It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
San Fernando Valley (1944) – Musical #815

Studio:
Republic Pictures

Director:
John English

Starring:
Roy Rogers, Trigger, Dale Evans, Jean Porter, Andrew Tombes, Charles Smith, Edward Gargan, Dot Farley, LeRoy Mason, Adele Mara (uncredited), Pat Starling (uncredited), Helen Talbot (uncredited), Doodles Weaver (uncredited)
Themselves: Bob Nolan & Sons of the Pioneers, Vernon and Draper, Morrell Trio, Bob Nolan

Plot:
Cyclone Kenyon (Tombes) runs a ranch with his two granddaughters, Dale (Evans) and Betty Lou (Porter). Cyclone and Dale are tired of their lazy ranch hands (Bob Nolan & the Sons of the Pioneers) spend more time singing with Betty Lou than working around the ranch. The hands are fired, and they search for new hands, who are a group of women riders, and then Roy (Rogers) and his friend, Keno (Gargan), are hired on as cooks. Betty Lou hatches a plan to get their old ranch hands rehired.

Trivia:
• Originally, it was planned for all Republic Pictures western stars to appear in the film, including Bob Livingston, Don “Red” Barry, Smiley Burnette, Sunset Carson, Allan Lane and Wild Bill Elliott. However, they do not appear in the completed picture.
• Ann Gillis was originally announced to appear in the film but was replaced by Jean Porter.
• Filmed at the Kentucky Park Farms in Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Hidden Valley, Calif.; and Iverson Ranch in Los Angeles, Calif.

Highlights:
• Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers singing
• The finale with the roller skating trio, the Morrell Trio

Notable Songs:
• “San Fernando Valley” performed by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans
• “My Hobby is Love” performed by Jean Porter, dubbed by an unknown singer. Later Reprised by Dale Evans
• “Days of ‘49” performed by Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneer
• “They Went Thataway” performed by Roy Rogers and Edward Gargan
• “Sweeter Than You” performed by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans
• “Over the Rainbow We’ll Ride” performed by Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers

My review:
When the Sons of the Pioneers sing, to me that’s the definition of how western and cowboy music should sound. And you hear it often in this week’s Musical Monday.

This week’s Musical Monday, SAN FERNANDO VALLEY (1944), stars the King of the Cowboys, Roy Rogers, the Smartest Horse in the Movies, Trigger, and Dale Evans, who is co-starring with Rogers in their fourth film together. It would be another three years until Rogers and Evans would be married, but even in their early films, their chemistry is electric. They fit so well together!

This week’s musical fits in well with last week’s, SWING IN THE SADDLE. Both just happen to have the theme of “you just can’t get good help these days.”

In SAN FERNANDO VALLEY (1944), a ranch is run by Cyclone Kenyon (Tombes) and his two granddaughters, Dale (Evans) and Betty Lou (Porter). Cyclone and Dale are tired of their lazy ranch hands (Bob Nolan & the Sons of the Pioneers) spend more time singing with Betty Lou than working around the ranch. The hands are fired, and they search for new hands, who are a group of women riders, and then Roy (Rogers) and his friend, Keno (Gargan), are hired on as cooks. Betty Lou hatches a ridiculous plan to get their old ranch hands rehired.

Overall, this is a great musical. The way Roy Rogers and Dale Evans meet is awfully cute, and then it’s followed by a fun duet of the title song. They are so adorable together.

One piece on this film that I thought was interesting is that Roy Rogers was annoyed that Republic Pictures promoted that Rogers would have an on-screen kiss in the film. Rogers protested, because his fans were outraged. This is humorous to me since Rogers and Evans later went on to get married.

Rogers’s sidekick is Edward Gargan, and this may be the largest role I’ve ever seen him in.

I was thrilled to see Jean Porter in the cast playing Dale Evans’s younger sister. I love Porter and feel she’s the definition of the quintessential 1940s teenager. However, I was annoyed and flabbergasted that Porter’s singing voice is dubbed by an unknown singer in this film. Porter has a distinct speaking voice that is matched by her singing voice, and whoever is singing from her doesn’t match her at all. You can hear her real singing voice in films like BATHING BEAUTY (1944).

I loved seeing Charles Smith in this, who plays Porter’s boyfriend. He doesn’t play as weak or mild of a character as he usually is. He’s in a larger role and also stands up for himself!

You’ll also spot Doodles Weaver in an early role as a hot dog vendor.

What I especially like about SAN FERNANDO VALLEY is that it’s chock full of songs. The songs were especially welcome since so many contemporary prints of Roy Rogers films have cut out the songs. What’s the point of that? He’s known as a singer.

The film ends with an entertaining finale that seems to mimic Busby Berkeley musicals. It was also a fun feature of Morrell Roller Skating Trio, in what appears to be their only musical.

Overall, SAN FERNANDO VALLEY (1944) is a great, light-hearted time.

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