Abuse of authority, corrupt lawmen, corrupt judge, bandits, shootouts, good guys, bad guys, damsels in distress, this movie has everything you'd look for in a western.
Watched this movie on the late,late,late show on AMC hoping it would put me to sleep, but I ended up following the plot lines and staying up to watch the ending, even though I knew that the bad guys always lose in the end. Happily, not too much singing, enough gun play to keep it interesting.
The only problem I had with this movie was the actor they chose for Judge Blake, his acting leaves much to be desired, and he fails to convey just how evil and corrupt a man his character is.
All in all a pretty good movie for it's day. Compared to other movies of this era I've seen, I'd give it a 9/10, compared to all movies, it's a 7/10.
Plot summary
Major Barton (Gordon Hart) is commissioned by General Grant to procure 5,000 head of horses for the Army. He finally gathers the needed number, only to be killed by a band of cattle and horse rustlers led by Pecos Judge L.F. Blake (Robert Middlemass). Texas Rangers Steve Ainslee (Dick Foran) and Jeff Carter (Eddie Acuff) are detailed to break up the ring and bring the killers to justice. Working undercover Steve learns Barton was killed by the gang. When gang member Luke Brady (Monte Montague) receives payment for the stolen horses, Steve beats Luke and takes the government check. Steve and Jeff trail Blake and learn he is plotting to gain the deed to Major Barton's property and cheat the murdered man's daughter,Alice Burton (Anne Nagel) out of her inheritance. They advise Alice of Blake's plans and get her to promise not to let thee papers out of her hands. Later, Steve attempts to capture a thief in the bedroom of Alice and her Aunt Carrie (Gaby Fay) but the outlaws capture him, and then they inform Alice that Steve is the man who murdered her father and she gives the papers to Blake. Complications follow.
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Singing Ranger nails horse thieving judge
Guns Of The Pecos casts Dick Foran as a singing Texas Ranger who goes on an undercover assignment to nail a Judge Roy Bean like character who being both a judge and an outlaw has a nice little racket going in the town that he rules. As Foran notes to his captain "Rangers are as popular as rattlers" in that neck of the woods.
Robert Middlemass plays the crooked judge who is Roy Bean in all but his groupie like devotion to Lily Langtry. Anne Nagel plays the daughter of a ranch owner who is killed when his herd of horses is rustled. She gets a nice taste of Foran's baritone and after that she's his.
Middlemass is really something to see. Walter Brennan might have taken notes on what Middlemass does in Guns Of The Pecos before he played Roy Bean in The Westerner.
Fans of the singing cowboy genre and Dick Foran in particular should be pleased with this one.
Texas Ranger Sings Like An Opera Star!
Dick Foran,(Steve Ainslee),"The Mummy's Hand",'40, was an under cover Texas Ranger who merrily sang his tunes and wound up joining a gang of outlaws who worked for a crooked Judge who seemed to have a run of the local town and held his court room in his Bar/Hotel. There were horse stealing which involved a sweet young gal named Anne Nigel,(Alice Burton),"Black Friday",'40, who was being run off her ranch after her father was murdered in Cold Blood. Alice Burton was not a very trusting young lady and gave Steve Ainslee a very hard time and almost had him hung by the neck.
No matter how you feel about a singing Cowboy and this Corn Ball B Film, it is still a Classic Western and many people in 1937 were very entertained by this WESTERN, probably your Great Great Grandfathers & Mothers! Foran really sounded like Nelson Eddy!