The Gay Ranchero
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
William Witney
Roy Rogers
Trigger
Tito Guízar
Jane Frazee
Andy Devine
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After a cargo of gold is hijacked from a stagecoach, Sheriff Roy Rogers captures two of the thieves, Slim and Roberts, and escorts them toward nearby Manzanita Springs. On the way, when Roy becomes distracted by a plane flying overhead, Slim grabs his gun, shoots him in the shoulder and kills Roberts before riding away. The plane's pilot, Nicci Lopez, lands the craft and offers to fly Roy to the airport. Meanwhile, airline owner Betty Richards tells businessman Vance Brados that she does not want to sell her airport or spa to him. When Nicci brings Roy in, Betty calls the doctor and, along with employees Cookie Bullfincher and Tex, asks Roy whether he found their pilot, Sid, who has been missing since his plane was hijacked and its shipment of gold stolen. After Roy, who is a friend of Sid's and has been keeping an eye out for him as he tracks the gold theives, tells them he has not found Sid, Nicci discovers from Cookie that his girl friend, headstrong heiress Consuela Belmonte, has arrived at the spa with her pet monkey Nacho. Consuela's father has asked Nicci to bring her home, but when Nicci tracks her to the spa, she denounces him as a coward for having given up his bullfighting job. Meanwhile, Slim tells his bosses, Brados and Mike Ritter, that he has stolen the gold for them and killed Sid. They show him pilfered flight plans for the gold run Tex and Betty are going to fly the next day, and plot to have Betty's technician Breezy jimmy the fuel gauge so the plane will run out of gas unexpectedly and their men can ambush it. The next day, Roy reads the personnel records of everyone connected with the airport and forms a suspicion about Breezy. He races out to meet Tex and Betty on their gold run, arriving just as Tex and Betty, having run out of gas and landed in a meadow, are attacked by Slim and his men, who steal the gold. Slim kills Tex when the pilot tries to fight, then, seeing Roy, grabs Betty as a hostage and gallops off. Roy chases them and saves Betty, but Slim flees. Later, as they are fixing the airplane, Roy tells Betty that the bank has refused her more credit, and she will have to place her business up for auction. The next day, when both Consuela and Brados bid for the airport and spa, Roy pretends that Consuela's bid is higher. To celebrate her purchase, she throws a party, at which Nicci is to fight a bull. Brados and Ritter secretly enrage the bull, and Nicci barely escapes with his life. Roy, suspecting Brados, plans to trap him by claiming that another gold run will be made the next day. Brados deduces Roy's trick, but the unsuspecting Ritter hires Slim to beat up Brados so the two men can hijack the plane and keep the money for themselves. The trap works, and as the outlaws try to run away, Cookie, Nicci, Consuela and Nacho help Roy catch them by pursuing them in their plane and throwing dynamite at them. While Roy shoots Ritter in the arm, Betty shoots down Slim. Roy then arrests the whole gang, and Consuela applauds Nicci's courage.
Director
William Witney
Cast
Roy Rogers
Trigger
Tito Guízar
Jane Frazee
Andy Devine
Estelita Rodríguez
George Meeker
Leroy Mason
Dennis Moore
Keith Richards
Betty Gagnon
Robert Rose
Ken Terrell
Bob Nolan
Crew
Joe Dill
Steve Drumm
Juan José Espinosa
Ray Gilbert
Harry Glick
Helen Hansard
Jack Herzberg
Frank Hotaling
Jack Lacey
Garrett Lambert
Jimmy Lambert
Augustín Lara
Francia Luban
Howard Lydecker
Theodore Lydecker
Mickey Marigold
Bob Mark
Jack Marta
Tony Martinelli
John Mccarthy Jr.
Sloan Nibley
Herbert Norsch
Joe Novak
Dave Olson
Adele Palmer
Morton Scott
Tim Spencer
Abe Tuvim
Edward J. White
Film Details
Technical Specs
