A reasonable enough entry to be included as part of AMC's Saturday morning Western lineup, the film brings together the somewhat unlikely trio of William Holden, MacDonald Carey and William Bendix in a tale of villains and Texas Rangers. The boys start out as amiable bad guys who get separated following one of their adventures, with Jim Dawkins (Holden) and Wahoo Jones (Bendix) eventually joining the Rangers, while their amigo Lorn (Carey) schemes to replace Charley Calico (Alfonso Bedoya) as the main desperado in the vicinity of Laredo. As formulaic as Westerns can be, I can't say that I've seen another quite like it before, especially when Lorn Reming does a Han Solo like bushwhack on his former ally Wahoo later in the picture. Even though Wahoo was planning to turn in his ex-buddy, the vicious turn of Carey's character was a sit up and take notice moment.
The story offers a few other novelties as well. Alfonso Bedoya gets a bit more screen time here than he did as 'Gold Hat' in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", though he'll never have as great a line as the one about those 'steenking badges' from that movie. I was really caught off guard to see Ray Teal as Calico's henchman Cantrel, virtually any time you see him in a Western he's playing a sheriff.
I don't want to forget mentioning Mona Freeman as the story's romantic interest, first intrigued with Lorn Reming, and then when his true nature reveals itself, casting an eye for Jim Dawkins. Because the story spans a couple of years, her character Rannie Carter advances from a cute teenage cowgirl to a mature frontier woman. Bendix' character had a great line when they first met - "You're mighty pretty if you're a her".
Though the Texas Rangers as an entity are part of the story, the film doesn't necessarily rely on that connection to work. However it does offer a convenient way for Jim and Wahoo to go straight while their partnership with Lorn falls apart. Of course the ending does submit to a fairly standard formula, but perhaps not in the manner in which it's carried out. For that though, you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for your local cable listings, as I'm unaware of the movie's availability elsewhere.
The story offers a few other novelties as well. Alfonso Bedoya gets a bit more screen time here than he did as 'Gold Hat' in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", though he'll never have as great a line as the one about those 'steenking badges' from that movie. I was really caught off guard to see Ray Teal as Calico's henchman Cantrel, virtually any time you see him in a Western he's playing a sheriff.
I don't want to forget mentioning Mona Freeman as the story's romantic interest, first intrigued with Lorn Reming, and then when his true nature reveals itself, casting an eye for Jim Dawkins. Because the story spans a couple of years, her character Rannie Carter advances from a cute teenage cowgirl to a mature frontier woman. Bendix' character had a great line when they first met - "You're mighty pretty if you're a her".
Though the Texas Rangers as an entity are part of the story, the film doesn't necessarily rely on that connection to work. However it does offer a convenient way for Jim and Wahoo to go straight while their partnership with Lorn falls apart. Of course the ending does submit to a fairly standard formula, but perhaps not in the manner in which it's carried out. For that though, you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for your local cable listings, as I'm unaware of the movie's availability elsewhere.