The Texas Rambler

Screen writer Oliver Drake combined several of his favorite plot elements, along with some original twists, in the script for this delightful Ray Kirkwood production. Agile, genial Bill Cody this time around is the somewhat mysterious Texas Rambler, commissioned by an even more mysterious, concealed individual, speaking to him from an opening in a rocky cliff, to rescue the pretty Catherine Cotter (former child radio performer in the Los Angeles area) from both an unscrupulous neighbor and an unsuitable suitor. Ever good-natured and game for adventure, Cody poses as an outlaw in order to join the gang of evil-doers and expose their plot.

Oliver Drake's scripts always offer far more fun than those of the average B Western writer. This time around, he provides his talented friend Earle Hodgins with a good villainous role, the versatile series regular Budd Buster with the part of an attorney, and the film's director, Bob Hill, with a chance to portray the phantom-like figure hiding in a cave. Hodgins adds interesting dimensions to his portrayal of the heavy, at one point showing disgust for the two-faced suitor of the girl he is trying to defraud, for stooping so low as to betray someone he supposedly loves.

With a smile and a carefree manner, the likeable Cody breezes his way through this pleasant entry in the series for his friend Kirkwood, with expert help from the ever-creative Mr. Drake.