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In his first of six inexpensive Westerns for producer Trem Carr, bantam-weight cowboy ace Tom Steele played Tom Keene, a Yankee defying Mexican Captain Rodriguez (Allan Garcia) by crossing over the border into Mexico to visit his friend, Lanky (Eddie Dunn). At the Thornton ranch, old man Thornton is murdered for his map to a mine by evil Jack Stone (Edwin Brady). At first, Keene mistakenly believes that Thornton's daughter, Beth (Janis Elliott), has been kidnapped by Grainger (Gordon De Main), but he proves to be a family friend. After settling this little matter, the two of them concoct a plan to retrieve the map. The bumbling Captain Rodriguez briefly gets in the way of things but the villains are finally apprehended and the map returned to a grateful Beth. South of Santa Fe was released by Poverty Row company Sono Art-World Wide. Following the demise of that company in 1933, producer Carr and Steele brought their act to Monogram.