El Tigre

Mickey Rooney (as J. Dennis "Denny" O'Moore) is out west, looking to find his brother Robert Stack (as Patrick O'Moore), whom he hasn't seen in eight years. Mr. Rooney meets up with Robert Preston (as Joe Walter), who is looking for the notorious outlaw known as "El Tigre". No prize for guessing how "El Tigre" is related to Rooney. Wanda Hendrix adds femininity to "My Outlaw Brother".

Tip your cowboy hat to Mickey Rooney, who is the film's greatest asset; and, he gets the larger women. Mr. Stack is penetrating as Rooney's unlikely brother. Mr. Preston makes a good partner; wisely, he is low key in the presence of Rooney. Just an interesting cast in a slight film.

**** My Outlaw Brother (8/22/51) Elliott Nugent ~ Mickey Rooney, Wanda Hendrix, Robert Preston, Robert Stack

First, Elliott Nugent was not specialized in westerns at all, nor in film noirs or sci-fi...Only? or may I say? mostly comedies and light hearted films. So this one can be seen as a performance from him, and a pretty efficient one. And what a surprise to see Bob Stack in a villain role, "gentle and sympathetic" villain, and also a Mickey Rooney in a unexpected role too; though not as terrific as the one he'll have in THE LAST MILE; Only Preston Foster is here as a classical character for him, the forever, lead character's friend or sidekick. good little film, from Eagle Lion's productions.

When this film debuted in 1951, Mickey Rooney was not nearly as popular an actor in Hollywood as he'd been a decade earlier. And, so many of his previous films were nothing like "My Outlaw Brother" but were more slices of an idealized American life--minor love stories involving his Andy Hardy character or superficial musicals. Here, however, he is inexplicably in an independent B-western--a HUGE change of pace from the usual fancy MGM pieces he appeared in at the time. Now this is not a bad thing--as it did offer a nice change of pace and a chance to see him in a more gritty sort of film.

The movie begins with an Easterner (Rooney) showing up out West...unprepared and totally out of place. Despite this, he manages to find a friend in a local Texas Ranger (Robert Preston) who looks out for him. However, the Ranger is surprised to learn that his new friend, though quite likable, might just be the brother of a local outlaw who is wanted on both sides of the border. So, when this greenhorn travels into Mexico to find his brother, the Ranger tags along. What's next? See the film.

For a B-western, this is better than normal. Some better than average acting, a decent script and nice production values make this quite satisfying and worth your time--even with the odd ending where Rooney's character seems amazingly ambivalent with the way things ended up by the conclusion.

This was a pleasant surprise for me. I bought a set of DVD's at K-mart and this was one of the movies on the twin disc set. The picture quality was acceptable considering the age. The acting was quite good. Mickey managed to offer a few laughs as the clumsy easterner trying to fit in with the wild west. Robert Stack was a very convincing bad guy and Robert Preston was the straight shooting Texas Ranger. It had a good plot and moved along quite well for a movie from the 1950's. But it is the type of movie I grew up with so it seems normal to me. Younger people used to the full throttle action of today's movies might find it a bit slow, but they seldom even consider a movie like this. In all it was great fun for me.

One oddity was when Robert Preston as ranger Walters was at the map of Texas, he indicated the town of San Clemente about 50 miles south of present day San Vincente, Mx. I was unable to find a San Clemente, Mexico on any maps so it was just a part of the story line not a real location. There is a San Clemente, California but that is much farther away than 50 miles. Don't let that ruin the movie for you, it was a good one and it had a bit of a surprise at the end.

Pop some corn, pour a soda, and sit back to enjoy an old fashioned western from the 50's before there were special effects, back when actors had to act to earn a living.

A good cast helps make this crime/western feature work, and makes up for story that is usually predictable and is sometimes too implausible not to become noticeable. Mickey Rooney and Robert Preston are particularly well cast in their roles, and a relatively young Robert Stack also gets the most out of his character.

Rooney plays a young New Yorker who heads to the southwest to find his brother, only to find out that his former idol has changed significantly. Rooney believably plays up the part of the tough little guy who won't be pushed around just because he's smaller than everyone else, and it adds something to many scenes. Preston fits well into the role of the straight-shooting ranger, and Stack is effective as the brother.

Most of the rest of it is just adequate, although the three leads do a good job of carrying the action. José Torvay helps out in a couple of scenes, and while the sets are quite plain, they do at least set a generally believable atmosphere.