• Wide Release
• Director: Ray Taylor
• Written by: Edmond Kelso
• Running Time: 61 minutes
• Language: English
• MPAA Rating: G - General Audiences
• Cast: Tex Ritter, Horace Murphy, Iris Meredith, Charles King, Earl Dwire, Forrest Taylor, Joseph W. Girard, Lafe McKee, Hank Worden, Ray Whitley, Lynton Brent, Ken Card, Ed Carey, Victor Cox, Rube Dalroy, Hugh Farr, Karl Farr, Oscar Gahan, Allen Greer, Chick Hannon, Ray Henderson, Harley Luse, Johnny Luther, Clyde McClary, Buck Morgan, Tex Palmer, Earl Phelps, Norman Phelps, James Sheridan, Jack C. Smith

A B-western that truly defies the low expectations of its genre by simply being good, Tex Martin (Tex Ritter) and Stubby (Horace Murphy) are back to face down some very malicious, black-hooded goons intent on getting the deed to a valuable mine. This is a typical Ritter vehicle; loaded with more singing and alpha male machismo than one can handle, but what makes this one different from the rest is that there’s actually a pretty decent story backing him up. Borrowing a page from the headlines, the bad guys here, named the Masked Riders, are apparently based on some real life thugs called the Black Legion who terrorized the Michigan area in the late 1930’s. The scene where Tex dons a hood and infiltrates the gang during one of their meetings, is a high-point in the film and has been copied time and time again, even as recently as “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay."

The film starts off with a bang, as a full-tier shoot-out involving the hooded goons of the title and carriage driver, Tom Wilson (Lafe McKee), a fellow who helped teach Tex how to rope steers, culminates with Wilson being shot and left for dead. As if by fate or coincidence, Tex and Stubby come moseying down the trial, eventually stumbling upon Tom as he lay near death. With his last breath, he urges the pair to investigate the Four Star Mine and hook up with his foreman Dan Farley (Joseph W. Girard). Feeling obliged, Tex and Stubby are soon on their way into town to find directions to this so-called Mine that old man Wilson was talking about. In an interesting twist, they learn that many of the locals don’t take kindly to questions about the place and before long, Tex is being warned off, first with threats and then with fists. A warning from a sneering cowpoke named Blackie Devlin (Charles King) escalates into a knock down drag out scrap as Tex happily hands the guy his own ass. As it turns out, Blackie is one of the leaders of the Masked Riders, and since the sheriff of the town is neatly in their pocket, it isn’t a stretch to figure which side the law comes down on. Yes, Blackie and his boys. Sensing that the badge might be on the payroll, Tex resists telling him about Tom. He even heeds the sheriff’s warning to steer clear of the mine, or at least until he and Stubby exit the saloon, then they are off towards the Four Star where they meet up with a shotgun wielding Nancy Wilson (Iris Meredith), Tom’s daughter.

After breaking to her the news of her father’s death, Nancy glides them to the Mine and to Foreman Farley, who happily shows the duo around. When he insinuates that the ore in the mine isn’t worth much, Tex immediately senses that something suspicious is at work here and it isn’t much of a wait before Tex starts to uncover a major conspiracy that connects Farley to the dreaded masked marauders. Later, and as I pointed out earlier, one scene of interest involves Tex infiltrating the group by knocking out one of the Masked Men and stealing his hood. Strangely, this leads to an anti-climactic jailhouse breakout scene -- anti-climactic because it happens off camera. Without giving too much away, Tex heads up a group of vigilantes made up of fed up ranchers and miners, against the hooded cowards. The revelation of the real driving force behind all this mayhem shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone even remotely paying attention. Coming full-circle, the film ends as it began with an action-packed horse chase/shoot-out.

Tex Ritter’s three musical bits here are as good as ever, the best being a segment that teams Tex with Ray Whitley (1941's "Cyclone on Horseback") and his Range Ramblers in a bar. At the behest of Stubby’s lovely friend, Tex belts out a wicked rendition of Ride, Ride, Ride. Horace Murphy (1937's "Sing, Cowboy, Sing") as Stubby is merely good playing what amounts to, Tex’s bitch. Yeah, I know that sounds vulgar but what else would you call someone who spends much of his screen time being the brunt of Tex’s jokes. At the same time, the two seem to get along well and that chemistry translates onto the screen. However, there’s something odd about the idea of two middle-aged men tracking the backdrop of the old West together all alone; one serenading the other while the other makes googly eyes. Since Tex is the mostly sharp-edged hero of the story, Stubby is clearly in place to provide the occasional laugh and break up the flow. Even though his humour is as dry as the desert around him, he did make me chuckle during one specific scene involving a dim-witted deputy. 22 year-old Iris Meredith (1940's "Texas Stagecoach") looks beautiful beyond words, but, sadly, she barely receives so much as a glance from these two burly men.

The notion of having a real-life organization, broken up the very year this went into production, as the main villain was actually quite a ballsy move on the part of the producers. Here’s a little history for you guys too lazy to check Wikipedia; Numbering 20,000 to 30,000 members, the Black Legion was an offshoot of the Klu Klux Klan centered in 1930’s Michigan. Unlike the KKK however, the Legion lacked a common principle or function, and would often spend their time harassing or murdering those they somehow deemed un-American, namely socialists and communists. Wearing black hoods and uniforms with skull and crossbones insignia, they looked like something out of a nightmare and were probably a terrifying sight to those unlucky enough to cross their path. As portrayed in the movie, the group apparently had ties to some figures in poltical office.

Overall, a pretty damn good B-Western that pleasantly surprised me. You can catch this bad boy online for free at various public domain torrent sites like this one. Or you can purchase it from Mill Creek Entertainment, as I did.