Three Texas Steers

Three Texas Steers (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Fast paced Three Mesquiteers film has the gang trying to rescue a circus owner who's being harassed for her property. The story itself really isn't anything new or groundbreaking but if you've ever wanted to see John Wayne act next to a midget and gorilla then this is the film for you. The film never takes itself too serious and plays everything for laughs, which is a good thing because how can you take Wayne and a midget serious? There are a couple good chase scenes as well as a nice fight to go along with all the circus stuff. Roy Corrigan, one of the Mesquiteers, also worked as the gorilla!!!

Nancy Evans (Carole Landis), lovely circus owner, has a ranch that she's never visited, but for sentimental reasons won't sell to Mike Abbott. Her partners, secretly in league with Abbott, sabotage the circus to force Nancy to sell the ranch; instead, she goes there to live. Will her neighbors, the Three Mesquiteers, be a match for the secret swindlers?

Enjoyable 3 Mesquiters entry that mixes comedic moments with the usual fast-galloping chases, shootouts and death defy leaps from a horse to a team of horses. The pace flows, and George Sherman directs adequately. John Wayne's charm shines through, and Carol Landis is no slouch in that department either.

An American Western; A story about a circus owner whose business is being secretly sabotaged by her partners because she refused to sell her inherited land. A trio of cowboys come to her aid to save the show from going under. This contemporary Western is modestly produced. The circus fire scenes were edited into the film from 3 du trapèze (1937). Mildly amusing moments emanate from broad-humoured oddities. The Three Mesquiteers have genial appeal with their 'do-good' mentality. There is good chemistry on screen between John Wayne and Carol Landis. All in all, good escapism, enjoyably silly slapstick.

One of 51 Republic westerns, in the late '30s and early '40s, under the banner of The Three Mesquiteers: a combination of mesquite and musketeers. The identity of the 3 actors varied. John Wayne was in only 8, including this one. With a run time of only 55 min., it packs in a lot of scheming and action. It's an early example of the directing of B movies by George Sherman. He would eventually move to Columbia, then to Universal, always directing almost exclusively B westerns. Here, Wayne is Stony, Ray Corrigan is Tucson, and Max Trehune is Lullaby. The latter occasionally gets out his dummy: Elmer, to practice his ventriloquism....... Nancy(Carole Landis) is running a circus. Her financial manager, George Ward(Ralph Graves)receives a(planted) letter offering to buy her inherited ranch for $2000. George recommends she sell it, but she balks, saying some year she wants to retire to that ranch. Besides, she doesn't need the money, as her circus brings in enough income. George, who is the inside man for a ring of villains, tells Steve about his disappointment. They decide to stage a number of dramatic 'accidents' to make the people afraid to come to the circus. Thus, the lion cage is unlatched, resulting in pandemonium. Then, a tent is set on fire. Soon, lawsuits also eat into the profits, and the circus has to fold. George again recommends that she sell her ranch, but she's determined to move there........It happened that the 3Ms had a ranch (the 3M) adjacent to Nancy's ranch, called the WE. It also happened that the sign for the 3M ranch had been knocked upside down, so that it read WE. So, when Nancy was looking for her ranch, she and a few circus people moved into the 3M ranch house, before the 3Ms returned. She was so enthusiastic about the house, the 3Ms were afraid to tell her it was the wrong house, her real house being not nearly so nice. Thus, initially, they pretended that the WE ranch was theirs. George soon arranged to set the WE barn on fire, hoping to scare Nancy into selling.......Nancy gets a letter from the government offering to buy her ranch for $75,000., as they want to build a dam there.(George had previously gotten a similar letter, hence why he was so set on buying the ranch for a pittance). This would be enough to start up another circus. However, the actions of the 3Ms have made this transaction problematic. See the movie (available at YouTube) to find out the problem and what the 3Ms did to solve it.......Nancy's circus remnant included Collette Lyons, as Lillian, and Willie: the Gorilla, who provide occasional humor. Lillian is the stereotypical sexy blond bimbo. When she got to the ranch, she asked how long it would take to learn to milk a chicken? Willie, of course, was Ray Corrigan, in a gorilla suit. Every now and then he would scare somebody or get into mischief........This was still early in the film career of Carole Landis, who wasn't in many westerns. Less than a decade later, she would take an overdose of sleeping pills. She was depressed about her revolving door romantic life. Also, her movie career seemed to be stalled. In addition, she had a number of health issues, including some residual problems acquired in the South Pacific when she was entertaining GIs during the war. Finally, she was disappointed by her endometriosis negating the possibility ofhavingchildren

Before he was famous, John Wayne made a bunch of "Three Mesquiteers" movies with Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune. They're pretty silly, but since it was his time as Star of the Week, I watched a few of them. They're formula, one-hour westerns, where the three cowboy friends ride into town, solve a problem, capture the bad guy, kiss the girl, and ride off in the sunset in search of the next town.

In Three Texas Steers, it involves a circus (though you'd never know from the title). Carole Landis owns a circus, and when she refuses to sell to the bad guys, she starts getting harassed. In comes the cute cowboy and his two pals (no offense Ray and Max, but we all know why John Wayne became famous) and they try their best to save the day. It might take them a really long time, though, like, almost an hour. Honestly, folks, watching one of Duke's pre-Stagecoach westerns is probably enough. He made dozens and dozens of them, but as young and cute as he is, you'll enjoy yourself more if you watch the better quality, post-Stagecoach westerns.