"Trouble in Texas" appears to be a re-working of the 1934 Lone Star Pictures film, "The Man From Utah", starring John Wayne; both were directed by Robert North Bradbury and both utilize the excellent stunt work of Yakima Canutt. In fact, Yak's character in both pictures is pretty much the same, he portrays a champion rodeo rider who's part of a gang of racketeers that insures their top man wins most of the top prize money. Serious challengers never get a chance, usually winding up dead under mysterious circumstances.
Tex Ritter acquits himself well in this film, his character is Tex Masters, and he rides the rodeo circuits in hopes of catching up with the gang responsible for his brother's murder five years earlier. But the real bright star of this film is a lovely young lady by the name of Rita Cansino, you might know her better as Rita Hayworth. It's stunning to see how lovely she looks, portraying undercover government agent Carmen Serano who tries to get the goods on the gang by working them from the inside. She's hired by rodeo racketeer Barker (perennial baddie Earl Dwire), and before it's over she gets to show some early singing and dancing talent in an entertaining saloon number.
Much of the movie's screen time is taken up by rodeo stock footage, with your standard roping and bulldogging, and a fair amount of native Indian parade and dance. When it comes time for the actual contests, Tex manages to out ride, out rope and outdo his main opponent for the prize money in every event, "Squint" Palmer (Canutt). The gang is unsuccessful in having Masters fall for the old poison needle in the halter trick, but coincidentally, that's how Tex's brother died, so now he's got the goods on all the bad boys, enough for the Middleton sheriff (Glenn Strange) to put them all away for good. Quite coincidentally, the same ruse was used in "The Man From Utah", only the poison needle was positioned in the saddle to do it's dirty work.
I get a kick out of the pre-1950 Westerns where the good guy, in this case Tex Ritter, can shoot a gun out of the hand of an opponent, and not have the bullet find it's mark in another person directly in the line of fire. The Lone Ranger would consistently do the same, finding his target and only his target, even when firing right into the middle of a crowd.
Horace Murphy offers up some comic relief in the movie as Tex's sidekick Lucky, his gimmick is talking up his non existent heroics in sort of a Gabby Hayes style, but he doesn't have the on screen charisma of a Gabby, or even a Smiley Burnette, kind of a poor man's "pardner".
I got "Trouble in Texas" as a double bill DVD along with Tex Ritter's "Arizona Days"; available for a buck in one of the dollar chain stores - definitely a bargain for Tex fans, or if you just want to sample Ritter's work without laying out major cash. Of the two, "Trouble" alone will be worth your trouble, especially for the surprising appearance of gorgeous Rita Hayworth.
Tex Ritter acquits himself well in this film, his character is Tex Masters, and he rides the rodeo circuits in hopes of catching up with the gang responsible for his brother's murder five years earlier. But the real bright star of this film is a lovely young lady by the name of Rita Cansino, you might know her better as Rita Hayworth. It's stunning to see how lovely she looks, portraying undercover government agent Carmen Serano who tries to get the goods on the gang by working them from the inside. She's hired by rodeo racketeer Barker (perennial baddie Earl Dwire), and before it's over she gets to show some early singing and dancing talent in an entertaining saloon number.
Much of the movie's screen time is taken up by rodeo stock footage, with your standard roping and bulldogging, and a fair amount of native Indian parade and dance. When it comes time for the actual contests, Tex manages to out ride, out rope and outdo his main opponent for the prize money in every event, "Squint" Palmer (Canutt). The gang is unsuccessful in having Masters fall for the old poison needle in the halter trick, but coincidentally, that's how Tex's brother died, so now he's got the goods on all the bad boys, enough for the Middleton sheriff (Glenn Strange) to put them all away for good. Quite coincidentally, the same ruse was used in "The Man From Utah", only the poison needle was positioned in the saddle to do it's dirty work.
I get a kick out of the pre-1950 Westerns where the good guy, in this case Tex Ritter, can shoot a gun out of the hand of an opponent, and not have the bullet find it's mark in another person directly in the line of fire. The Lone Ranger would consistently do the same, finding his target and only his target, even when firing right into the middle of a crowd.
Horace Murphy offers up some comic relief in the movie as Tex's sidekick Lucky, his gimmick is talking up his non existent heroics in sort of a Gabby Hayes style, but he doesn't have the on screen charisma of a Gabby, or even a Smiley Burnette, kind of a poor man's "pardner".
I got "Trouble in Texas" as a double bill DVD along with Tex Ritter's "Arizona Days"; available for a buck in one of the dollar chain stores - definitely a bargain for Tex fans, or if you just want to sample Ritter's work without laying out major cash. Of the two, "Trouble" alone will be worth your trouble, especially for the surprising appearance of gorgeous Rita Hayworth.