The Texas Rangers

Truth to tell, the only thing I had seen directed by Phil Karlson before catching THE TEXAS RANGERS on TV was a 1970s flick entitled WALKING TALL, which was neither good nor bad but somehow stayed in my memory.

As other viewers have pointed out, the great thing about THE TEXAS RANGERS is that famous names bunch together so you almost feel you are watching history unfold. In this case, you have baddies like Sam Bass,John 'Wes' Hardin, the Sundance Kid, Butch Cassidy, and more all planning and riding hard to carry out train robbery that would set the government back quite a lotta dough.

Good old John Carver (played by George Montgomery) plays the fake bandit with sheriff and Pinkerton detectives in the background, assisted by pretty Gale Storm (sounds tempestuous!) and they somehow sink that gang of evil doers. Carver gets shot up in his left arm but is still nimble and strong enough to go around the train and take care of Rudabaugh and other heavies.

Pleasant Western with solid cinematography and competent stunt work, bringing back memories of the 1950s to anyone who lived in those days when the Western began to undergo re- and de-construction, paving the way for spaghetti. 7/10.

When I was a kid and watching B films like this on television because generally they were the first to be sold there, I used to love these westerns where a gang of famous outlaw names band together for a united force of banditry in the old west. Such a film is The Texas Rangers, not to be confused with the Paramount film that starred Fred MacMurray in the Thirties. Different studio, different plot.

William Bishop plays the gentlemanly, but deadly Sam Bass and he's put together quite an all star lineup of outlaws in the old west. Such desperadoes as Dave Rudabaugh, John Wesley Hardin, King Fisher and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid all in one gang.

The answer is for Texas to reform the Texas Rangers and John Litel the captain as gotten a release for outlaws George Montgomery and Noah Beery, Jr. to set a pair of outlaws to catch some outlaws.

Here's where an otherwise good film gets colossally stupid. If you're going to do that, create a false escape from prison. But Litel doesn't do that and newspaper editor Gale Storm whose father was accidentally shot in shootout that Montgomery and Beery were involved in prints their names and mission in her paper. I mean, really.

Still with that handicap Montgomery gets the job done. Did you think he wouldn't?

I have to point out two standout performances the first being William Bishop as Sam Bass. One elegant and deadly killer and no one's fool. The second is that of Jerome Courtland playing Montgomery's younger brother who has an extremely touching death scene.

If only they had given Montgomery and Beery a cover story.

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.

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.

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.