Corpus Christi Bandits

"Corpus Christi Bandits" was released in 1945 during the closing days of WWII. There are two things which set this Allan Lane series western apart.

The first is a prologue and epilogue set in the present (1945) where war hero James Christi (Lane) is about to be honored by the Governor. His younger sister (Twinkle Watts) and her friends emulate James' heroics in a homemade bomber. As James leaves for the state capitol, his parents (Ruth Lee, Francis MacDonald) tell the youngster the story of her grandfather in the days following the Civil War.

That leads me to the second item. The egotistical Lane always took special care in presenting his image to the public. However, in the opening scenes of the flashback, he appears unshaven and in grubby clothes and in God forbid, a black hat.

Anyway the story has Lane and his three Civil war buddies (Tom London, Bob Wilke, Kenne Duncan) holding up the stage because the war has made it impossible for Southern war vets to make an honest living. Lane then decides to go straight and settle in Corpus Christi. There he finds the town being run by local saloon owner Wade Larkin (Roy Barcroft) and his gang. Larkin is being opposed only by the local newspaper run by the brother and sister team of Alonzo and Dorothy Adams (Jack Kirk, Helen Talbot. Lane decides to become the town lawman and clean up the town. Duncan decides to join up with Barcroft and well you know the rest.

Allan Lane would later become more famous with the kiddies as Red Ryder, taking over from "Wild Bill" Elliot in 1946 and as "Rocky Lane in a series that ran from 1948 to 1953. Bob Wilke or Robert J. Wilke would achieve greater fame playing brutish villains in both grade "A" and "B" westerns.

Allan Lane gets to do two roles in Corpus Christi Bandits, a current day Lane and in a flashback narrated by Francis McDonald to his other child Twinkle Watts, the story of his own grandfather the notorious Corpus Christi Kid. The current Lane is an ace in the Army Air Corps and is about to go to Austin to be decorated by the governor and made honorary captain in the Texas Rangers.

So while Lane the ace prepares for the trip to Austin, McDonald tells his other child the story of the outlaw who was really more sinned against than sinned. He killed a Yankee Reconstruction commissioner and became an outlaw on the run with friends, Robert J. Wilke, Tom London, and Kenne Duncan.

In a rather unconvincing change of heart which you only accept because Lane is a cowboy hero, he decides to clean up the next town he settles in from the crookedness of saloon owner Roy Barcroft. As Lane is a cowboy hero, Barcroft who was contracted to Republic to play villains always meant some kind of skullduggery was brewing.

I need not say who triumphs, but the film itself is rather at loose ends and could really have used better direction and writing.

One thing I found fascinating. There was a plea made in the modern story to take better care of our returning veterans. In the works in Congress as this film was in circulation was the GI Bill of Rights and it was something recognized universally the fact we needed to do better by our veterans. Though why the example of Confederate veterans was a bit much to take. They were in fact fighting against the US government and how the writers of Corpus Christi Bandits expected rebels to be treated was a bit much.

Lane plays WWII army returnee reminiscing about his stagecoach robber granddad in the Old West, who made good in spite of a black sheep in his gang and some dark forces in town, whom he subdues through his card game prowess. Very gripping fight on top of stagecoach is the movie's highlight, the other positive aspect being that it's over in 59'.