“Ride the Pink Horse” (1947), starring Robert Montgomery who also directed and Thomas Gomez who was nominated for an Oscar. It was the first time a Latino was nominated. Screenplay by Ben Hecht and based on novel by Dorothy B. Hughes. Filming locations include La Fonda Hotel and Santa Fe.

A film noir that includes a femme fatale, smoky atmospheric scenes, shadows and lights, this movie is perhaps most interesting as a taste of post-World War II Santa Fe. The burning of Zozobra and the historic Tio Vivo Carousel that was moved from Taos are shown as part of the annual Fiesta. In addition to the sense of ritual, Hispanic heritage is shown in juxtaposition to Anglo wealth and privilege, a theme that underlies Santa Fe culture today.

Robert Montgomery plays Lucky Gagin, an ex-GI bent on revenge. He arrives in what is supposed to be a border town and seeks out gangster Frank Hugo to blackmail him for the murder of a friend. The plot thickens with the addition of the FBI and a sultry woman (of course).

For New Mexico viewers, Zozobra from nearly 70 years ago is fun, but the interior of La Fonda is particularly interesting. Designed by Mary Colter, one of the few female architects of the time, her appreciation of local artisans can be seen in the hand-crafted furnishings and fixtures that are panned too quickly for viewers who are architectural and cultural historians and Pueblo and Spanish Colonial Revivals aficionados. The beginnings of the Santa Fe style are here in the use of tile, textiles and metal lighting. It is too bad everything is black and white.

The title refers to the answer given by Gagin to a girl as to which horse on the carousel she should ride. In the end, it is the carousel’s insular and revolving self-containment acting as perhaps the first safe place for a returning veteran that links the quiet dirt streets of past Santa Fe with current clogged, car-packed roads streaming into the Plaza today. The protagonist’s ability to choose deliverance over self-destruction in a world not of one’s making could not be filmed in a more appropriate place.

Reviews are based on lectures during a traveling ENMU-Ruidoso’s Community Education series on movies partially or totally filmed in New Mexico. The films span various times and represent many genres. The only thing they have in common is New Mexico, whether landscape, history, characters and/or distinctive events. Many of the movies are forgotten; some are better known. Some are good; others are terrible but all reflect some aspect of living here. For more reviews go to www.southcentralnm.com.