Along the Navajo Trail (film)

Last updated

Along the Navajo Trail
Roy Rogers in 'Along The Navajo Trail', 1945.jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed by Frank McDonald
Written by William Colt MacDonald (novel)
Gerald Geraghty
Produced by Edward J. White
Starring Roy Rogers
Gabby Hayes
Dale Evans
Estelita Rodriguez
Cinematography William Bradford
Edited by Tony Martinelli
Music by Mort Glickman
Production
company
Distributed byRepublic Pictures
Release date
  • September 15, 1945 (1945-09-15)
Running time
66 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Along the Navajo Trail is a 1945 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Roy Rogers, Gabby Hayes and Dale Evans. The film's story was based on a William Colt MacDonald novel. The film marked the debut of the Cuban actress Estelita Rodriguez, who Republic Pictures then began to build up into a star. Its title song is Along the Navajo Trail , an instrumental version of which appears with the opening credits, with a brief vocal version during the last twenty seconds of the film. The first few bars of the song are used as background music in several chase scenes. [1]

Contents

The film was part of the long-running series of Roy Rogers films produced by the studio. [2]

Plot

Deputy U.S. Marshal Roy Rogers poses as a wandering poet, finding and defeating a group of bad guys who, for reasons they keep to themselves, are trying to oust a girl and her father from their ranch. [3] As the plot develops, it is revealed that they want the ranch so they can sell it to a company that wants to run an oil pipeline through a mountain pass at the edge of the property.

Roy comes to the town of Padre Wells, leaving his guns at his squatter's camp on the Ladder-A ranch. He gets into a fistfight with Rusty Channing, a cowboy from the Bridle-Bit ranch who is harassing a gypsy girl and her boyfriend. After defeating Channing, Bridle-Bit owner J. Richard Bentley advises Roy to bring his guns the next time he shows up. Roy returns to the Ladder-A, where he forms a relationship with the owner's daughter Lorrie Alastair, and moves into the bunkhouse. Lorrie's father has been shot in the arm by the bad guys who are after his ranch. A range war ensues, with Roy, the Ladder-A group and the gypsies on one side, and the Bridle-Bit gang and bad guys from the Santa Fe Oil Company on the other. The gypsy girl briefly has a crush on Roy, but his heart belongs to Lorrie. Ultimately there is a showdown at the Bridle-Bit, with the bad guys having the upper hand until the gypsies race in and save the day. Roy and Lorrie openly fall in love and live happily ever after. [4]

Main cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Rogers</span> American singer and actor (1911–1998)

Roy Rogers, nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and rodeo performer.

The Sons of the Pioneers are one of the United States' earliest Western singing groups. Known for their vocal performances, their musicianship, and their songwriting, they produced innovative recordings that have inspired many Western music performers and remained popular through the years. Since 1933, through many changes in membership, the Sons of the Pioneers have remained one of the longest-surviving country music vocal groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dale Evans</span> American actress, singer and writer

Dale Evans Rogers was an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She was the second wife of singing cowboy film star Roy Rogers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George "Gabby" Hayes</span> American actor (1885–1969)

George Francis "Gabby" Hayes was an American actor. He began as something of a leading man and a character player, but he was best known for his numerous appearances in B-Western film series as the bewhiskered, cantankerous, but ever-loyal and brave comic sidekick of the cowboy stars Roy Rogers and John Wayne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trigger (horse)</span> Movie horse (1934–1965)

Trigger was a 15.3 hands palomino horse made famous in American Western films with his owner and rider, cowboy star Roy Rogers.

<i>Dark Command</i> 1940 film by Raoul Walsh

Dark Command is a 1940 Crime western film starring Claire Trevor, John Wayne and Walter Pidgeon loosely based on Quantrill's Raiders during the American Civil War. Directed by Raoul Walsh from the novel by W. R. Burnett, Dark Command is the only film in which western icons John Wayne and Roy Rogers appear together, and was the only film Wayne and Raoul Walsh made together since Walsh discovered Wayne working as a prop mover, renamed him, and gave him his first leading role in the epic widescreen Western The Big Trail a decade before.

<i>The Roy Rogers Show</i> Television series

The Roy Rogers Show is an American Western television series starring Roy Rogers. 100 episodes were broadcast on NBC for six seasons between December 30, 1951, and June 9, 1957. The episodes were set in the prevailing times (1950s) in the style of a neo-Western, rather than the Old West. Various episodes are known to be in the public domain today, being featured in low-budget cable television channels and home video.

<i>In Old Santa Fe</i> 1934 film by David Howard, Joseph Kane

In Old Santa Fe is a 1934 American Western film directed by David Howard, starring Ken Maynard, George "Gabby" Hayes and Evalyn Knapp and featuring the first screen appearance of Gene Autry, singing a bluegrass rendition of "Wyoming Waltz" accompanied by his own acoustic guitar with Smiley Burnette on accordion. Autry and Burnette were uncredited, but the scene served as a screen test for the duo for subsequent singing cowboy films, beginning with The Phantom Empire (1935), in which Autry had his first leading role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Barcroft</span> American actor (1902–1969)

Roy Barcroft was an American character actor famous for playing villains in B-Westerns and other genres. From 1937 to 1957, he appeared in more than 300 films for Republic Pictures. Film critic Leonard Maltin acclaimed Barcroft as "Republic Pictures' number one bad guy".

Pierce W. Lyden was an American actor best known for his work in television and film Westerns.

<i>The Three Mesquiteers</i> American film series

The Three Mesquiteers is the umbrella title for a Republic Pictures series of 51 American Western B-movies released between 1936 and 1943. The films, featuring a trio of Old West adventurers, was based on a series of Western novels by William Colt MacDonald. The eponymous trio, with occasional variations, were called Stony Brooke, Tucson Smith and Lullaby Joslin. John Wayne, who played Stony Brooke in eight of the films in 1938 and 1939, was the best-known actor in the series. Other leads included Bob Livingston, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, Max Terhune, Bob Steele, Rufe Davis and Tom Tyler.

Lee Roberts was a film actor during the Hollywood Golden Age. Sometimes he is credited as Robert Allen or Lee J. Roberts.

Heart of the Golden West is a 1942 American Western film starring Roy Rogers.

<i>Bells of Rosarita</i> 1945 film by Frank McDonald

Bells of Rosarita is a 1945 American musical Western film starring Roy Rogers and directed by Frank McDonald.

<i>My Pal Trigger</i> 1946 film

My Pal Trigger is a 1946 American Western musical film directed by Frank McDonald. The screenplay by Jack Townley and John K. Butler was based upon a story by Paul Gangelin. The film stars Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, George “Gabby” Hayes, Jack Holt, and Trigger in a story about the origin of Rogers' mount, and their deep and faithful bond. The film features several musical numbers for Rogers, Evans, and Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers.

<i>Twilight in the Sierras</i> 1950 film

Twilight in the Sierras is a 1950 American Trucolor Western film directed by William Witney and starring Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger, along with Dale Evans, Estelita Rodriguez, and Pat Brady.

Frank BurgessMcDonald was an American film and television director, active from 1935 to 1966. He directed more than 100 films, including many Westerns starring Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, and numerous TV show episodes. He is interred at Conejo Mountain Memorial Park in Camarillo, California.

<i>Dont Fence Me In</i> (film) 1945 film by John English

Don't Fence Me In is a 1945 American black-and-white Western film directed by John English and starring the "King of the Cowboys" Roy Rogers and his palomino Trigger, promoted in the production's opening credits and on theater posters as "The Smartest Horse in the Movies". Also featured in the film are Roy's sidekick George "Gabby" Hayes and Rogers' future wife Dale Evans. Produced and distributed by Republic Pictures, Don't Fence Me In is part of a long-running series of singing-cowboy films released by that company to showcase Rogers' musical talents and equestrian skills, as well as Trigger's abilities at performing impressive stunts and tricks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Mapes</span> American actor (1901-1984)

Ted Mapes was an American character actor, who was also a prolific stuntman and body double. Born on November 25, 1901, in St. Edward, Nebraska, he moved to Los Angeles in his mid-20s, and entered the film industry in 1929, first as a grip, and then as a stuntman and actor. He doubled for many famous actors, including Jimmy Stewart and Gary Cooper. His film and television career spanned forty years, during which time he appeared in hundreds of films and television shows, either as an actor, stuntman or body double. After his career in front of the camera ended in 1969, Mapes became an advocate for animal safety in films, working as an observer on sets for the American Humane Association.

Al Martin was an American screenwriter and TV writer known for his work on B-movies across a wide range of genres.

References

  1. "Along the Navajo Trail". 1945. Retrieved September 21, 2014. 0:58 YouTube version of the 0:66 film
  2. Hurst, p. 232.
  3. "Sleepy Horse Range, by William Colt MacDonald". Kirkus Review. Kirkus Reviews. February 18, 1938. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  4. MacDonald, William Colt (1938). Fighting Kid from Eldorado (Sleepy Horse Range) (Avon 678 ed.). New York: Avon Publications, Inc.

Bibliography