A Mexican bandit called El Tigre is crossing the border and causing havoc. Ranger Joe Waldner (Robert Preston) is sent south to capture him with this clue — El Tigre’s second-in-command is a white man named Patrick O’Moore (Robert Stack) who hangs out in a town near the home of his lady love, Carmel Alvarado (Wanda Hendrix).
At about the same time, ‘Denny’ O’Moore (Mickey Rooney) arrives from the East, looking for a brother he hasn’t seen for eight years. Naturally, he’s surprised to discover that brother — the pride of the family — is now an outlaw.
When they finally capture El Tigre, Denny and Waldner are in for another surprise. Oh, as for that lady love, she doesn’t return Patrick O’Moore’s affections; she thinks he’s crazy.
Review:
A Western that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and probably suffers from a little too much light-hearted fun. In fact, Rooney’s character is around mostly for comic relief. He’s the Easterner who can’t stay on a horse, who has always dated “bigger” women and who falls for Carmel because she’s the first woman he’s ever been able to pick up … as in lift.
And Waldner has a horse that follows spoken commands quite well, which comes in handy for the film’s final showdown. Especially ridiculous: A scene in which Waldner, hands tied behind his back, manages to fight off one of El Tigre’s knife-wielding henchmen.
The film is a sign of how much trouble Mickey Rooney had finding good roles in the 1950s, after he’d risen to fame as a child actor playing the part of Andy Hardy, a character he had played in no less than 20 films, starting with “A Family Affair” in 1937, when he was about 17.
Directed by:
Elliott Nugent
Cast:
Mickey Rooney … ‘Denny’ O’Moore
Wanda Hendrix … Senorita Carmel Alvarado
Robert Preston … Joe Waldner
Robert Stack … Patrick O’Moore
Jose Torvay … Enrique Ortiz
Carlos Muzquiz … Col. Sanchez
Hilda Moreno … Senora Alvarado
Fernado Wagner … Burger
Memorable lines:
Joe Waldner, to his superior: “What do you want me to do? Pick up the Tiger in my saddlebag and ride him gently back here? Well, I’d be so full of holes, you could take his picture through me.”
Joe to 5-foot-2 “Denny” O’Moore: “You seem to have a habit of getting mixed up with fellas who are bigger than you are.”
Denny: “Fellas? Not only fellas. Girls, too.”
Joe: “Girls.”
Denny: “Sure. I get all the big ones.”
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