The Texas Rangers

1936
PG
1h 38m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Fred MacMurray, Jack Oakie, and Jean Parker in The Texas Rangers (1936)

Two down-on-their-luck former outlaws volunteer to be Texas Rangers and find themselves assigned to bring in an old friend, now a notorious outlaw.Two down-on-their-luck former outlaws volunteer to be Texas Rangers and find themselves assigned to bring in an old friend, now a notorious outlaw.Two down-on-their-luck former outlaws volunteer to be Texas Rangers and find themselves assigned to bring in an old friend, now a notorious outlaw.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

862

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total

Photos26

+ 19

Top cast48

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Fred MacMurray

Jim Hawkins

Jack Oakie

Henry B. 'Wahoo' Jones

Jean Parker

Amanda Bailey

Lloyd Nolan

Sam 'Polka Dot' McGee

Edward Ellis

Major Bailey

Benny Bartlett

David
(as Bennie Bartlett)

Frank Shannon

Captain Stafford

Frank Cordell

Ranger Ditson

Richard Carle

Casper Johnson

Jed Prouty

District Attorney Dave Twitchell

Fred Kohler

Jess Higgins
(as Fred Kohler Sr.)

George 'Gabby' Hayes

Judge Snow
(as George Hayes)

Stanley Andrews

First Higgins Henchman
(uncredited)

Irving Bacon

David's Father
(uncredited)

Kathryn Bates

School Teacher
(uncredited)

John Beck

Stage Passenger
(uncredited)

Hank Bell

Hank Wallace, Texas Ranger
(uncredited)

Virginia Brissac

David's Mother
(uncredited)

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
King Vidor made this movie to honor the celebrations of the centennial of the state of Texas.

Goofs
Hawkins and the other Rangers are surrounded by Indians. He kills the 2 Indians rolling rocks, throwing his empty pistol at one. As he descends the other side, he mounts a bareback horse, riding off shooting a pistol that shouldn't be there as he rides away.

Quotes
Wahoo Jones: How do you expect to find Sam down in this country? Texas! Phooey! No towns, no ranch houses, no gals, no nuthin'. Hah! We can't see a jack rabbit in two days. Boy, you can't tell me we're still in the United States!

Connections
Edited into Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940)

Soundtracks
The Texas Rangers Song
(uncredited)
Music by Sam Coslow
Lyrics by Harry Behn

User reviews22

Review

Featured review

7/10

One of the Best Westerns of the 30s

"The Texas Rangers" tells the story of three pals (Fred MacMurray, Jack Oakie, Lloyd Nolan) who are living the lives of outlaws until they become separated when cornered by a posse. MacMurray and Oakie wind up joining the Texas Rangers while Nolan becomes the notorious "Polka Dot Bandit". Eventually you know that the two sides will have the inevitable showdown. Great action scenes involving an Indian attack highlight the film.

A very young clean-shaven MacMurray is good in the lead and Jack Oakie is..well Jack Oakie as MacMurray's trusty sidekick. Nolan is fittingly evil as the grinning villain of the piece. Heroine Jean Parker plays MacMurray's love interest who convinces him of the error of his ways.

In the courtroom scene, watch for "B" western favorites George "Gabby" Hayes as a judge, Fred Kohlor as the town boss and Charles (Ming the Merciless) Middleton as his lawyer.

If the story seems familiar, it was remade as "The Streets of Laredo" in 1949 with William Holden, William Bendix and Macdonald Carey in the MacMurray, Oakie and Nolan roles respectively.