The Gay Ranchero

1948 "It's Fightin'...Gunnin' and Funnin'!"
5.9| 1h12m| en| More Info
Released: 14 January 1948 Released
Producted By: Republic Pictures
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Manzanita Springs ia a combination small airline and spa and Vance Brados wants it. He pays their mechanic to have the planes run out of fuel so his men can rob the gold shipments and kill the pilots. After Sheriff Roy Rogers catches the mechanic, Roy plans one more gold shipment to get proof and this time his men will be ready. But it looks like Roy's plan will fail when Brados suspects a trap and call off the raid.

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Reviews

Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!
Dorathen Better Late Then Never
SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
FrogGlace In other words,this film is a surreal ride.
JohnHowardReid Originally lensed in Trucolor, this otherwise complete Roy Rogers vehicle is available on a somewhat washed-out, black-and-white Mill Creek DVD, which is otherwise reasonably watchable. The story's not much and it's acted in a somewhat ham-fisted style by Andy Devine, who has too large a part for my liking, but the rest of the players are reasonably able. Some fans may feel there is far too much singing and dancing and not enough action – which is a justifiable complaint, especially as the non-action episodes – particularly all the dancing and singing – would look so much more attractive in color. The screenplay also seems to go out on a limb to provide special material not only for Andy Devine but for Tito Guizar and Estelita Rodriguez. It's true to say, however, that by director William Witney's usual high standard, the action does tend to be rather tame and far less exciting than say his later Rogers' vehicle, "Bells of Coronado" (1950), which was also written by Sloan Nibley and has some of these same plot elements.
classicsoncall The first thing to catch my attention here was the actor who was second billed, Tito Guizar as the Gay Ranchero of the title. Well I don't know if he was much of a ranchero or not, he was on hand here to convince his sweetheart Consuela Belmonte (Estelita Rodriguez) to pack it up and move back to Mexico with him. That idea gets a bit thrown off track when Consuela wins a bid to take over Betty Richards' (Jane Frazee) Manzanita Springs Airline, to the chagrin of villain Vance Brados (George Meeker) who wants the airline for himself. Brados is behind a number of plane hijackings, forcing them to land when their fuel supply and guages are tampered with, then robbing their cargo and doing away with the pilots.I had to do a double take early in the story when Roy Rogers is ambushed escorting a pair of outlaws back to Manzanita. It's pretty apparent that Roy is shot in the shoulder by one of the bad guys, but when he's rescued by Nicci Lopez (Guizar) and removes his shirt to tend to the wound there's no blood. Not even a bullet wound! I wonder why the film makers didn't notice that.Whenever I catch Roy and fellow cowboy star Gene Autry in a Mexican themed Western I find myself wishing it had been filmed in color and this was no exception. The song and dance numbers would have been a lot more delightful, what with the singers and dancers decked out in traditional costume. The title song is offered up in an English and Spanish version and Guizar gets to do a solo of his own in between tunes by Bob Nolan and his Sons of the Pioneers.Andy Devine is also on hand in the story, but isn't as prominent as in some of Roy's other films. As far as I know, it's the only time a B Western ever offered up a bullfighter versus a Bullfincher.
MartinHafer This is an odd Roy Rogers film, but he did do a lot of strange films that were an odd amalgam of the old and the new. In this case, our cowboy hero is involved with an airport and hijacked airplanes--a very, very odd venue for a western hero. And, yes, it's true, there were no airplanes in the old west. However, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry BOTH made a ton of anachronistic films--with cowboys AND telephones AND pickup trucks and the like. It's odd. So why are the planes being sabotaged? Tune in and see in this rather ordinary (aside from the locale) Rogers film. About the only standout thing is the nice non-stereotypical Hispanic leading man--something unusual for the time.
revdrcac This 1948 cowboy flick finds the King of the Cowboys helping to foil a plot to sabotage airline equipment and plunder the contents. Roy is a lawman that gets to the bottom of the hooligans shenanigans .The great Andy Devine is back in this one as "Cookie" and so are the Sons of the Pioneers. The plot, casting and action here are good and the songs are adequate. Gabby Hayes & Dale Evans are sorely missed.This was a pretty good Rogers film. The story moves at a good pace and the airplane angle was nicely incorporated. Jane Frazee was not the best choice for a female lead, but is pleasant nonetheless.An enjoyable, but standard singin' cowboy flick.