Western Wednesdays: Cowboys from Texas (1939)

     Cowboys from Texas was released on November 29th, 1939. Directed, once again, by George Sherman, it is the second film in the series to feature the trio of Robert Livingston (newly returned to replace John Wayne who had left the series after the success of Stagecoach) playing Stony Brooke, Raymond Hatton as Rusty Joslin (a character who had been revamped somewhat after the departure of Wayne and Ray Corrigan) and Duncan Renaldo as Rico Rinaldo (a new character created to replace Corrigan's Tuscon Smith). In it the three heroes join together to prevent a range war between their fellow ranchers and the newly arrived homesteaders.

     A noteworthy factoid about this particular crop of Mesquiteers movies with Livingston, Hatton and Renaldo is that Livingston began to utilize his Lone Ranger persona (the actor had played the character in Republic's second Lone Ranger serial) alongside his Stony Brooke character. Here Stony infiltrates the gang run by Duke Plummer, who is trying to pit the ranchers against the homesteaders, in order to discover their plans. When he does he puts on a mask to hide his identity and thwarts Plummer's schemes as "the masked rider."

     This film features Charles Middleton, who's best known for playing Ming in the Flash Gordon serials, as Kansas Jones the leader of the homesteaders. He makes for a surprisingly forthright and honest farmer. His daughter, June, is a solid love interest as played by Carole Landis, who would make a name for herself in Hal Roach's One Million B.C. before her tragic suicide at the age of 29 just 8 years later. Ethan Laidlaw's Duke Plummer makes for a decent enough heavy but is outshone somewhat by Betty Compson's Belle Starkey, an unscrupulous saloon owner whose in bed with Plummer.

     Raymond Hatton's "Rusty" Joslin is more of a blowhard compared to Terhune's mischievous yet reliable Lullaby. Though the equal of his two companions when it comes to fighting, shooting or riding, he falls short when it comes to charm or charisma. Duncan Renaldo, a Romanian American actor who would go on to play the Cisco Kid, plays a somewhat stereotypical Mexican cowboy as Rico Rinaldo. He's eminently charming and competes with Stony and Rusty for June's affections. This makes for a more comedic tone then previous entries in the series, with Hatton and Renaldo providing the comedic contrast to Livingston's straight man but without the stolid Corrigan, it feels a little unbalanced.

     Like all the Mesquiteers movies Cowboys from Texas is action packed and features plenty of exciting chases and fight. The highlight is certainly the big shootout with Plummer's gang in the middle of town that serves as the film's climax, set off after an unmasked Stony reveals Plummer's treachery. Yakima Canutt's stunt-work is top notch as always.

Score: 7/10