''Song of Arizona'' is a 1946 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 ...

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

George "Gabby" Hayes George Francis "Gabby" Hayes (7 May 1885 – 9 February 1969) 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, c ...

. It was produced and distributed by

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 ...

Plot

Gabby Whittaker ("Gabby" Hayes) is in trouble with the bank, run by Dolly Finnuccin ( Sarah Edwards). He hasn't made a payment in seven months and owes $25,000 (equivalent to $357,794 in 2021 dollars) on a loan that's due in one week, which he took to start Half-A-Chance Ranch for homeless boys in Lodestone, Arizona. It's graduation week for boys at the ranch, and alumni Roy Rogers has stopped by with graduation presents. (Song: "When a Fellow Needs a Friend", medley with "Half a Chance Ranch"). One of the boys at the ranch is Chip Blaine, son of bank robber King Blaine (

Lyle Talbot Lyle Florenz Talbot (born Lisle Henderson, also credited Lysle Talbot; February 8, 1902 – March 2, 1996) was an American stage, screen and television actor. His career in films spanned three decades, from 1931 to 1960, and he performed on ...

), who has been sending packages to Chip. King stops by to see Chip but takes off when the sheriff shows up. Pursuing King, the sheriff mortally wounds him. King tells Gabby he owns a Kansas City garage and wants to give it to Gabby, so he can sell it and pay off the loan. He asks Roy to visit his stepdaughter Clare Summers (Evans) while he's there and give her a letter from him. Roy finds out the garage was completely destroyed in a fire and uninsured. He also locates Clare Summers at the club she sings at ("Round and Around - The Lariat Song") and after sharing a duet with Clare ("Did You Ever Get That Feeling in the Moonlight") gives her King's letter, which mentions that King has put away money for her and Chip to split. After King dies, two of his gang stop by and get Chip to meet them later. While the Pioneers sing a song ("Michael O'Leary O'Brien O'Toole"), Chip sneaks out and meets them. They claim that half the money King has been sending Chip belongs to them. When a horse is discovered missing, Gabby and Roy and his men ride to the ranch and shoot it out with the gang. Two of the gang make a break for it, using Chip as a decoy. Back at the Half-A-Chance, Clare stops by and meets Chip. When she questions him, Chip says he doesn't know about any money. Later, he looks into the packages King had been sending him and finds the money she asked about. Chip gathers up the $25,000 and secretly drops it off at Dolly Finnuccin's house, using a note that Gabby had written. The next day, the boys are preparing the barn for a party. Roy takes Chip aside and gets him to admit he paid the money. Knowing that Gabby wouldn't want to accept that 'dirty' money, Roy tells him he will think hard about how to handle it. While the party is going on the next night ("Mr. Spook Steps Out"), Dolly Finnuccin stops by with the sheriff to arrest Gabby, thinking that he paid the money, which King Blaine had stolen right from her bank. Chip confesses that he dropped off the money and Gabby is innocent. After retrieving the rest of the money from the barn to turn it in, King's old gang shows up and steals the money back and takes off. Roy and his men pursue the gang and capture them. With the reward, Dolly forgives the loan on the Half-A-Chance and gives it a makeover. Asked by Gabby to lead off a song to celebrate, Roy complies, as Clare and the boys join in ("Song of Arizona").

Cast

as Roy Rogers *

Trigger Trigger may refer to: Notable animals and people ;Mononym * Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers ;Nickname * Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist * "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster ;Surname * Bru ...

as himself - Roy's Horse *

as Gabby Whittaker *

as Clare Summers *

as King Blaine * Tommy Cook as Chip Blaine * Johnny Calkins as Clarence * Sarah Edwards as Dolly Finnuccin *

Tommy Ivo Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fi ...

as Jimmy *

Michael Chapin Michael Chapin is an American former child actor in film and television. Born in Los Angeles, he began his screen career in 1944 when he appeared in ''The Fighting Sullivans''. He continued with films such as ''It's a Wonderful Life'' and ''Un ...

as Cyclops *

Dick Curtis Richard Dye (May 11, 1902January 3, 1952), known professionally as Dick Curtis, was an American actor who made over 230 film and television appearances during his career. Early years Curtis was born in Newport, Kentucky, the son of Frank Dye ...

as Henchman Bart *

Edmund Cobb Edmund Fessenden Cobb (June 23, 1892 – August 15, 1974) was an American actor who appeared in more than 620 films between 1912 and 1966. Biography Cobb was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of William Henry Cobb and Eddie (Edmundi ...

as Sheriff Jim Clark * Tom Quinn as Henchman Tom * Noble 'Kid' Chissel as Henchman Jim *

The Robert Mitchell Boy Choir Robert Mitchell (October 12, 1912 – July 4, 2009) was an American organist and choir director whose career spanned 85 years, from 1924 to 2009. He was one of the last original silent film accompanists, having accompanied films fro ...

as Boys at ranch *

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 Ranch hand *

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 / Musicians

Soundtrack

*Roy Rogers with Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers - "Song of Arizona" (Written by John Elliott as Jack Elliott) *Roy Rogers with the Robert Mitchell Boys Choir - "When a Fellow Needs a Friend" *"Michael O'Leary O'Brien O'Toole" (Written by

Gordon Forster Gordon Alexander Forster (April 30, 1884 – July 23, 1964) was a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1921 to 1935 sitting with the United Farmers caucus in government. P ...

) *"Did You Ever Get That Feeling in the Moonlight" (Written by

Ira Schuster Ira Schuster (October 13, 1889 – October 10, 1946) was an American songwriter, who worked as a pianist at various publishing companies on Tin Pan Alley in the early 20th century. He was also known as John Siras. Biography He was born in New ...

Larry Stock Larry Stock, December 4, 1896 - April 5, 1984) was an American songwriter. Biography Born 'Lazarus Goldberger' in 1896 in New York City, the son of Adolf Goldberger and Ella Goldberger ne Ehrlich. Ella Ehrlich and her sister Bella along with their ...

and James Cavanaugh) *"Round and Around - The Lariat Song" (Written by John Elliott as Jack Elliott) *"Way Out There" (Words and Music by

) *"Will You Be My Darling" (Written by

Mary Ann Owens Mary Ann Aspinwall Owens (June 24, 1928 – November 21, 2005), of New York City, was an advocate of thematic collecting of postage stamps, such as collecting stamps showing birds, butterflies, ships, famous art, and so on. She was successful in ...

) *"Half a Chance Ranch" (Written by John Elliott as Jack Elliott) *"Mr. Spook Steps Out" (Written by John Elliott as Jack Elliott)

Release

Song of Arizona was released to US theaters in April 1946 and well-received, playing throughout the remainder of 1946. Reviews include such comments as, "...a fine western. Not top notch story telling or acting but enjoyable", "simple title conceals Republic's three-in-one plot:, a Roy Rogers musical, a sentimentally handled ranch for homeless boys, and an old bang-bang Western", "at least it tries to be fresher than the typical B-Western by trying a few wrinkles in the familiar plot line".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Song Of Arizona 1946 films 1946 Western (genre) films 1940s English-language films Republic Pictures films American black-and-white films Films directed by Frank McDonald American Western (genre) films 1940s American films