''San Fernando Valley'' is a 1944 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 John English 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 ...

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 ...

and

Jean Porter Bennie Jean Porter (December 8, 1922 – January 13, 2018) was an American film and television actress. She was notable for her roles in '' The Youngest Profession'' (1943), '' Bathing Beauty'' (1944), '' Abbott and Costello in Hollywood'' (194 ...

. The film was part of the long-running series of Roy Rogers films produced by Republic Pictures. It was filmed at Deerwood Stock Farm (Kentucky Park Farms) and Hidden Valley in

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tr ...

, with some car chase scenes filmed at nearby Iverson Ranch in the

Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, of southern California, United States. Geography The Simi Hills are aligned east-west and run for , and average aro ...

Plot

Rancher Cyclone Kenyon lives with his two granddaughters - Dale, a responsible adult who practically runs things; and Betty Lou, a boy-crazy

bobbysoxer Bobby soxer may refer to: * Bobby Soxer (singer), Burmese singer and actress * Bobby soxer (music), fan of 1940s traditional pop music * The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, 1947 American comedy * Bobby Sox Idol Bobby Sox Idol is a calypso song b ...

. Unfortunately, the ranch-hands would rather make music with Betty Lou than punch cattle, so Cyclone lets them go. Not that this improves things, because now there's the matter of replacing them. Dale does so—by hiring female ranch-hands. The women prove capable and lively, and all is well, notwithstanding Betty Lou who now has no one to flirt with—that is, until Roy and his sidekick Keno show up, begging for jobs. Cyclone hires them as cooks, which results in amateur-chef Roy giving everyone a case of Montezuma's Revenge. So that pretty much takes care of that. But soon Roy is in everyone's good stead, proving his worth as a two-fisted, cattle-ropin', ballad-singin' genius. Naturally, Betty Lou goes gaga, but it's Dale who falls in love. A subplot is thrown in involving a foreman who skulks around the countryside, bilking people out of their money. At one point, he manages to steal every horse on Cyclone's ranch. But Trigger gallops to the rescue, hooves flying, trampling the thief. The stolen horses are retrieved and Cyclone agrees to hire back the male ranch-hands he fired, but only after pairing them off with one female ranch-hand each: otherwise, that oversexed vixen Betty Lou would never leave them alone.

Cast

as himself *

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 ...

as himself *

as Dale Kenyon *

as Betty Lou Kenyon *

Andrew Tombes Andrew Tombes (29 June 1885 – 17 March 1976) was an American comedian and character actor. Biography The son of a grocer, originally from Ashtabula, Ohio, Tombes was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy. Early in his career, he worked as a v ...

as Cyclone Kenyon * Charles Smith as Oliver Griffith *

Edward Gargan Edward Gargan (July 17, 1902 – February 19, 1964) was an American film and television actor. Career He was born of Irish parents in Brooklyn, New York. He was the elder brother of actor William Gargan. As soon as he had left college, he wen ...

as Keno *

Dot Farley Dorothea "Dot" Farley (February 6, 1881 – May 2, 1971) was an American film actress who appeared in 280 motion pictures between 1910 and 1950. She was also known as Dorothy Farley. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dorothea Farley was t ...

as Hattie O'Toole *

LeRoy Mason LeRoy Franklin Mason (July 2, 1903 – October 13, 1947) was an American film actor who worked primarily in Westerns in both the silent and sound film eras. Mason was born in Larimore, North Dakota on July 2, 1903. Career 1920s Mason's fi ...

as Matt * Vernon and Draper as Dance Act * Morrell Trio as Skating Act *

Bob Nolan Bob Nolan (born Clarence Robert Nobles; April 13, 1908 – June 16, 1980, name changed to Robert Clarence Nobles in 1929) was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers, and compo ...

as Bob *

Sons of the Pioneers 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 perf ...

as Ranch Hands *

Doodles Weaver Winstead Sheffield Glenndenning Dixon "Doodles" Weaver (May 11, 1911 – January 17, 1983) was an American character actor, comedian, and musician. Born into a wealthy West Coast family, Weaver began his career in radio. In the late 1930s, he p ...

as Hot-Dog Vendor

References

Bibliography

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

External links

* 1944 films 1944 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Films directed by John English Films set in the San Fernando Valley Films shot in Ventura County, California Republic Pictures films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{1940s-Western-film-stub