Carmen in Texas

If you've ever seen a Tex Ritter western you know what to expect from this one. Clunky situations broken up by a song or three from good ol' Tex. This one follows exactly to form.

The only reason to seek this out is the presence of a very young Rita Hayworth in the female lead. So early in fact that she is still billed by her given name, Rita Cansino. This was actually the last time she would be billed thus. It's painfully obvious she isn't completely at home before the cameras just yet since her line readings are still and lifeless. However there is one striking scene where she dances and suddenly there's the Rita Hayworth of legend, totally alive to the lens. As soon as the music stops though she's right back where she started, ill at ease and uncomfortable. She looks pretty, still brunette and slightly dowdy, the Columbia magic hasn't happened yet and she resembles a young Ann Sheridan more than herself. Ironic than that a few years after this she would get her big breakthrough stepping in to The Strawberry Blonde when Ann had a falling out with Warners.

As for this picture if you're a rodeo fan there are many, too many, scenes set in one but the acting is atrocious and the plot not very involving.

While Tex Ritter (as Tex Masters) sings "Down the Colorado Trail", accompanied by harmonica-playing sidekick Horace Murphy (as Lucky), pretty government agent Rita Hayworth (as Carmen Serano) is sent out to investigate a series of mysterious rodeo deaths. Ms. Hayworth and Mr. Ritter cross paths in Middletown Valley, where Ritter is looking for the gang that killed his brother.

Undercover girl Hayworth and singing cowboy Ritter are the main attractions. Hayworth and Hank Worden have a couple of smooth dance numbers. Ritter's "Down the Colorado Trail" and "I'm Bound to Leave Ol' Texas Now" are highlights; the latter ballad is especially nice. The "Trouble in Texas" is, most obviously, its poorly edited "rodeo footage". It might have, otherwise, been a better movie.

"Trouble in Texas (1937) with Tex Ritter was a virtual remake of "The Man from Utah (1934)" with John Wayne and used again for "Mesquite Buckaroo(1939) with Bob Steele and again in "The Utah Kid (1944)with Bob Steele and Hoot Gibson essaying the roles of John Wayne and George Hayes from the 1934 film...and yet again in 1951 as "Lawless Cowboys" starring Whip Wilson. And Tex Ritter's 1938 "Frontier Town"was more that just a version of the origin film. And all the "rodeo footage" in the remakes came from the 1934 film.

You are welcome.

B western with singing Tex Ritter and Rita Hayworth using her given last name.

The songs will kill you.

Glenn Strange -- who paid Frankenstein's monster in the Abbott and Costello film is in it too!

It's just an OK B picture.

Synopsis: Tex is on the rodeo circuit looking for the men that killed his brother and he finds them in Middleton.

Barker expects his man Squint to win the prize money but when Tex starts winning all the events, they put the poisoned needle in his halter rope, planning to have him mysteriously die just as the others did.

Tex Ritter tours the rodeo circuit, looking for the murderous cowboys that he believed caused the death of his brother, killed by the gang for taking too much money from them by winning. Meanwhile, undercover agent Rita Hayworth (who's beautiful and very brunette) is also on the case.

A remake of the John Wayne vehicle The Man From Utah (with Yakima Canutt playing virtually the same role), this is actually the better of the two with the usual winning performance by Tex, some great songs to pass the time, and a load of exciting stock footage of the real rodeo.

There's also some good villainy by eternal heavies Earl Dwire and Charles King, while the usually villainous Glenn Strange (the future Frankenstein monster) gets to be a good guy.

An exciting climax features some excellent stunt work and an explosive finale.