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The Texas Rangers

Play trailer Poster for The Texas Rangers 1936 1h 35m Western Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
79% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
With the law hot on their trail, three bandits, Jim (Fred MacMurray), Wahoo (Jack Oakie) and Sam (Lloyd Nolan), split up, with Jim and Wahoo joining the Texas Rangers. When Sam rejoins them, they agree to use their insider information as Rangers to rustle cattle, but Jim and Wahoo are distracted by an attack on a group of homesteaders. Pleased when he saves a young orphan boy, Jim then participates in staving off another crucial attack, which prompts him to reconsider resuming his criminal ways.

Critics Reviews

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Herb Schoenfeld Variety 04/24/2020
What appears to have been intended as an epic of the Southwest is just a fancy boss opry. Go to Full Review John T. McManus New York Times 04/24/2020
Things continued to happen in accord with one of the screen's most archaic formulas. Go to Full Review TIME Staff TIME Magazine 04/24/2020
[Audiences] are likely to excuse the picture for its pardonable bias on the grounds of an entertainment value enhanced by King Vidor's vigorous treatment of a story largely concocted by himself, brilliant photography by Cameraman Eddie Cronjager. Go to Full Review Ann Ross Maclean's Magazine 04/24/2020
I don't know when I've seen so much action, or watched the boys having a better time. Go to Full Review James T. Hamada The Nippu Jiji (Honolulu) 04/24/2020
The Texas Rangers is proof positive that westerns can be made into superlative entertainment if produced on a large scale with a good cast. Go to Full Review Josephine O'Neill Daily Telegraph (Australia) 04/24/2020
Over-long in some of its documentary passages, and annoyingly interrupted by the unnecessary romance between MacMurray and Jean Parker, The Texas Rangers is, on the whole, a winner. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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09/24/2015 good historical western See more 03/31/2013 Big-budget Paramount western. See more 10/16/2011 It holds up fairly well, despite its troublesome portrayal of Indians. Fred MacMurray is charming and Vidor's direction is good. See more 08/21/2010 The Texas Ranger's is a classic film with nonstop action,romance and hilarious comic relief. See more 04/24/2009 You know, for a movie this old, the story holds up pretty well. The relationship between Jim and Sam and how it mutates on account of Jim's character arc is pretty compelling. As for Wahoo, I didn't like him at first, but he changes. None of the character change seems forced. The main gripes I have is that Amanda's character was kind of flat. And then you have the cartoon treatment of the Native Americans with their cartoon war path. They're hardly the only bad guys, though. The film does a great job showing how success can also breed complaceny and corruption amongst those who fought for that success originally. Amanda and the Native Americans notwithstanding, the writing's pretty great and even ahead of its time seeing's how this film became a template for many Westerns that followed. Oh, and let me not forget Fred MacMurray. He's perfectly cast here in one of his first big roles. See more 03/08/2007 I did not really like this movie. See more Read all reviews
The Texas Rangers

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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King Vidor

Director

Fred MacMurray

Jim Hawkins

Jack Oakie

Henry B. "Wahoo" Jones

Jean Parker

Amanda Bailey

Lloyd Nolan

Sam "Polka Dot" McGee

Edward Ellis

Major Bailey
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The Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers (1936) The Texas Rangers (1936) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis With the law hot on their trail, three bandits, Jim (Fred MacMurray), Wahoo (Jack Oakie) and Sam (Lloyd Nolan), split up, with Jim and Wahoo joining the Texas Rangers. When Sam rejoins them, they agree to use their insider information as Rangers to rustle cattle, but Jim and Wahoo are distracted by an attack on a group of homesteaders. Pleased when he saves a young orphan boy, Jim then participates in staving off another crucial attack, which prompts him to reconsider resuming his criminal ways.
Director
King Vidor
Production Co
Paramount Pictures
Genre
Western
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
May 22, 2017
Runtime
1h 35m