Someone has been rustling cattle by the hundreds on the 1,000-acre Dangerfield ranch, and aging Cecilia Dangerfield has had enough.
So the family matriarch (May Robson) turns to the Texas Rangers for help.
They dispatch Mace Townsley (Broderick Crawford) and Jim Kingston (John Howard) as undercover agents posing as outlaws.
In fact, Kingston is posing as Pecos Bill, a man with a $5,000 price tag on his head.
Dangerfield ranch foreman Joe Yuma (Anthony Quinn) quickly hires them on.
And they quickly begin to suspect an inside job.
Meanwhile, sparks fly when Kingston, still posing as an outlaw, crosses paths with pretty young Ellen Dangerfield, fresh back to Texas from the East and none too fond of life in the West.
John Howard as Jim Kingston, popping out from under a desk when Ellen catches him snooping in Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)
Ellen Drew as Ellen Dangerfield, the young girl who’d rather be back East until she meets Pecos Bill in Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)
Review:
This film is set in the 1920s, so the bad guys use trucks to transport their stolen beef and the good guys use two-way radios in their investigation.
But there’s still plenty of riding and shooting and familiar faces for Western fans.
In fact, this marked one of the very first film roles for Robert Ryan. He’s sitting in a car with a girlfriend when a Texas Ranger badge and a plea for help literally drop into his lap.
Yet it’s the performances of the leading ladies that provide the film’s spark. Mary Robson is superb as the aging but incredibly spunky Cecilia Dangerfield.
And top-billed Ellen Drew is adorable as her more sophisticated granddaughter, though she eventually rediscovers her spunk as well.
Mary Robson as Cecilia Dangerfield, determined that those rustling her cattle be stopped in Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)
Charley Grapewin as Ben Caldwalder, the aging Ranger who’s been pursuing Cecilia for years in Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)
Directed by:
James P. Hogan
Cast:
Ellen Drew … Ellen “Slats” Dangerfield
John Howard … Jim Kingston, aka Pecos Kid
Akim Tamiroff … Mio Pio
May Robson … Cecilia Dangerfield
Broderick Crawford … Mace Townsley
Charley Grapewin … Ben Caldwalder
John Miljan … Carter Dangerfield
William Duncan … Captain Inglis
Anthony Quinn … Joe Yuma
Harvey Stephens … Texas Ranger Blair
Eva Puig … Maria
Harold Goodwin … Texas Ranger Comstock
Edward Pawley … Palo Pete
Eddie Foy Jr. … Mandolin
Joseph Crehan … Johnson
James Pierce … High Boots
Monte Blue … Pablo Slide Along
Robert Ryan (uncredited) … Man in car
Runtime: 68 min.
Anthony Quinn as Joe Yuma, the man who hires riders for the Dangerfield ranch in Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)
Broderick Crawford as Mace Townsley and John Howard as Jim Kingston, about to go undercover in Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)
Memorable lines:
Cecilia Dangerfield, to her top hands: “Gosh darnit, nobody knows anything. I never saw such a passel of dumb, worthless, lollygagging jackasses in all my life.”
Joe Yuma: “Is Mr. Dangerfield in.”
Mio Pio: “He’s off to White Sage Station, I think.”
Joe Yuma: “Don’t you know?”
Mio Pio: “Sure I know.”
Joe Yuma: “Then why do you always say, ‘I think.'”
Mio Pio: “I don’t know.”
Cecilia Dangerfield, welcoming Ellen back from a horseback ride: “How’d it go, Slats?”
Ellen Dangerfield: “Wonderful. For the next two weeks, I’ll be eating all my meals off the mantel.”
Cecilia: “Oh, don’t you mind. You’ll soon get over being a tenderfoot.”
Ellen: “My feet don’t hurt.”
Jim Kingston, watching the rustlers at work: “This thing’s big. It took brains to organize it.”
Mace Townsley: “Yeah, that Joe Yuma’s a pretty smart hombre.”
Kingston: “No Indian’s that smart. We’ll find the brains of this outfit where those vans are going.”
Cecilia Dangerfield: “I’m going to count just three before I ventilate you!”
Ellen Drew as Ellen Dangerfield, practicing her shooting on her return to Texas in Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)
John Miljan as Carter Dangerfield, the nephew who helps Cecilia run a 1,000-acre ranch in Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)
Akim Tamiroff as Mio Pio, Cecilia’s assistant, singing who he mops the floor in Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)
William Duncan as Texas Ranger Capt. Inglis, taking an urgent late-night phone call in Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)
Robert Ryan as a citizen startled when a Texas Ranger badge lands in his lap in Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)
Ellen Drew as Ellen Dangerfield, with the man she thinks is Pecos Bill (John Howard) under her gun in Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)
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