Sandwiched in between the numerous musical numbers, the Gabby Whittaker and Madden rodeo's are competing for bookings. When Gabby gets a date in Albuquerque, Madden has his man destroy his equipment. Roy finds a broken rawhide rope at the scene and uses it to bring Madden to justice. Rival rodeos are operated by good guy Gabby and bad guy Richard Powers. Dale is trying to choose between them, aided ultimately by Roy and the Sons of the Pioneers (who are radio singers). "Lights of Old Santa Fe" presents Roy Rogers and Dale Evans in a modern Western setting with a host of musical numbers and rodeo intrigue in the forefront. Dale's character Marjorie Brooks owns the Brooks International Rodeo, although with only one major booking, the business is on the brink of financial ruin. As unscrupulous rival Frank Madden attempts to take over the rodeo and marry Marjorie to seal the deal, it's up to Roy and Gabby Whittaker (Gabby Hayes) to uncover the scheme and give the Brooks name credibility once again.<br/><br/>Roy and Dale make a wonderful couple on screen and their charm and charisma are evident in the songs they do together, including the title song. Then there's a double dose of an uncharacteristic tune for a Western named "The Cowpoke Polka". But don't ask Gabby to take in a ballet as he's invited to do in the early part of the film - "I'd just as soon slide down a razor blade"!<br/><br/>Trigger gets top billing in the film as "The Smartest Horse in the Movies", but he doesn't have much to do here, although he does warn Roy and the Pioneers of trouble in camp when he breaks away from a Madden henchman named Ferguson (Roy Barcroft). The rawhide lariat that Trigger snaps proves to be the undoing of the whole rodeo scheme when Roy traces it's ownership back to Ferguson and his employer.<br/><br/>Roy and Dale first appeared in a film together in "The Cowboy and the Senorita" in 1944, followed soon after by this one. In all, they performed together in easily two dozen films, along with their hit TV series in the early 1950's. For anyone interested in a film representative of their engaging warmth and charm, "Lights of Old Santa Fe" is a good start. What a pleasant surprise it is to see a Roy Rogers movie in its original length, and such a beautiful copy it is too – at least in the "20 Wild Western Movies" collection. Actually, that's a rather odd collection in which to find this entry as it is a musical western from the 1940s and has very little in common with the other nine movies on this particular disc. I'm not complaining, but the people who thrill to "Red Blood, Yellow Gold" and "There's a Noose Waiting For You, Trinity" are going to wonder what "Lights of Old Santa Fe" possibly holds in common with its companions, especially as it is a contemporary 1944 western and has nothing much to do with Santa Fe, young or old, even if that city is "the seat of old world charm in the Wild West." Yes, this movie has charm too, and that adjective certainly does not apply to the other nine movies on this particular disc. And yes, I enjoyed the movie despite the fact that I'm not a fan of George Hayes in his "Gabby" mode and that the emphasis is on song, comedy and romance in that descending order. In fact, "Trigger" provides more action here than Roy or the not- really-so-villainous "bad" guy. But Dale Evans is at her best, and Roy is tolerable. The direction by Frank McDonald rates a reasonably competent score, even though the movie was obviously shot in haste, but it's beautifully photographed all the same by Reggie Lanning. Best performance comes from Lloyd Corrigan as an inept radio broadcaster.
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