William Holden is Jim Dawkins, MacDonald Carey is Lorn Reming and William Bendix is “Wahoo” Jones in this tale of three good-natured outlaws who find themselves on opposite sides of the law after they pull a successful holdup, then become separated.
All three have their eye on robbing the same stage. Dawkins and Jones board it, to find it full of Texas Rangers. They decide a robbery attempt would be futile. But when the stage rolls into the station, Reming is waiting for it, gun drawn.
Rather than see a friend shot to pieces, Dawkins and Reming help arrest him, then join the Texas Rangers with plans to break him loose when the opportunity arises. They manage to pull that off, whereupon Reming comes up with a new plan: He’ll continue his thieving ways, using inside information provided by his friends.
Meanwhile, the trio has made a new friend in pretty young Rannie Carter (Mona Freeman), who wants the Rangers to help get her and fellow ranchers out from under the thumb of a bandit named Calico.
Dawkins takes that mission personally; he’s fallen for Rannie. With Calico out of the way, Reming has a new plan. He wants to take his Calico’s place in the outlaw world. Finally, the three are on opposite sides. Dawkins and Jones want to be honest Texas Rangers; Reming has no notion of changing his ways. He’s also won Rannie’s heart.
Review:
There are enough twists and turns in this tale of three friends to keep a viewer guessing — at least if they haven’t seen “The Texas Rangers” from 1936, which starred Fred MacMurray and followed basically the same plot.
It helps that all three bandits are likeable in the film’s opening scenes, making their later split seem more tragic, especially since Dawkins has remained oh, so devoted to good friend Lorn Reming.
Mona Freeman plays the spirited teenager who tags along for a while, then later falls for dashing Lorn Reming though it’s Jim Dawkins who would provide her a more stable future. Alfonso Bedoya is annoying as the Mexican bandit Calico.
Oh, and there’s a silly scene where Reming’s gang rolls a big boulder down a steep hill and knocks a stagecoach right off the rode so it can be robbed.
Directed by:
Leslie Fenton
Cast:
William Holden … Jim Dawkins
MacDonald Carey … Lorn Reming
Mona Freeman … Rannie Carter
William Bendix … Wahoo Jones
Stanley Ridges … Major Bailey
Alfonso Bedoya … Charley Calico
Ray Teal … Cantrel
Clem Bevans … Pop Lint
James Bell … Ike
Dick Foot … Pipes
Joe Dominguez … Francisco
Grandon Rhodes … Phil Jessup
Runtime: 93 min.
Memorable lines:
Rannie Carter: “He (her Uncle Gil) wasn’t much of a hand at nothing but a jug, but he was decent enough to me. I sure hope there are plenty of filled-up jugs wherever he’s gone.”
Wahoo Jones, after he and Jim Dawkins have joined the Texas Rangers: “Alright, I’m a mallet head; I don’t catch on quick. But will you kindly tell me what we’re doing in this outfit? Us, swearing to preserve law and order? Are we out of your mind?”
Lorn Reming: “Brush those things off my back.”
Rannie Carter: “I don’t see anything.”
Lorn: “That’s remarkable. I had the feeling somebody was trying to squeeze the life out of me, with apron strings.”
Wahoo Jones: “So you’d rather rot in the clink than go out after Lorn?”
Jim Dawkins: “I figure that a man’s friendship for another man is about as honest as anything that comes along.”
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