights
Warning! There are plot spoilers in the following
highlights.
The Music
While it should go without saying that the music in a Roy Rogers movie should be
one of the highlights, "Lights Of Old Santa Fe" delivers that implied promise
exceptionally well. There are plenty of songs, several of which are the kind of
upbeat, toe-tapping cowboy fun we have come to love and expect in a Roy Rogers
movie. An exception is the first song in the movie, "Amor," sung by Dale Evans,
which, in our opinion, misses the mark. Another exception, although in a
positive way, is the first time the title song "Lights Of Old Santa Fe" is sung
in the movie. It is sung for the first time by Roy as he sits around a campfire,
with soft, gentle, accompaniment by the Sons Of The Pioneers in the background.
Though not one of the more upbeat songs in the movie it is a beautifully done
and should leave you happily relaxed and swooning in your seat.
The Sons Of The Pioneers
The Sons Of The Pioneers are all throughout "Lights Of Old Santa Fe" and they
are a real treat. While only George ''Shug"
Fisher and Bob Nolan get any significant speaking lines, all the Pioneers can be
frequently seen singing, riding around in Roy's car, standing in the background,
or riding horses. Shug Fisher gets a couple of opportunities to show how capably
he could handle comedy, and Bob Nolan's few lines and brief singing solo during "Ride 'em
Cowboy" display the engaging voice and smile behind the offers he received to
star in his own movies (he adamantly declined). While it can sometimes be hard
to get a good |
 |
|
look at all of the Sons Of The Pioneers in a Roy Rogers movie, they can all be
clearly seen several times in "Lights Of Old Santa Fe," such as while singing
"Cowboy Jubilee" at the radio station and while singing "Ride 'em
Cowboy" during the phony rodeo performance. It's great to get a good look at the
singers and musicians behind the wonderful music. |
|
Above: Roy Rogers and the Sons Of The Pioneers
sing "Cowboy Jubilee." From left to right are George "Shug" Fisher,
Roy Rogers (at the microphone), Hugh Farr (playing the fiddle), Tim Spencer, Bob
Nolan, Ken Carson, and Karl Farr (playing the guitar). |
Lots Of Action
There is plenty of action in "Lights Of Old Santa Fe." There are a couple of fun
action scenes featuring George "Shug" Fisher riding a steer, and another one
with Roy roping a small boat on a lake and using Trigger to pull an angry Margie
(played by Dale Evans) to the shore. There is a dramatic wagon wreck into a
river, and a terrific chariot race with two chariot teams of four horses abreast
for each team. There's also a little bit of trick riding and one quick scene
with some trick roping.
 |
Lloyd Corrigan
Lloyd Corrigan once again plays a small but delightful role in a Roy Rogers
movie (you might recognize him as Professor Hanley in Roy's movie "Song Of
Nevada," 1944). This time he plays radio personality Marty Maizely, and
while he doesn't get a lot of
screen time Mr. Corrigan makes every moment count, especially when he's in the
radio station doing his show
"Little Nugget, the Miner's Child." He wholeheartedly jumps into a
role requiring him to supply several different voices over the radio, then steps
in as Roy's helper in a plot to put on a phony rodeo. His quick-talking ways,
voice inflections, and enthusiastic facial expressions during his radio show
make him a perfect addition to the overall light-hearted feel of this movie. |
|
Above: Lloyd Corrigan, playing radio personality Marty Maizely,
growls like a timber wolf. |
Roy Rogers eBay Main Page •
Register with eBay now
- OR - Learn about registering with eBay
|
