Trouble in Texas

While Tex Ritter (as Tex Masters) sings "Down the Colorado Trail", accompanied by harmonica-playing sidekick Horace Murphy (as Lucky), pretty government agent Rita Hayworth (as Carmen Serano) is sent out to investigate a series of mysterious rodeo deaths. Ms. Hayworth and Mr. Ritter cross paths in Middletown Valley, where Ritter is looking for the gang that killed his brother.

Undercover girl Hayworth and singing cowboy Ritter are the main attractions. Hayworth and Hank Worden have a couple of smooth dance numbers. Ritter's "Down the Colorado Trail" and "I'm Bound to Leave Ol' Texas Now" are highlights; the latter ballad is especially nice. The "Trouble in Texas" is, most obviously, its poorly edited "rodeo footage". It might have, otherwise, been a better movie.

If you like your villains straightforward and straight-faced, then this is a fun little B western. Tex Ritter is given the unenviable task of taking on the baddie trio of Earl Dwire, Yakima Canutt and Charles King. (If you're familiar with these fellows, you will have no trouble guessing who is the brains of the gang and who is simply brawn.)

Luckily, Tex's character is not named "Tex Masters" for nothing. Besides competing for rodeo prizes and singing a handful of catchy tunes, he suspects that the crooks in town are indeed the villains who killed his brother years ago, and are thus the gang he has been seeking all this time on the rodeo circuit. He also annoys Yakima to the point of uttering a classic threat: "All right, you guitar-playin' songbird, if you got anything to say, say it fast!"

Rita Cansino (Hayworth) is fine as an undercover government agent also after the same gang. And Horace Murphy is mildly amusing as Lucky, Tex's sidekick. I am not familiar with his work, but if IMDb's filmography is to be believed, he was busy in 1937--this was one of over 30 movies he appeared in that year!

Trouble In Texas finds Tex Ritter and sidekick Horace Murphy on the trail of a gang that is killing rodeo champions. The mistake that this gang headed by Earl Dwire makes is in killing Ritter's brother. He and Murphy have been on the trail for five years.

Devotees of the B western will find that a lot of usual players like Glenn Strange and Yakima Canutt are there. But if Trouble In Texas has any reason to be saved it is because one Rita Cansino who was the leading lady. All of 19 Ms. Cansino was playing a government agent who was also on the trail of the outlaws.

Of course we all know her better as Rita Hayworth so fans of the eternal Cover Girl will have a great opportunity to see her cowgirl attire.

There was a John Wayne B film from the Thirties where the same gambit was used to kill the rodeo cowboys. I can't remember which one so I don't know who stole from who.

If you've ever seen a Tex Ritter western you know what to expect from this one. Clunky situations broken up by a song or three from good ol' Tex. This one follows exactly to form.

The only reason to seek this out is the presence of a very young Rita Hayworth in the female lead. So early in fact that she is still billed by her given name, Rita Cansino. This was actually the last time she would be billed thus. It's painfully obvious she isn't completely at home before the cameras just yet since her line readings are still and lifeless. However there is one striking scene where she dances and suddenly there's the Rita Hayworth of legend, totally alive to the lens. As soon as the music stops though she's right back where she started, ill at ease and uncomfortable. She looks pretty, still brunette and slightly dowdy, the Columbia magic hasn't happened yet and she resembles a young Ann Sheridan more than herself. Ironic than that a few years after this she would get her big breakthrough stepping in to The Strawberry Blonde when Ann had a falling out with Warners.

As for this picture if you're a rodeo fan there are many, too many, scenes set in one but the acting is atrocious and the plot not very involving.

Bkoganbing mentioned in his review that there was a B movie with John Wayne and wasn't sure which came first. That movie was The Man from Utah and it was 1934, so I find it weird that they'd make essentially the same movie 3 years later. Not sure the point, except maybe they felt they could do it better.

Oddly, guys like Yakima Canutt and Earl Dwire were in both movies. John Wayne was replaced with Tex Ritter, and Lucky played Gabby's role. I suppose the selling point was maybe having Tex actually sing, instead of dubbing in a singer for John Wayne. Besides, Wayne didn't really become a star until Stagecoach (2 years after this in '39).

In any case, it's essentially the same movie, which is about a gang of guys trying to rig a rodeo to win all the prize money.

The quality of this is a shade better (than The Man from Utah), but they do the same rodeo stuff, dub in what looks to be some of the same footage, only they have more of it in this movie.

They do give writing credits to Lindsley Parsons - he wrote The Man from Utah - but I don't really see the point in making this movie. They get 0 points for originality.

The only reason I give this 3 stars (instead of 1) is that this it a little newer and they don't look to have dubbed (as much) as The Man from Utah. Also, Rita Cansino (before she was known as Rita Hayworth) is in this and I do think she does a good acting job, so maybe this was her break. Also, there was one funny part where Lucky put a stick against a guy's back, so the bad guy would think it was his gun, and not turn around. This might be worth more than 3 stars from me if this weren't ripped off. It's not like this is Hitchcock's Psycho getting remade, but maybe they could have come up with something original for Tex and Rita.