The Texas Rangers (1951) User Reviews

Another All Star Outlaw Roundup

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 19 May 2013]

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.

Probbly Montgomery's best western

[fredcdobbs5 · 7/10 · 13 December 2019]

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.

Great cast in mediocre script

[morrisonhimself · 7/10 · 29 November 2008]

In so many ways, this is typical Hollywood.

History is botched so thoroughly, this script becomes caricature.

Despite a great cast, and a pretty good story, watching it was painful for me because of all the character names: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, John Wesley Hardin, and so many other real villains of history are thrown into the mix here.

Naturally, being bad guys, most of them get bumped off -- and it is really infuriating to watch because all those people had real deaths at other places and times.

Why?

Why not just make up other names and present a nice fictional story? It would have been a much better movie.

It takes a desperado to catch a desperado

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 29 March 2017]

A fairly interesting horse opera about the reestablishment of the Teas Rangers, following the withdrawal of Union troops in 1874, and their assignment to break up an all-star gang of desperados. Major John B. Jones, who heads the rangers, is based on a real person of the same name, who is credited with capturing outlaw Sam Bass, the name of a real outlaw, as is John Westley Hardin, Duke(King, actually) Fisher, Dave Rudabaugh, Butch Cassidy, and the Sundance Kid. In contrast, bank robbers Buffy Smith(Noah Beery, Jr.) and Johnny Carver(George Montgomery)are purely fictitious names. They are the two who are immediately captured after the daytime robbery of a Waco bank. They were beaned or shot by their accomplice, The Sundance Kid, who escaped by horse, after also accidentally killing the publisher of the local newspaper: the father of Helen(Gale Storm): the editor. Carver and Smith are offered freedom if they will join the rangers as scouts, primarily, since they know the hideouts of most outlaws in the area. They accept this challenge, and their story is(amazingly)published in the newspaper by the editor, who thinks they will be up to no good.

Bass's gang are intent on stealing $50,000. in bills just received by the bank. However, Carver escapes out the back door with the $50,000. while the gang is knocking the front door down(amazingly in daylight!) He figures it's safer in his hiding place than in the bank vault, although initially no one else thinks so.

Carver pretends to abandon the rangers to join Bass's gang, acting as an undercover agent. The gang plays along with him, but don't trust him, especially from his reaction to their shooting of his buddy Buffy Smith, who didn't desert. Carver tells them that a train shipment of $1,000,000. in gold is due in, but he won't tell them which train, until it's time to make the heist. Bass changes the heist plans at the last minute, in case Carver told the rangers about it(he did). The climax consists of the takeover of the train on a slow section of track, and decoupling the car with the Pinkerton agents in it. Carver fights with his accomplice over control of the locomotive, which goes past the point where the gang is supposed to swoop down on the train. The gang rides after the train, as it approaches the station where the rangers are gathered.

The few light moments are mostly supplied by Helen's small nephews and by one meeting of Carver with Helen, in which he keeps shoving her back in her chair, then slaps her, then grabs and kisses her, all to impress his gang buddies, who are watching through the window. The expected romance between Carver and Helen doesn't show until the last minute.

Decent Western

[gtroup · 6/10 · 8 November 2022]

My rating is a bit more lukewarm than some others. It's decent but not quite good, in my opinion. The plot was a little weak and characters not fully developed partly due to the short run time. It seemed all too easy for Johnny to get back into the gang after killing a couple of their members and stealing loot from one of their attempted robberies. Also, Johnny's reaction to the gang killing Buff wasn't believable. As well, the romantic angle with Helen was rushed and again not very believable in her about face in her feelings for Johnny.

The action was well done and outdoor scenery and camera work was quite good. It is worth a watch, but don't expect a classic.

Rip roarin' good Western, with lots of shootin'

[Bruce_Cook · 8/10 · 24 December 2003]

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.

Best George Montgomery western

[coltras35 · 10/10 · 20 January 2021]

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.

Excellent western !

[bobkirkwood · 10/10 · 24 June 2005]

This movie starts off a bit slow but the story line captures you and before you know it you are caught up in a wonderful adventure, I was sorry to see it end. Wonderful location shots , snappy dialog, a really good cast , the villains are played to the hilt and the good guys start off a bit shaky but by the final reel they take control. In one scene Myron Healey an excellent actor, one of the perennial heavies in the fifties westerns forgets and leaves a modern day hearing aid on his right ear, it is clearly visible in the shot, I wonder how many people in the audience picked up on it. The movie ends up with a real good chase involving a train carrying a million dollars in gold and the band of outlaws and the Texas Rangers converging in the final shootout. Attention all western buffs, don't miss this one.

A great exciting Western.

[Ron-169 · 10/10 · 30 June 1999]

This movie gets my vote as Gale Storm's best western film. She is outstanding in her scenes with her leading man, George Montgomery. The film begins with Johnny Carver (Montgomery), Buff Smith (Noah Beery Jr) and the Sundance Kid (Ian MacDonald) robbing the Waco bank. Sundance double-crosses Carver and Smith, shooting Carver in the back and killing the town sheriff. Fade to prison where Carver and Smith are being held. Major Jones of the Texas Rangers gets the men freed to become Rangers and track down the outlaws who are terrorizing the good folks in Texas. They are released and become Rangers over Helen Fenton's (Gale Storm's) objections. As a Ranger, Johnny meets up with his kid brother (played by DYNASTY director Jerome Courtland) who is killed by the Sam Bass gang. Johnny vows his revenge and gets it. George Montgomery's scenes with Gale are absolutely first rate. The cinematography by Ellis W. Carter is breathtaking! Gale told me that The TEXAS RANGERS was filmed "on location" but in Hollywood-not Texas. No matter, the scenery is beautiful and real...not projected. This is a four star picture in my book. Well worth seeing and owning!

Exciting action movie with lots of Outlaws vs. a determined Texas Ranger

[FloridaFred · 8/10 · 11 September 2022]

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.

Shooting out all Texas

[clanciai · 8/10 · 8 March 2024]

For being a western with George Montgomery this is unusually good. It all happens in Texas, which is almost entirely outlawed and at the mercy of ruthless gunslingers, all excelling each other in murdering people. A few of them are convinced the hard way to join the Rangers in cleaning up the country from all those murdering thugs. With a criminal past, they don 't find it very easy to stick to the straight side of the law, and when forced by circumstances they just flip across to what seems better for them. Thus there are many second thoughts here about opportunities. But on whatever side you are on you are bound to get a lot of shooting mainly to kill. Still there is also a woman and a boy involved, and at least the boy has nothing against extensive shoot-outs. There is a great train robbery at the end with plenty of cavalry scenes, different parties chasing each other, so at least the film is replenished with action. It is well directed and written with good enough actors all around, so you will be sure to be rewarded for having watched it, even if most of the actors get different kinds of rewards on the way.