Roy Rogers in TruColor and Uncut (1 Viewer)

[RBailey]

There is a terrific Facebook forum called Arrows & Gunsmoke: The Art Of Comic Book Westerns that has a lot of great samples of western comic books, covers and artists.

 

[Mysto]

It's not a western but according to the hype Blackstone was the first comic to portray a living character. I own a few of these and the later Super Magician as well as Balbo Boy Magician.

 

[Bob Gu]

 

[Bob Gu]

(For the non-magical, that's Harry Blackstone, Sr. above.)

MAN FROM CHEYENNE-1942, B&W 60 minutes.

Another Roy Rogers movie only around in the 53 minute version. I have the Alpha 52:44 minute version, without Republic logos, on their double-feature DVD with a 53 min. B&W version of the 67 minute lost Trucolor, NIGHT TIME IN NEVADA-1948. (A full-length B&W version of NIGHT TIME IN NEVADA can be found on YouTube sometimes.) Both Alpha prints on the DVD are rough and dark, but watchable.

MAN FROM CHEYENNE is Gale Storm"s third and final role in a Roy Rogers picture. Gale is billed seventh. In JESSE JAMES AT BAY she was also billed seventh, and she was fifth billed in RED RIVER VALLEY.

Shades of Dirty Harry! Roy stops escaping bank robbers, in a car, as he's finishing his lunch!

An impressed government agent sends undercover Roy to investigate mysterious cattle rustling happening to ranches with federal contracts.

Gabby happens to own one of the ranches and runs it with The Sons of the Pioneers. Roy was raised on the ranch by Gabby along with Gale and Sally Payne.

In the first few minutes, glamourous and fashionable, Lynne Carver is revealed to be behind the rustling, with the help of, henchman, William Haade. They use a tunnel on Carver's ranch to get the cattle away, unseen, through the mountainous countryside. The tunnel is the much filmed Bronson Canyon cave, but hard to see in this dark print.

Lynne Carver.

William Haade.

Gabby and all the old duffer ranchers, and young rancher James Seay like Lynne Carver and think she is peachy. Lynne flirts with all of them and plays them easily. Gale and Sally don't like that, and are jealous of Lynne, mostly because of her being glamourous and fashionable.

James Seay.

There's a lot of jealous romantic undercurrent in this movie.

Gale likes Roy. Roy likes Gale, Sally, and even Lynne. Bob Nolan likes Gale and is jealous and suspicious of Roy. Pat Brady likes Sally, but Sally seems to like Roy more, except when Pat shows an interest in Lynne. William Haade is both irritated and attracted to Lynne.

There are six minutes missing from the edited version. There seems to be an abrupt cut during the start of a conversation between Lynne Carver and William Haade. The Bob Nolan site mentions two missing songs. The poster shows a conga line dance sequence that was cut out of the party scene. Lynne's conga prowess is mentioned by Gale in her fight with Lynne at the end of the movie.

Roy wore the same shirts sometimes, in different movies, and the still with this shirt was used in advertising for both, MAN FROM CHEYENNE and RED RIVER VALLEY.

This one may be from RED RIVER VALLEY.

Trigger didn't have much to do in this one.

edited MAN FROM CHEYENNE-YouTube, no Republic logos.

 

[Bob Gu]

SUNSET ON THE DESERT-1942, 60 minutes, B&W.

Another cut Roy Rogers. I have the 52:50 minute version on the Alpha double-feature DVD, paired with the edited NEVADA CITY-1941. The SUNSET print is soft, but not overly dark and has kind of an even toned grey scale, that makes this nice to view, as these P.D. things go. This print didn't have any Republic logos. Syndicated title card, but it does have the proper THE END appearing over the last live action scene as Roy and Gabby ride out of town, with Roy singing the tune 'Faithful Pal O' Mine'.

Publicity still with Lynne Carver, Roy, and Gabby. Gabby, actually, doesn't wear his battered side-kick hat in SUNSET ON THE DESERT.

After ten years away from, yet, another of Roy's hometowns, rodeo cowboy, Roy heads home to horn into some trouble he hears about. Gabby tags along.

Nobody, in this town of old friends, recognizes Roy as being Roy Rogers, not even, childhood crush, Lynne Carver. This is Lynne Carver's second Roy Rogers movie. This time she's the good girl. Beryl Wallace plays the bad girl.

Beryl Wallace greets Roy thinking he is someone else.

Douglas Fowley has some blackmail material on Judge Frank M. Thomas's deceased brother, Lynne's father. Fowley forces the judge to help foreclose, with false tax debt and mortgage claims, on ranches to get control of the mineral rights.

Douglas Fowley.

Everyone thinks Roy is the evil Deputy Sloan, who is Fowley's man. Sloan is a dead ringer for Roy. I forgot about this Sloan character when I wrote that Roy only played Roy after JESSE JAMES AT BAY. But Roy's good guy character in SUNSET ON THE DESERT is named Roy Rogers.

Bob Nolan, Gabby, Roy, Lynne Carver, Frank M. Thomas, and, old timer, Fred Burns, who is in tons of westerns in this movie making period.

Eventually, Roy finds proof Lynne's father is innocent. With a song, 'Remember Me', Roy convinces Lynne that he's Roy Rogers. Things are set straight after a big shootout, with Roy, Gabby, and The Sons of the Pioneers against Fowley and his henchmen. Although, Bob Nolan thinks he's shooting at Roy.

Gabby captures Glenn Strange and Henry Wills.

Lynne captures Roy.

Bob Nolan captures Fowley.

Friends again.

Fund raising for the Red Cross, for the war effort which isn't mentioned directly.

So what might be in the missing seven minutes? Two missing songs for sure. One is called 'Don Juan' which we hear later in IDAHO-1943. The other is 'Yippi-Yi Your Troubles Away.



Ad that lists the five songs in the movie: 'It's A Lie', "Remember Me', 'Faithful Pal O' Mine'. ( These three are still there in the edited version.) ' Yippi-Yi Your Troubles Away' and 'Don Juan'.

Roy wins a pie and a date with Lynne at the Red Cross fund raiser. There's a cut when they start to climb into a carriage. So probably missing is a chat scene and carriage ride and maybe one of the missing songs or even a pie fight?

Here's Roy being naughty with Beryl Wallace. Publicity photo or missing scene? She does not wear this cowgirl outfit in the existing cut prints.

When Sloan shows up later with Beryl Wallace, he has a black eye. So there must be a missing scene where Beryl or someone else gives him a poke. There may be a missing scene in the very beginning of the movie where Sloan shoots someone in 'self defense'. But maybe not as we see a newspaper and characters talking about it.

Lynne Carver appeared in 37 movies and retired in 1948 because of health problems according to the IMDB and she died in 1955 at 38 years old.

Lynne Carver with fellow starlets: Virginia Grey, Anne Rutherford, and Priscilla Lawson. With: Robert Young and Maureen O'Sullivan, in "Sporting Blood"-1940, with Allan Jones in "Everybody Sing"-1938, with the cast of "A Christmas Carol"-1938, with Johnny Mack Brown and Raymond Hatton, in "Law of the Valley"-1944. Lynne did four westerns, her last four films, with JMB. With Dan Dailey, in "Dulcy"-1940.

She did two 'Dr. Kildare's' with Lew Ayres.

Beryl Wallace was in 23 movies. She was famous for being an Earl Carroll showgirl, a radio hostess and for entertaining the troops during World War II. She and Earl Carroll were killed together in an airliner crash in 1948. She was 35.

Discovering likable performers in old movies that had short careers is fun. I always assumed that most left show business for marriage or business reasons. Finding out some died from illness or accident is sad. I'd like to think they would be happy knowing they are still remembered.

Edited YouTube. No Republic logos, proper THE END.

 

[Bert Greene]

Great stuff on Carver and Wallace, Bob. I probably said it before, but I'll say it again. I've always been amazed at how character-actor Douglas Fowley went from specializing in slick NYC gangster-types in the 1930s/40s to seedy, ultra-grizzled old westerners by the 1960s. Such an impressively extreme flip-flop for a character actor.

On the B-western front, VCI's long-delayed blu of the Buck Jones serial "Gordon of Ghost City" (1933-Univ) is finally out, and it looks great. It'll really be something to actually have all four solo Jones' Universal serials (1933-36) officially available and in sterling condition. Never would have imagined it. "Gordon" isn't quite as good as "The Red Rider" (1934), but it has its merits. The usual b-western faces show up, William Desmond (the silent western star), Edmund Cobb, Tom London, Bud Osborne, Lafe McKee, Ethan Laidlaw and such. I also briefly spotted Bill Patton, who'd starred in many super-low budget silent westerns in the 1920s, usually with a comedic slant.

"Gordon" also gives us a rare talkie spotlight for silent star Madge Bellamy, outside of her commonly-seen "White Zombie" (1932). I recall when Bellamy had written her autobiography late in life, but she passed away right before it came out. Never got it, but I do remember an interview that Michael Ankerich conducted with her, preceding its publishing. Bellamy came across as a tad flakey in it to me. But seeing her in silents, I do tend to find her appealing, and it's easy to see why she was popular and had a pretty decent run at stardom. Bellamy had already co-starred with Buck Jones in "Lazybones" (1925-Fox), that rural drama so beautifully directed by Frank Borzage. It's a good film, and Jones proved his acting chops in it, although there was a late-in-the-game plot development in the movie that made it a bit indigestible (Jones' character comes back from the war, and develops unrequited romantic feelings for his 'adoptive' daughter whom he partially raised... yeah, icky). During Bellamy's career at Fox, she was leading lady in John Ford's first epic, "The Iron Horse" (1924), and later starred in Fox's first talkie or part-talkie, "Mother Knows Best" (1928). Is the latter extant? I've often wondered. It wasn't on Alex Gordon's list of 'saved' Fox films.

Bellamy was already established by the time she was opposite Jones in "Lazybones," which itself was a 'special,' and not a part of Jones' run of silent Fox westerns. But Jones' westerns there did provide good stepping-stones for actresses who attained later stardom, like Renee Adoree, Marion Nixon, Evelyn Brent, and such. Although I think I'd say that fellow Fox cowboy star Tom Mix had the biggest graduate class, with leading ladies who attained greater prominence, like Colleen Moore, Billie Dove, Patsy Ruth Miller, Clara Bow, Barbara Bedford, Olive Borden, Esther Ralston, among others. But anyway, enough tangential blather. I'm just happy about "Gordon of Ghost City" on blu and arriving in my mailbox. Puts me in a giddy... and gabby, mood.

 

[Bob Gu]

Well, Bert, you talked me into getting "Gordon of Ghost City". I also ordered "Phantom Rider" and "Hal Roach Streamliners-Vol.1. I just got in under the wire on today's DD coupon.

I wonder if Buck Jones had not been killed in that tragic fire, if he would have shown up in 50s-60s TV westerns. He would have been great at playing ranch owners and veteran lawmen. If he was still fit, I could picture him as 'Ben Cartwright' or 'Judge Garth'.

Madge Bellamy:

Is Madge wearing Buck's hat?

What's going on here?

On the serial front, I am watching Republic's "Man Hunt In The African Jungle", A.K.A. "Secret Service In Darkest Africa", with Rod Cameron.

 

[Bert Greene]

That's a question I've heard raised a few times before, as to how Buck Jones' career would have progressed into older character parts had he not died in that fire. I do very much think he would have comfortably eased into such roles. While I'm not saying he was a great, unheralded thespian, he was perhaps the most talented actor amongst his cowboy-star peers. Much more emotional range. Tom Mix, once in talkies, was still a good showman, but he slurred his dialogue. Ken Maynard stammered and was pretty limited. Tim McCoy was pretty good, but in a rather narrow range. Jack Hoxie was rather hopeless. Hoot Gibson had fine comic timing and seemed like he had talent and potential to be a decent character actor had he really buckled down and tried. The only one I really see as besting Jones is Harry Carey, who indeed had much, much more training and experience, and easily found success in character parts.

Obviously, Jones was considered good enough to be tossed into a few non-western curiosities, like a major supporting role in the Nancy Carroll vehicle, "Child of Manhattan" (1933) for Columbia, and starring in the Paramount B-film, "Unmarried" (1939) alongside Helen Twelvetrees. And, he took on a surprising role as villain in "Wagons Westward" (1940) for Republic. I'd like to see "Child of Manhattan" again, although I don't recall it being too good. But the print that was the only one circulating about 30 years ago was extremely dark and extremely scratchy, and made it a bit of a chore to watch. I think I heard a better copy is floating around these days. Might have to give it another go.

 

[Flashgear]

On the serial front, I am watching Republic's "Man Hunt In The African Jungle", A.K.A. "Secret Service In Darkest Africa", with Rod Cameron.

Bob, enjoying your wonderful posts as always! Bert's very interesting commentary as well!

Seeing as you have mentioned Rod Cameron more than a few times in this thread, I can contribute the following:

Rod Cameron (Nathan Roderick Cox) was born in my hometown of Calgary, Alberta, in 1910. He left for the States at a young age. According to his bio on IMDB, he found work on the construction of the Holland Tunnel, which was under construction for 7 years, opening in November 1927. So if he worked on that project, he was still a teenager at the time! His wanderlust took him to Hollywood soon after.

Even as a little kid, I was aware of him being a fellow home-towner. As a lot of Westerns stars made paid celebrity appearances each summer at the Calgary Stampede (cancelled this year for the first time in a century because of the pandemic), I always expected Rod Cameron would show up some summer there...I mean, the guy was actually a "Calgarian", so it seemed to be a natural. But to my knowledge, he only returned to Alberta on relatively rare occasions, in 1949,1950 and 1959 for sure, and not to the Stampede on either occasion. As you know, I love browsing the Google newspaper archives, and thus far I have found this clipping from his June 1959 visit...you probably know, but Waterton National Park is the Northern contiguity of Glacier National Park in Montana, and just as stunning. The Fort MacLeod that is mentioned is a very scenic, rustic and historic town that still sees a fair share of modern day movie making...most recently, season two of the Fargo TV series, Interstellar, the upcoming Kevin Costner/Diane Lane film Let Him Go and this summer's upcoming Ghostbusters movie...older films like Little Big Man ,Buffalo Bill and the Indians and Silver Streak have also filmed on it's historic main street. This article suggests to me that Rod Cameron had a special attachment to Fort MacLeod. This place was an important Mountie Fort named after it's commander, Colonel MacLeod, and was established in 1874-75 to stop the Whiskey trade from Fort Benton Montana. Rod Cameron, in addition to having the honorary title of "Chief Calf Chief" bestowed on him by the Blood Indian Tribe (the largest Indian Reservation in Canada) was also involved in charity fundraising for the St. Mary's Indian School on the Blood Nation lands...

Not long after his 1959 visit, he was hard at work on his new TV series Coronado 9, having just come off of doing three years (and 104 episodes) of Revue/Universal's excellent syndicated series State Trooper...

I haven't actually gotten around to doing it, but I hope to present some more newspaper movie page clippings of Roy's premiere openings down the years...this time from bigger city newspapers...bigger cities than my humble and dusty old cow town...if that remains of interest?

 

[Bert Greene]

Yep, Rod Cameron has always been a top favorite of mine. I knew a couple of serial buffs who always regarded him as the ideal serial hero (as seen in Republic's "G-Men vs. the Black Dragon" and "Secret Service in Darkest Africa," both 1943), and genuinely lamented that stardom too him away from serials and his Universal b-western serials too quickly. Always got a kick out of that oft-quoted TV Guide review that stated of Cameron "most of his acting ability is in his fists." It was written as a slight, but nonetheless I view it as a positive. I don't need some moody method-actor when villainy in the likes of Robert Wilke or Lee Van Cleef are swaggering around with a gat in their hands and needing to be dispatched, in one of Cameron's "Revue" series. Too bad we never got the "City Detective" tv-series from Timeless, back when they released "State Trooper" and "Coronado 9."

Revisiting both our Canadian theme, along with silent actress Madge Bellamy, I belatedly remember one of her circulating films takes place in the Northwoods of Canada (although almost assuredly not filmed there), "Soul of the Beast" (1923), made shortly before her Fox contract. Bellamy plays the mistreated stepdaughter of a circus-owner, forced into portraying the 'wild girl' attraction, who escapes with her elephant friend into the countryside, landing in a small village, and finding the expected romance. I rather like the film, although it's pretty strange, and vacillates unevenly between light comedy and old-time melodrama. Grapevine Video has had a copy available (probably an old 'show-at-home' print) for almost thirty years now. I upgraded to disc a few years back, retiring my old vhs tape.

Hot on the heels of "Gordon of Ghost City" (1933), VCI's fourth Buck Jones serial release, "The Phantom Rider" (1936) has arrived today. Can't wait to take a look at it. I always viewed this as the weakest of the Jones-Universal serial quartet, but it might surprise me, now seeing it in a sharp, clear print. That was certainly the case with the 3rd Jones serial, "The Roaring West" (1935), as my opinion of it shot up quite a bit, upon seeing the sharp, newly remastered VCI blu.

 

[Flashgear]

As far as I can tell, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (and their kids and cast from the TV show as seen in my previous post some pages back) were honored guests at my Hometown Calgary Stampede at least 4 times...here is a photo of their appearance in the 1969 Stampede parade...

Pat Woodell, Bobbi Jo of Petticoat Junction in it's first 3 seasons, was also in this parade...

 

[Bob Gu]

Now here's a unusual picture, from "North West Mounted Police"-1940, showing our saddle pal, Rod Cameron, a real Canadian, actually playing a Mountie in a Hollywood production.

Here is Trigger, again, as Golden Cloud, behind the scenes on "The Adventures Of Robin Hood".

Speaking of Errol Flynn. Ran across of a bunch stills from Flynn's "Rocky Mountain"-1950.

Peter Coe, Sheb Wooley, Rush Williams, Slim Pickens, Errol Flynn, 'Big Boy' Williams, Chubby Johnson, and Scott Forbes.

Scott 'Jim Bowie' Forbes with Flynn and director, William Keighley.

Flynn with future wife, Patrice Wymore, down to her 1860s bloomers in the location heat.

Wymore with Flynn's lighting stand-in. ( I was listening to the commentary track on 'Objective, Burma!" today and they mentioned Flynn's regular stand-in was named Jim Flemming. Is that him?)

Flynn with the director, note his stand-in is behind the director..

Interesting action still. ( I'll refrain from doing a "F-Troop" Frank DeKova joke.)

Must be a stuntman for Scott Forbes on the high point on the left, since we can see Forbes to the right of the reflector in the middle of the picture. We can see Dick Jones and his character's dog at right above Flynn's head. Buzz Henry under them. Then L-R: Pickens, the director, Flynn's stand-in, R. Williams, Johnson, Flynn, 'Big Boy' Williams. "Rocky Mountain" was the first movie with character credit for Chubby Johnson, Slim Pickens, Rush Williams, and Sheb Wooley.

Dick Jones kept the dog after the movie was over.

For the first episode of the "Cheyenne" TV series, 'Mountain Fortress', in 1955, Warner Brothers reworked 'Rocky Mountain' so they could reuse the big action scenes.

For the Cheyenne episode they brought back Peter Coe and Rush Williams, and the same dog!! They hired the dog from Dick Jones. In an interview Jones said WB picked the dog up in a limousine!

The dog with Jeff Silver in 'Mountain Fortress'.

Ann Robinson and James Garner replaced, Patrice Wymore and Scott Forbes.

Speaking of lighting stand-ins. Clint Walker had one too. He was Clyde Howdy and can be seen as a background player in countless westerns.

Clyde Howdy.


Dig the lifts.

Trigger/ Golden Cloud with an earlier owner.

I have this 2015 edition, of THE book on Trigger.

The book was revised in 2019 with 90 additional photos and 30,000 more words. I guess I should upgrade.

 

[Flashgear]

Ha, ha, Bob...you did pick me out of the crowd...I loved that Sombrero so much, I was a little Leo Carillo to some other little kid's Duncan Renaldo...as you see in this photo, I am in my crouching tiger stance, about to leap down like a grasshopper from two stories high to land in the car seat right next to luscious Pat Woodell...I would have given her a quick kiss too, before good ol' Roy grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and gave me the what for...

Seriously though, glad to see you back Bob! And posting your excellent pictures and fascinating info about the dog seen in both Rocky Mountain and Cheyenne's premiere episode...never knew that, wow!

 

[Gary OS]

Speaking of Errol Flynn. Ran across of a bunch stills from Flynn's "Rocky Mountain"-1950.

Bob, thanks for al, the stills from one of my all-time favorite westerns, Rocky Mountain.

Gary “sure wish WB would release this film in Blu” O.

 

[Bob Gu]

Gary, more "Rocky Mountain" pictures. It's always extra fun to find color photos from a B&W movie. Of course the lobby cards are tinted B&W photos.

But what about Roy and Trigger?

Or the Cisco Kid and Pancho. (One of the features with the great Ann Savage and Doug Fowley.) Love the theme music.

 

[Gary OS]

Fantastic Pics! Love them all. No disrespect to Roy or any of the other cowboy legends we discuss here.

Thanks so much. Bob!


Gary “love this thread” O.

 

[Bob Gu]

NIGHT TIME IN NEVADA-1948, Trucolor 66-67 minutes.

Another of the lost Trucolors, out there in dark and soft Public Domain B&W edited and full length versions. I have the Alpha edited 53 minute version on a double feature DVD paired with an edited 53 minute version of MAN FROM CHEYENNE. (see Post #484.) I also have the old Sinister Cinema full length version on VHS with proper logos.

This is the last Roy Rogers movie with Bob Nolan and The Sons of the Pioneers. (Although, Pioneer Pat Brady will return as Roy's sidekick in later movies, and of course in Roy's TV series.

Pat Brady with Andy Devine.

In NIGHT TIME IN NEVADA, Roy and the Pioneers are cattle breeders, getting ready to ship a special herd to market by rail.

In an unusual and chilling opening flashback sequence, Grant Withers murders his partner in a gold mine, only to discover that the mine is worthless. But the partner has a daughter, Adele Mara, who has an inheritance coming in twenty years. Withers and the executor, George Carleton, spend those twenty years using Mara's money in their failed business schemes.

Andy's the law again.

Grant Withers wants his lawyer.

Roy with, lawyer, George Carleton.

Roy and Adele Mara.

Adele Mara has Marie Harmon as a comic sidekick. She's envious of Trigger's mane color.

Withers decides to steal Roy's cattle from a moving train to pay back the inheritance, but then decides to keep the money and steal more of Roy's cattle. How the cows disappear from a moving train is the big mystery.

There's an exciting truck chase at the end.

That can't be a wheel chair ramp in 1948?

Adele Mara made forty-four movies at Republic Studios, sometimes in small parts and sometimes getting top billing.

Adele with Marilyn Maxwell.

Full YouTube B&W NIGHT TIME IN NEVADA.

 

[Bert Greene]

Nice overview of "Nighttime!" I do indeed like Adele Mara. That same year (1948), she had a comedic supporting role in Republic's b-comedy "Campus Honeymoon." It made me wish Mara had more opportunities in comedy, as she seemed to have a flair for it. The film itself was one of those marital mixup things, with a couple of co-eds pretending to be married so as to overcome a housing shortage by the campus. It was a spotlight for the blonde twins Lyn and Lee Wilde, who'd earlier peppered a few MGM flicks in the mid-40s. I think this was their only outing for Republic (unfortunately). They were good in it too, although leading man Richard (Rocky Jones) Crane was his usual stolid self. A fairly cute film, if a bit addled. Republic was never particularly regarded as a studio with a knack for comedy, but I think I've found the vast majority of their b-comedies to be reasonably agreeable. Nothing ever stellar, but no big-time misfires either. Only exception I know of being that "The Ghost Goes Wild" (1947), with Jimmy Ellison, which did stink up the joint. But that's the only one like that I can really think of.

Marie Harmon, also of "Nighttime," did make an appearance at one of the western film festivals I went to a number years back. About twenty of us got together for a 16mm screening of a Sunset Carson western that Miss Harmon was leading lady in, and she joined in for the viewing, offering a few comments. Although, she did doze off during the screening, waking up by the film's end, and vocally expressed surprise the movie didn't put anyone else in the room to sleep. I didn't get around to asking her any questions about her time working at Republic in the 1940s, which is something I always like to do, when it comes to these industry veterans. Always regretted that. But I must have been pressed for time that day, if memory serves me.

 

[Bob Gu]

Funny Marie Harmon story, Bert!

Wilde Sisters:

Richard Crane and the cast of ROCKY JONES: SPACE RANGER. I bought the Alpha feature versions of the show. I was able to download all 39 half-hour versions of the episodes from YouTube. Don't know if they are still up.

Top to bottom, Tom Brown, Scotty Beckett, Richard Crane, and Sally Mansfield.

I downloaded "The Ghost Goes Wild" from YouTube the last time you mentioned it. I have not watched it yet.

I did watch the two Buck Jones serials I bought "The Phantom Rider" and "Gordon of Ghost City". I thought they were both fun and action packed.

When watching the actual cliffhanger ending of Chapter Three and going into Chapter Four, of "THE PHANTOM RIDER" , I noticed they used two cameras., as the wagon and two horses went off the cliff. I was concerned about the horses in the stunt. (I was not concerned about Buck and the leading lady, since they were replaced with dummies.) It looks like when the horses went over the cliff they were not in full harness and they may not have really been connected to a full length wagon tongue. When the horses, wagon, and dummies hit the water, the horses and dummies go under the water and we cut to real Buck and leading lady coming out of the water and there's a shot of two horses in full harness. I hope the two horses actually used in the stunt were OK.

Many times in movie wagon stunts, where a wagon goes off a cliff or a bridge the horses are released from the wagon and are long gone when the wagon crashes down into the water or some rocky canyon.

I like to keep things light here, but I found myself rereading about the ASPCA getting involved in protecting movie animals after the outcry over all the horses that were killed after being injured by trip-wires in "The Charge of the Light Brigade".

So back to lighter movie magic. Horses used in rear projection studio scenes were dummies, also, (I hope).

This one is not really rear projection. It's some kind backdrop rotating on giant spools.

They are still using dummy mechanical horses in movies. I was surprised to see them used outside.

Then there's this one.

Rear projection Roy or backdrop Roy?

 

[Bob Gu]

SOUTH OF SANTA FE-1942, B&W 55-56 minutes.

I have the 'dreaded' Alpha 53 minute syndicated edited version with no Republic logos on a double-feature DVD with IN OLD CHEYENNE, which is also 53 minutes.

Roy and the Sons of the Pioneers have a ranch and Gabby is the mayor and postmaster of the nearby town, which is south of Santa Fe. Linda Hayes is the owner of a closed gold mine that everyone hopes can get restarted and save the town by providing jobs and prosperity.

Linda has not been able to interest investors in coming out to see the mine.

Roy and the Pioneers decide to entice the investors to visit the area for the local 'Ride of the Vaqueros', a celebration of roughing it in the great outdoors with food and music.

Roy, Gabby, and Linda ambush the investors with a sales talk about investing in Linda's gold mine.

Since they are having a great time, the investors are not angry about this. But they tell Linda that it's hard to get government approval to mine for just gold, because of the war. After looking at the gold ore samples the investors discover that the gold ore contains high levels of tungsten, an essential need for the war effort. So the mine will reopen and everyone is happy.

Enter gangster Paul Fix and his gang. Fix decides to kidnap the investors and blame Roy and the Pioneers, for the crime. The gangsters do this by filming a pretend robbery of the investors, by the Pioneers and then showing the film to the local law.

After some posse chasing and shooting and with the help of Linda, Roy is able to save the investors and everyone else, except Gabby, from being murdered. But don't worry, Gabby saves himself!

Roy bops Paul Fix.

Paul Fix had a long acting career playing gangsters and outlaws and then transitioned to kindly old lawmen like his 'Micah' character on "The Rifleman". Hollywood lore says Fix taught his pal John Wayne his famous walk.

Paul Fix, with John Wayne, Gabby Hayes, and Raymond Hatton, in "Tall In The Saddle".

There are seven musical numbers listed at the Bob Nolan site for SOUTH OF SANTA FE and all are in the Alpha print. This includes two, a song and a jive/jitterbug dance, with the specialty act, Judy Clark and Bobby Beers.

Two minutes are still missing. Maybe parts of some of the musical numbers were trimmed? Or Gabby comedy? Or some of the chases?. I didn't notice any obvious gaps in the story. But maybe, after watching so many of these movies, I fill in any gaps myself.

Linda Hayes was in three Roy Rogers pictures released in 1942. The other two were RIDIN' DOWN THE CANYON, see Posts #195 and #196., and ROMANCE ON THE RANGE, see Post #338.

Linda Hayes, on set, with Roy and (maybe) scriptwriter James R. Webb.

53 minute syndicated YouTube- SOUTH OF SANTA FE.