Song of Arizona (1946) User Reviews

Gabby's Home For Wayward Boys

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 5 September 2007]

In Song of Arizona Gabby Hayes runs a ranch for wayward boys with the same underlying premise that Spencer Tracy operated Boys Town with, that there's no such thing as a bad boy. Not even Tommy Cook who's the son of notorious outlaw Lyle Talbot. It seems that Talbot had deposited Tommy with Gabby and resumed his outlaw ways.

Not even the most successful of Gabby's graduates, western radio singer Roy Rogers, can deal with Tommy. In fact Lyle never even told Tommy about an older sister he has who's played by Dale Evans. How the two never knew each other might lead to some interesting speculation about Lyle's love life that the Saturday kiddie matinée crowd wasn't ready for.

Gabby's got a big debt to pay a $25,000.00 loan on the ranch that's due. But he's sitting on some treasure because Tommy's got all of his father's stolen loot that Talbot's been sending him bit by bit. Of course after Talbot's been killed by a posse, his henchmen led by perennial western villain Dick Curtis naturally want the money themselves.

It's a tangled mess, but Roy Rogers solves all the problems, financial, emotional, and romantic by the final reel.

Song of Arizona although I saw a really horrible VHS tape of it has some nice western songs in it. In fact during a Halloween type number, Gabby Hayes got to show off some of his old vaudeville shtick from when he was young. That is if you can ever believe Gabby was young.

The Robert Mitchell Boys Choir played the ranch kids and in fact they were the wayward kids that Bing Crosby turned into a choir of little angels in Going My Way. Just a change of setting in this film from urban to rural.

It's not a bad story actually, a bit better than a lot of Roy's films if you discount the G rated silliness in the plot situation.

It's alright.

[lisitsincaleb-48122 · 6/10 · 21 May 2019]

It's a fine western. Not top notch story telling or acting but enjoyable.

"Every boy's entitled to half a chance."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 21 December 2011]

Other reviewers on this board have noted the picture's similarity to Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney's 1938 film "Boys Town". I had the thought quite independently myself as the story unfolded, which introduced Gabby Hayes as the 'best friend a homeless boy ever had'. He's the proprietor of the Half a Chance Ranch, taking in troubled youngsters and providing a safe environment in which they can grow up and be productive. Gabby's most famous graduate happens to be Roy Rogers, understatedly described as 'the guy who sings on the radio'. Roy's returning to the ranch to lend his support and winds up solving a bank robbery that involves one of Gabby's troubled kids, the son of the outlaw the local sheriff is after.

I have to say, Dale Evans spices things up quite a bit here as a night club singer at the Golden Spur who's the step daughter of outlaw King Blaine (Lyle Talbot) and the unknown sister of Chip Blaine (Tommy Ivo). She's not an actress that immediately comes to mind when considering the term sexy, but she's got all the right stuff here to turn Roy's head. They weren't married yet at the time of this movie, but there's no denying they made an attractive screen couple. Dale also proves to be quite the singer in this story with a few entertaining numbers on her own and in duet with Roy. She really had quite a pleasant singing voice.

With all the song and dance, there's not a lot of room for your standard Western action. The finale involves a chase on horseback somewhat obscured in darkness on the print I viewed, but Roy gets the bad guys to be sure with the help of Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. With the money recovered from the local bank, tough old bird Dolly Finnucin (Sarah Edwards) softens up just enough to invite Gabby over to dinner to show her appreciation. Considering the potential romantic entanglements for Roy and Gabby, one wonders if either of them could have come out of the picture with even half a chance.

Gabby owns a boys' ranch. What a life for a kid!

[stevehaynie · 5 March 2004]

Song of Arizona was made when Roy Rogers career was in full swing. Gabby Whitaker has a ranch for boys in need of a home, and every one of them is wearing his own cowboy outfit complete with chaps. Every boy had to dream of livng on a ranch with Gabby Hayes and Roy Rogers, and here it was on film! The movie centers around a boy named Chip, played by Tommy Cook. Every time he speaks I keep recognizing his voice from his work on the old time radio shows like Blondie. One of the things that set his movies apart from others was the polished look of the musical productions. Dale wears beautiful outfits and her singing is top notch in this one. Her songs are more pop-oriented than western style. The Sons of the Pioneers line-up is a little different in this one, too. Apparently this was filmed before Lloyd Perryman and Pat Brady returned from military service. Instead we have Ken Carson and Shug Fisher. Oddly, Hugh Farr was missing from the Pioneers for this film. Lyle Talbot may have been cast as the main villain, but Dick Curtis is the true bad guy in this one. I really enjoyed this movie.

Rogers' worst?

[winner55 · 3/10 · 31 January 2009]

I can't agree with a previous reviewer who wrote that the story here is better than most Rogers films of the period; in fact there's almost no story here at all. Most Rogers films are breezy entertainment with not much meat on the bones, but them's sometimes pretty bones, to be sure; meaning that often we get the skeleton of the story without having to look for any depth, but the action, the music, the general sense of good natured fun makes the typical Rogers film an easy way top blow an hour or so without regret.

But this film is a mess. One give-away to this is Dale Evans. Her character is introduced to sing a song, disappears, reappears to try to plug a plot hole, and then pretty much disappears until the end. She has little to do but wring her hands and look concerned.

The basic plot - an outlaw wants to leave his stolen money to the orphanage/ranch taking care of his son - never amounts to much. There's no strain to finding the loot, a couple bad guys chase around after it, daddy dies and son is redeemed, and along the way a couple songs get sung. But there's never any tension or suspense, and Rogers, who should appear in command of the material, looks lost, like the director skipped out when the filming began or something. Gabby Hayes is his typical self, but since he's trying to play Pat Obrien in "Boy's Town," there's nothing much for him to do, since that sort of thing isn't in keeping with his usual schtick. The Sons of the Pioneers appear briefly, singing a song of course, but for no other reason - usually they also double as Rogers' ranch-hand gang of friends, here they too disappear.

All in all, the worst I've seen Rogers in - not unwatchable, but little else you can say for it.

This film starts with about everything you might want but ends up being talky kids' stuff.

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 21 September 2011]

I've watched quite a few Roy Rogers films recently and was surprised that his eventual wife, Dale Evans, was not in his early films. Also, quite a few had different sidekicks such as Smiley Burnett or Raymond Hatton. I wanted to see Dale and Gabby Hayes--the folks who are most associated with a Rogers film. Gabby did 45 films with Roy and Dale co-starred in just about all of them once she married Roy. Well, finally, I found "Song of Arizona"--a Rogers film that seems to have it all.

In "Song of Arizona", the myth of Roy Rogers is complete. Gabby runs a kids ranch for orphans and underprivileged kids (that's kind of creepy now that you think of it) and Roy is a legendary hero that kids emulate.

The story involves a crook, 'King' Blaine (Lyle Talbot) and he plays about the most stereotypical baddie in history. When he comes to the ranch to see the son he abandoned, it's amazingly funny to hear Talbot talking to the boy. It seems that he'd left a package with the kid and the package contained stolen money. When the Sheriff shows up looking for Blaine, inexplicably, Roy lies about the guy and misdirects him. Not much of a hero, is he?! However, you know that Roy knows everything and by the end he'll have worked wonders--sort of like a western social worker. Blaine is soon shot by the posse and Roy and Gabby witness his dying moments--when he wills the ranch a piece of property and divulges that the boy has a sister out there somewhere. Well, it turns out that the garage on the property has burned down, but the trip isn't for naught--Roy meets Dale and, not surprisingly, they fall in love and sing a few numbers. And, it turns out that Dale was the dead man's step-daughter--Chip's sister.

Some time later, Blaine's old 'friends' show up and take the boy captive--as they want the loot. So naturally it's up to Roy to save the day and Gabby's ranch.

Overall, I must say that despite a great cast, the film itself is low on action, high on talk and is geared strictly for kids. There really isn't any zip to this one--just lots of sweet kids and non-violence. Booorrriiinnggg!!

Mild Roy Rogers

[FightingWesterner · 5/10 · 8 June 2010]

Roy Rogers attempts to to help save Gabby Hayes' ranch for wayward boys from foreclosure, when one of Gabby's wards is targeted by the partners of outlaw Lyle Talbot, the boy's deceased father.

This one's a little sappy, even for a Saturday matinée western, though impossible to entirely dislike. Roy, Gabby, Dale Evans, Bob Nolan, and The Sons Of The Pioneers are all still fun to watch, while some of the kid actors give pretty decent performances.

There isn't much to recommend in the way of action or gun-play, but there's a few decent songs, including a neat Halloween song and dance number from Roy, Dale, and Gabby.

Though not really one of the better films in the genre, Roy Rogers fans will probably be a little bit more forgiving than the average viewer.

Gabby Has Financial Troubles

[StrictlyConfidential · 5/10 · 12 September 2021]

"Song Of Arizona" was originally released back in 1946.

Anyway - As the story goes - Gabby is running a ranch for wayward boys, giving them a chance at a decent life. One of the young men staying at the ranch is the son of a bank robber and upon learning of his death, he locates his father's hidden cache of loot and retrieves it.

Saturday matinée bliss.....

[alan-pratt · 8/10 · 5 June 2009]

This is one of those Roy Rogers films that, if not the best, has absolutely all of the right components.

Roy is great, as always, as are the wonderful Sons of the Pioneers. Then there's Gabby, being Gabby, simply the best comedy sidekick in western movies, Dale doing some pretty swish song and dance routines, a terrific snarling villain in Dick Curtis - was that really his own face or just an evil mask? - and just the right amount of Boys Town type sentiment with the Robert Mitchell Boy Choir as the wayward boys living on Gabby's Half-A-Chance Ranch. The title song is good and, shame on me, I nearly forgot Trigger: he looks stunning! There are those who say the West was never like this,that no-one dressed like Roy, that the story lines were thin or far-fetched, and who am I to argue? That's what makes these old Republic movies so irresistible!

Robert Mitchell Boys Choir

[bwest-devore37 · 5/10 · 1 August 2021]

Boy's needing a second chance, i just didn't buy into it. They sang too perfectly together.

Not One Of Rogers' Best

[boblipton · 5/10 · 27 July 2023]

Banker Sarah Edwards is about to foreclose of Gabby Hayes' ranch, where he takes care of runaway boys, all of whom belong to the Robert Mitchell Boy Choir. Among them is Tommy Cook, whose father, Lyle Talbot, is a bank robber. Talbot is killed, but not before he leaves $60,000 in stolen money with Cook. Hayes sends Roy Rogers, graduate of the ranch and radio singer, to see Dale Evans, Cook's half-sister, with a letter from Talbot. She comes back with him to the ranch.... but so do other members of Talbot's gang, who tell him Haye shot his father, and they want the money.

Director Frank MacDonald seems to have settled on the Roy Roger vehicles as musicals far more than westerns, and there are nine musical numbers here; only a couple impress me, and except for the title number -- sung at the end by everyone -- don't seem to fit the idea of singing cowboy movies.

Tommy Cook was the original "Little Beaver" to Red Ryder in the movies. As he aged out of juvenile roles, he become a star tennis player, a promoter of such events and a writer. As I write this, he's still around, and even appeared in a couple of TV shows in 2020, 61 years after his last previous on-screen acting role.