Riders of the Rio Grande

Edward von Sloane is the town's benevolent,paternalistic banker and he thankfully holds the dramatic center of this played-for-laughs final Three Mequiteers entry. So great in Universal horror movies, Dracula and The Mummy, this is his last big role. As the movie opens, we follow him through the main town street. The heroic trio doesn't appear until minute 13 of this 1 hour movie. Jimmie Dodd (of Mickey Mouse Club fame)is the most animated of the three and gets to invent a very clever jailhouse blues song that summarizes the plot. Western cult favorite Bob Steele gets to spar with his all-time favorite "dog heavy" punching bag, Charles King. King, despite being portly, was expert at faking fights. Steele, a small but brilliant fighter, was as a result, very popular in the 30s B westerns which otherwise often featured horrendously phony fisticuffs. Eventually, Steele's morose persona would be memorable in supporting roles, most notably, The Big Sleep. A chain-smoker, he died of emphysema. Sloane's banker character has two wayward offspring. Rick Vallin, the son, is familiar from late-era serials and 50s TV. The sole female character is played by beautiful Lorraine Miller, top-billed above Sloane. Ultra-dependable heavy Roy Barcroft is here at the very beginning of his lengthy Republic Studios tenure.