Arizona Legion

I just watched Arizona Legion (1939) on TCM. It's an OK B-western made by RKO. A gang of masked riders is running roughshod over Arizona and it's up to Arizona Ranger Boone Yeager to put a stop to it. Boone goes undercover as a hell-raising cowboy. He infiltrates the gang by serving on a jury that acquits one of its obviously guilty members. He finds out that the leader of the gang is an unknown character known only as The Chief. Boone loses his girl Letty as she wants no part of an outlaw for a husband. Boone must learn the identity of the Chief and bring the cavalry and the rest of the Rangers in to round up the gang. But can he do it? And win back Letty?

George O'Brien is at his best here as Boone Yeager. Watch for the exciting climax when he appears to perform a dangerous stunt himself by jumping from his horse onto a moving stagecoach. It's very well done and worth waiting for. A very young Laraine Day is his desirable fiancé Letty. Chill Wills is on hand as Whopper. And that's Glenn Strange as George Kirby.

Watching Arizona Legion (1939) is a pleasant way to spend an early Saturday morning.

George O'Brien is recruited to head a secret Service for the State of Arizona by the Governor and to woo a very young Laraine Day in this middling episode of his long-running series for RKO.

It starts out well enough with a young Chill Wills as 'Whopper' telling a tall tale, before settling into more standard B mode. It is constricted a bit by the poor print that Turner Classic Movies has available. O'Brien is good, as always and the plot has its moments of excitement, as well as some good cinematography, including some nice stunt work and fighting atop a stage coach. But the short length of the film -- just under an hour -- and its abrupt ending emphasizes its B nature. While it's fine for what it is, you'd be better off starting your addiction to the series with another of O'Brien's westerns. Try the previous year's RENEGADE RANGER or PAINTED DESERT.

Wills Whiskey Joe , leader of the ruthless Dutton gang, is the most feared man in Arizona, robbing stagecoaches and killing anyone in his way. When the county court fails to bring him to justice, it's up to Boone Yeager and his 'Arizona Rangers', an undercover group appointed by the Governor, to rid the land of this menace....

George O' Brien plays Boone Yeager, who is cleverly introduced as a hell-raiser and a lawbreaker, but later on we realise he's a Ranger, out to corral a bunch of robbers and learn who the secret leader is. The latter part lacks the intrigue needed, the focus is on a fast-paced plot and some lively spurts of action. It's a passable enough shoot em up.

Army lieutenant Bob Ives (Carlyle Moore Jr.) arrives in lawless Arizona. He finds his friend Boone Yeager (George O'Brien) had turned to the dark side. Boone loses both his sweetheart Letty Meade (Laraine Day) and his best friend Ives. Ives tries to take down a baddie, but fear corrupts the trial. Unbeknownst to them, Letty's father Judge Meade has been organizing the Arizona Rangers and sent Boone undercover to find the criminal mastermind.

This is a B-western from RKO. The story has a good spin which gives it a bit of freshness. There is plenty of horse riding and gun play although nothing too tricky. There is a little bit of good stunt work on a stagecoach, but that comes at the very end. I wouldn't mind more of that type of stunt work to spice things up.