''Along the Navajo Trail'' is a 1945 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Frank McDonald and starring

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

Gabby Hayes Gabby is a given name, usually a short form of Gabriel or Gabrielle or Gabriella. Gabby or Gabbie may refer to: People with the name * Gabby Chaves (born 1993), Colombian-American racing driver * Guy Gabaldon (also "Gabby"; 1926–2006), ...

and

Dale Evans Dale Evans Rogers (born Frances Octavia Smith; October 31, 1912 – February 7, 2001) was an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She was the third wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers. Early life Evans was born Frances Octavia Smith on Oc ...

. The film's story was based on a William Colt MacDonald novel. The film marked the debut of the

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

actress

Estelita Rodriguez Estelita Rodriguez (July 2, 1928 – March 12, 1966) was a Cuban actress best known for her roles in many Westerns with Roy Rogers for Republic Pictures, as well as her role in Howard Hawks' '' Rio Bravo''. Early life and career Rodriguez's ...

, who

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

then began to build up into a star. Its

title song A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

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. The film was part of the long-running series of Roy Rogers films produced by the studio.Hurst, p. 232.

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. 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 The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

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 A bunkhouse is a barracks-like building that historically was used to house working cowboys on ranches, or loggers in a logging camp in North America. As most cowboys were young single men, the standard bunkhouse was a large open room with narro ...

. Lorrie's father has been shot in the arm by the bad guys who are after his ranch. A

range war A range war or range conflict is a type of usually violent conflict, most commonly in the 19th and early 20th centuries in the American West. The subject of these conflicts was control of "open range", or range land freely used for cattle grazing, ...

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.

Main cast

as Himself (this character was named Jinglebob Jenkins in the book) *

Trigger (horse) Trigger (July 4, 1934 – July 3, 1965) was a palomino horse made famous in American Western films with his owner and rider, cowboy star Roy Rogers. Pedigree The original Trigger, named Golden Cloud, was born in San Diego, California. Though o ...

as Himself (an unnamed roan in the book) *

as Gabby Whittaker (named Tarp Jones in the book) *

as Lorry Alastair (same as in the book) *

as Narita (this character is not in the book) *

Douglas Fowley Douglas Fowley (born Daniel Vincent Fowley, May 30, 1911 – May 21, 1998) was an American movie and television actor in more than 240 films and dozens of television programs, He is probably best remembered for his role as the frustrated m ...

as J. Richard Bentley (Dave Scarab in the book) *

Nestor Paiva Nestor Paiva (June 30, 1905 – September 9, 1966) was an American actor of Portuguese descent. He is most famous for his recurring role of Teo Gonzales the innkeeper in Walt Disney's Spanish Western series ''Zorro'' and its feature film ''The ...

as Janza (this character is not in the book) *

Sam Flint Sam Flint (born Samuel A. Ethridge; October 19, 1882 – October 17, 1980) was an American actor. Flint appeared in more than 230 films, often as a "judge, lawyer, military officer, senator, sheriff, chief of police, or doctor." Flint was ...

as Breck Alastair (same as in the book) *

Emmett Vogan Charles Emmett Vogan (September 27, 1893 – October 6, 1969) was an American actor with almost 500 film appearances from 1934 to 1954, making him, along with Bess Flowers, one of the most prolific film actors of all time. In 1913, Vogan ...

as Roger Jerrold (D. C. Jerrold in the book) *

Roy Barcroft Roy Barcroft (born Howard Harold Ravenscroft; September 7, 1902 – November 28, 1969) 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 R ...

as Rusty Channing (Gus Rayner in the book) *

David Cota David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

as Lani (this character is not in the book) *

Ed Cassidy Edward Claude Cassidy (May 4, 1923 – December 6, 2012) was an American jazz and rock drummer who was one of the founders of the rock group Spirit in 1967. Biography Ed Cassidy was born in Harvey, Illinois, a south suburb of Chicago on May 4, ...

as Sheriff Clem Wagner (same as in the book)

References

Bibliography

* Hurst, Richard M. ''Republic Studios: Beyond Poverty Row and the Majors''. Scarecrow Press, 2007.

External links

* {{Frank McDonald 1945 films 1945 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Frank McDonald Republic Pictures films 1940s American films