Riders of the Rio Grande (1943)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Howard Bretherton

Writers:

William Colt MacDonald (characters)
Albert DeMond (original screenplay)

Release Date:

21 May 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

A banker struggles to keep his bank solvent and his town from going bankrupt after the bank is robbed and all its money taken. The Three Mesquiteers ride into town and set out to help. |

Plot Keywords:

Hot Foot | Mistaken Identity | Jail Break | Trust Fund | Bank Robbery

Cast

Bob Steele	...	Tucson Smith
Tom Tyler	...	Stony Brooke
Jimmie Dodd	...	Lullaby Joslin
Lorraine Miller	...	Janet Owens
Edward Van Sloan	...	Pop Owens
Rick Vallin	...	Tom Owens
Harry Worth	...	Sam Skelly
Roy Barcroft	...	Sarsaparilla, 1st 'Cherokee Boy'
Charles King	...	Thumber, 2nd 'Cherokee Boy'
Jack Ingram	...	Berger, a henchman

Runtime:

55 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #9208)

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Quotes:

[first lines]
[reading the plaque on a statue]
Older Boy: "Timothy Owens, Founder of Owensville"
Younger Boy: What does it mean "founded it"? Was it losted?

Movie Connections:

Follows Range Defenders (1937)

Edward Van Slaon last big role

Edward von Sloane is the town's benevolent,paternalistic banker and he thankfully holds the dramatic center of this played-for-laughs final Three Mequiteers entry. So great in Universal horror movies, Dracula and The Mummy, this is his last big role. As the movie opens, we follow him through the main town street. The heroic trio doesn't appear until minute 13 of this 1 hour movie. Jimmie Dodd (of Mickey Mouse Club fame)is the most animated of the three and gets to invent a very clever jailhouse blues song that summarizes the plot. Western cult favorite Bob Steele gets to spar for the very last time with his all-time favorite "dog heavy" punching bag, Charles King. King, despite being portly, was expert at faking fights. Steele, a small but brilliant fighter, was as a result, very popular in the 30s B westerns which otherwise often featured horrendously phony fisticuffs. Eventually, Steele's morose persona would be memorable in supporting roles, most notably, The Big Sleep. A chain-smoker, he died of emphysema. Sloane's banker character has two wayward offspring. Rick Vallin, the son, is familiar from late-era serials and 50s TV. The daughter, Lorraine Miller, is a non-entity yet is top-billed (above Sloane!) after the three cowboy stars. She did nothing of significance before or after this. How, oh, how, oh, how did she get top-billing? Perhaps I'm being cynical and it's simply a courtesy because she's the sole female character. Ultra-dependable heavy Roy Barcroft is here at the very beginning of his lengthy Republic Studios tenure.