Ride, Ranger, Ride (1936)

Gene is a Texas Ranger working under cover to protect an Army wagon train full of ammunition and supplies. The Army doesn't believe him at first, until the Commanches arrive.

Director:

Joseph Kane

Writers:

Dorrell McGowan (screenplay), Stuart E. McGowan (screenplay) (as Stuart McGowan)

Stars:

Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Kay Hughes

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gene Autry	...	Texas Ranger Gene Autry
Smiley Burnette	...	Frog Millhouse
Kay Hughes	...	Dixie Summeral
Monte Blue	...	Duval, aka Chief Tavibo
George J. Lewis	...	Lieutenant Bob Cameron (as George Lewis)
Max Terhune	...	Rufe Jones
Robert Homans	...	Colonel Summeral (as Robert E. Homans)
Lloyd Whitlock	...	Major Crosby
Chief Thundercloud	...	Little Wolf
The Tennessee Ramblers	...	Ranger Musicians

Storyline

Gene is a Texas Ranger working under cover to protect an Army wagon train full of ammunition and supplies. The Army doesn't believe him at first, until the Commanches arrive.

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Plot Keywords:

indian attack | b western | texas | damsel in distress | song in title | 

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Taglines:

Rip-Roarin'...Hard-Ridin'...Texas Rangers...singin'...fightin'...galloping to glory in the greatest saga of their famous history!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ride, Ranger, Ride

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

54 min (edited) 63 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Max Terhune.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Texas Ranger Gene Autry: Well, boys, here's where Rufe and I leave you.
Frog Millhouse: Aren't you goin' to San Antone with us?
Texas Ranger Gene Autry: Nope. We're ridin' to Fort Adobe. I've been made a lieutenant in the United State cavalry.
Frog Millhouse: What did they make out of you, Rufe?
Rufe Jones: They made me plain sick to talkin' about Texas bein' better off without us rangers and givin' our jobs to the United States cavalry.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression (2009)

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Soundtracks

Song of the Pioneers
(1936) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Tim Spencer
Sung by riders with the wagon train

User Reviews

Dull, Routine, and Not Worth it

A good Western film is built around the Good Guy- Bad Guy conflict and their eventual Showdown. Here, that showdown is there, but it's not the major focus of the film.

It's mainly about how we must fight against Indians. Gene and his Texas Rangers know about Indians; the cavalry does not. ("Make your peace sign with one hand, and keep a gun in the other.") We get that awful 'Tarzan talk' in the way the White Man speaks to the Indians. We get the cliché (it was used in John Ford's 'The Iron Horse' in 1924!) of a white man masquerading as a warlike Indian -- except this time he's a saloon owner.

There is the throwaway of a love interest (surprisingly, Gene marries her and rides off into the off screen). There is Republic's 'comic relief' of Smiley Burnette and Mex Terhune (he is actually good in this film!); and the dreadful running gag of Chief Thundercloud, who was so evil in the serial 'Custer's Last Stand' (1934), trying to scalp Frog Millhouse; but there's really nothing of substance going on in this picture. It seems too have been made from the "let's crank out another one" mode as part of the new Republic formula of cheapie B pictures.

There are much better Gene Autry films that seem more authentic, such as 'Yodelin' Kid From Pine Ridge' (1937) than this third rate formulaic cranked out film. Gene is genial, but overall this movie is worth only a 3.