Heldorado
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
William Witney
Roy Rogers
Trigger
George "gabby" Hayes
Dale Evans
Paul Harvey
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
As Las Vegas, Nevada, prepares for the Helldorado frontier days festivities, socialite Carol Randall arrives in town for a vacation and greets penniless playboy Alex Baxter in the lobby of the Last Frontier dude ranch. Carol also meets ranger Roy Rogers when he mistakes her for a hat check girl. Soon after, Gabby Hayes, one of the festival's organizers, arrives to convene a meeting of the Helldorado committee and to appoint Carol as honorary deputy sheriff and queen of the festivities. When Alex nonchalantly gambles away a $1,000 bill at the gaming table, Sheriff Glenn becomes suspicious and discovers that Alex's bill was part of a cache of black market money that is being laundered at the casinos. The sheriff then enlists Roy to help investigate Alex's involvement in the laundering scheme. To allow Roy time to search Alex's room, the sheriff takes Alex to his office for questioning. Noticing Roy heading toward Alex's room, one of the money-laundering gang breaks into the room ahead of Roy and absconds with the cash. When the man jumps on one of Carol's horses, Roy follows in hot pursuit. Upset that one of her animals has been stolen, Carol chases after them, and when she falls off her steed, Roy stops to help her and loses his quarry. Annoyed by Roy's interference, J. W. Driscoll, the head of the money-laundering syndicate, instructs one of his thugs to assassinate Roy during the Helldorado parade. As the man trains his pistol at Roy, a little girl bumps into his arm, causing the gun to misfire. The assassin, disguised by a heavy beard, then disappears into the crowd. Disturbed by Alex's lavish spending and visibility with the law, Driscoll orders him to leave town, and when he refuses, plots his demise. During the Helldorado rodeo, a cowboy asks Carol to notify Roy that Alex's lifeless body has been discovered at Boulder Dam. Taking her job as deputy sheriff seriously, Carol decides to investigate for herself. When Roy learns of the murder, he hurries to the dam and orders all tire tracks found in the vicinity to be photographed. Finding four tickets to the carnival in Alex's wallet, Roy hurries there to compare the photographs against the vehicles parked in the lot. After Carol locates the car, Roy and she watch as its driver climbs in and drives away. Noting Driscoll's sudden interest in his activities, Roy begins to suspect that he may be involved in Alec's murder. Later, at the casino, Roy notices the car's driver hand over a newspaper to one of the dealers. When Roy questions the dealer, he finds several $1,000 bills hidden inside and turns the man over to the sheriff. Scheming to eliminate Roy for good, Driscoll instructs his henchmen to ambush him during the treasure hunt event. When Driscoll's thugs join the treasure hunt, Roy follows and rides out of town. Soon after, Driscoll receives a message notifying him that a package has arrived for him at the Desert Spring railroad station. Carol knocks the message from Driscoll's hand, and after reading its contents, sends Gabby to summon Roy while she speeds to the station. The station agent refuses to cooperate, however, so Carol slips into the storage room and rips the tags off Driscoll's package. Soon after, Driscoll and his thugs arrive, knock the agent unconscious and lock Carol in a refrigerator. Gabby reaches Roy just as he lassos his ambushers and Roy sends him to fetch his friends, the Sons of the Pioneers, for reinforcements. The Pioneers, enthralled by the treasure hunt, refuse to listen to Gabby, however, and so he alters a clue to direct them to the railroad station. Upon reaching the station, Roy gets the drop on the gang and frees Carol. One of the thugs grabs Roy's leg and knocks him off balance, and a fight ensues, during which Driscoll escapes with the money. Just then, the Pioneers arrive to arrest the lawbreakers. When Roy goes to search for Driscoll, he discovers that Gabby has knocked him unconscious and retrieved the money.
Director
William Witney
Cast
Roy Rogers
Trigger
George "gabby" Hayes
Dale Evans
Paul Harvey
Barry Mitchell
John Bagni
John Phillips
James Taggart
Rex Lease
Steve Darrell
Doye O'dell
Leroy Mason
Charles Williams
Eddie Acuff
Bob Nolan
Vic Potel
Eddie Kane
George Chandler
Virginia Carroll
Emmett Vogan
Clayton Moore
Keith Richards
George "shug" Fisher
Joaquin Bascou
Jack Sparks
Walter Lawrence
Phil Arnold
Sam Ash
Frank Henry
Tex Terry
Crew
William Bradford
Dale Butts
Gano Chittenden
Denver Darling
Jack Elliott
Gerald Geraghty
Leonard Kunody
Howard Lydecker
Theodore Lydecker
Bob Mark
Tony Martinelli
John Mccarthy Jr.
Bob Nolan
Les Orlebeck
Adele Palmer
Ferrol Redd
Roy Rogers
Morton Scott
Edward J. White
Earl Wooden
Julian Zimet
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Though the title of the movie in the opening credits is "Heldorado," signs all through the movie say "Helldorado". This was clearly an effort to avoid displaying the world "Hell" on the marquee.
Notes
Although the name of the actual Las Vegas festival is "Helldorado," the film's title card reads "Heldorado." According to an August 1945 Hollywood Reporter news item, John English was originally to direct the project from an idea by Gene Bascau. Bascau's contribution to the final film, if any, has not been determined. Hollywood Reporter production charts indicate that the film did not go into production until mid-July 1946, but several March 1946 Hollywood Reporter news items stated that the film would go into production in late April and that the cast and crew would move to Las Vegas in mid-May to take advantage of the annual Helldorado celebration. A viewing of the film suggests that background shots were filmed in Las Vegas and Roy Rogers and Dale Evans May have appeared in the rodeo there.
