Lights of Old Santa Fe

Roy helps keep Dale and Gabby's wild west show in business even as Tom Keene's competing show slyly tries to wreck them.

Not a formula oater. There's no gunplay, little hard riding, and only brief fisticuffs. But there is a chariot race, of all things. In fact, I'd call this a personality western if there were such a thing. Anyway, that's the real attraction, a really engaging Roy, a sparkling Dale who gets to emote more than usual, and of course the great Gabby who even warbles a few refrains and in his own voice too. Together, they're delightful, making this an easygoing surprise and a different kind of matinée.

"Lights of Old Santa Fe" is pretty good light entertainment from Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Gabby Hayes, and Trigger. There is perhaps a little less plot than usual, but on the other hand, there is more humor and singing than usual, and it makes you feel right at home with Roy and his friends.

The story revolves around two competing rodeo shows, one run by Hayes, and the other owned by a slippery character played by Tom Keene, with Dale's character getting caught in the middle of the rivalry. The setup provides enough material for a light story and for the variety entertainment. Lloyd Corrigan, playing a radio personality, also joins in by lending his array of voices to a couple of entertaining scenes.

For the most part, this follows the usual formula, and most Roy Rogers fans won't be disappointed by this one.

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.

Roy finds the rats in madden and wetherbee and pulls their plugs with the help of the pioneers and trigger ... those 25 cent matinee double headers when i was a child were the lifeblood of a small town fan base ...westerns that shine and get the bad guys

"Gabby Whittaker" (George 'Gabby' Hayes) is the manager of the Brooks Rodeo Show which has steadily been losing money due to his inability to keep up with current trends. He has also kept the owner, "Marjorie Brooks" (Dale Evans) completely in the dark so as not to worry her. In the meantime, their main rival, the Madden Rodeo Show, has a more modern look and as a result has since overtaken them. And the owner of that particular outfit, "Frank Madden" (Tom Keene) is willing to do whatever it takes to either acquire the Brooks Rodeo Show or run them out of business. But just as things begin to look bleak a cowboy named "Roy Rogers" (Roy Rogers) comes driving into town with several of his friends known as the Sons of the Pioneers which Gabby immediately recognizes as the answer to all of his problems. Unfortunately, so does Frank Madden. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a decent, old-fashioned type of Musical-Western which definitely personified the time. And because it is so dated there is a possibility that some viewers may not like or appreciate it. Again, it's a product of its time. That being said, I found it to be good enough for a rainy day and I have rated it accordingly. Average.