The Texas Rangers

It's too bad that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were no longer in a position to sue for the way that they're portrayed in this humble but lively early assignment in glorious SupercineColor for a young Phil Karlson in which George Montgomery teaches a real ugly collection of bad guys that crime doesn't pay the hard way; with Gale Storm the spunky young heroine who edits the local rag and whose pappy naturally met her end at these miscreants' hands.

The action keeps moving, the colour's pretty, the locations attractive. Those looking for deep motivation wouldn't be watching a film like this in the first place; the rest might find it worth a look.

I was never really a fan of George Montgomery's westerns; they were pretty cookie-cutter jobs, one looking pretty much like the next, cheap black-and-white somewhat shoddy productions with lame scripts and made by mediocre and uninspired directors.

This, however, is WAY above his usual product. It's beautifully shot--I never thought SuperCinecolor could look so good--with a terrific cast of great western veterans, such as John Dehner, Ian McDonald, Douglas Kennedy, Noah Beery, Jock Mahoney, Myron Healey, to name just a few--and in Phil Karlson he had probably the best director he ever worked with. Karlson was known for his fast-paced, right, action-filled westerns that moved like lightning, and this one doesn't disappoint. Montgomery is more animated than he usually is--as a director himself maybe he realized just how good Karlson was and put more heart and effort into his performance than he usually did, Whatever the case, this is one of Montgomery's best westerns--fast, a lot of action and not slowed down too terribly by the usually hammy Gale Storm as his love interest.

If you're looking for a history lesson, look somewhere else--this isn't a documentary. If you're looking for an interesting, satisfying western with good action, beautiful color and spirited performances, this is one for you.

A colourful western that packs a punch, the Texas rangers is solid entertainment with a good build up of the characters and the plot. George Montgomery is a convict given a chance to join the Texas rangers so he could nail Sam Bass and his motley crew who have become the scourge of the state. But Montgomery is only interested in getting the sun dance kid. And he does manage to kill him and he is about to renege on his oath to stop Sam Bass and his gang, but certain events stop him from doing that. The action is slam bang, the plot is smooth as oil, the villains are quite menacing, and there's some close-quarter shooting that's quite violent. An excellent train sequence at the finale is heart-stopping.

A nice clean action movie, beautiful scenery, a decent script, and a long list of major movie stars including John Dehner, Douglas Kennedy, and John Doucette.

George Montgomery plays his part well. (Note to "A Team" fans: as a Texas Ranger, Montgomery bears no resemblance to "Colonel Hannibal Smith").

Gale Storm is cute and convincing in her role, but just a bit over the top. The writers throw in a snappy little boy named "Jimmy" to make the movie entertaining for children.

Yes, there are numerous historical inaccuracies, but so what, it's a movie, not a documentary. We know that in real life, all of those outlaws never joined up with each other. The Sundance Kid is believed to have died in Bolivia, not in Texas,and the real John Wesley Hardin was a mean, vicious killer, not a gentleman. And so forth.

But the premise of Sam Bass robbing a train of $60,000 and then dying in Round Rock, Texas is historically correct. There are roads in Texas named after Sam Bass.

This movie is largely based upon the second incarnation of "The Texas Rangers". Following the Civil War, lawlessness abounded in Texas. In addition to hostile Indian tribes, Texans were continually accosted by gangs of outlaws and marauders. The Governor of Texas summoned Confederate Major John B. Jones (played here by actor John Litel) to head up a team of lawmen. The rest is history.

I rate "The Texas Rangers" 8 stars.

Beautifully filmed, SuperCineColor production from Columbia pictures, with a good cast. George Montgomery and Noah Berry are ex-outlaws-turned-Texas Rangers, sent out to help round up the gang they used to ride with. Gale Storm plays a feisty newspaper lady who don't cotton much to Montgomery on account of he was with the outlaws who gunned down her father, the Sheriff, before Montgomery turned into a good guy.

Montgomery plays one of those a man-in-the-middle characters: he infiltrates the outlaw gang, but the Texas Rangers think he's gone bad again. Nobody believes he's a good guy except the lovely and faithful Miss Storm, after Montgomery works his charm on her. Meanwhile, the outlaw boss knows Montgomery is a spy, so they plan to kill him after he helps with a million-dollar train robbery

Action? Dern tootin', pardner! After being shot several times and almost falling off the train, Montgomery slugs it out with an outlaw for control of the engine while the rest of the gang rides alongside, shooting at him. The outlaw tries to feed him into the boiler! Montgomery wins the fight when he sticks the outlaw's gun down the man's pants and pulls the trigger! Ouch .. . ('This is for shootin' my kid brother in the back, you low-down varmit!')

Not exactly 'The Magnificent Seven', but good Western fun from the colorful 1950s.