While the plot idea of having an evil rich boss trying to control everything out west is one of the most common themes in westerns, "The Renegade Ranger" manages to take a worn cliché of a plot and make it mildly interesting. Mind you, this is a B-movie and to really appreciate it, you should remember that it has a very modest budget and modest cast--and they did pretty well with these constraints.
The film stars a big western star of the day, the all but forgotten George O'Brien as well as an up and coming star, Tim Holt. It also offers a very rare chance to see a very young Rita Hayworth before she was reinvented by Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn. What I mean by this is that Cohn envisioned her as a big star and had her makeup, hair and even hairline altered to create a much more glamorous image. Here in "The Renegade Ranger", although she's pretty, she isn't yet the stunner she'd soon become.
As far as the plot goes, the only way this really differs from the 101231092312 other westerns with evil boss-men is that the leader of the opposition is a lady (Hayworth) and an ex-Ranger (Holt) is working both sides of the fence during the picture! So why, if it's so familiar do I recommend it? Well, the acting. The three leads were a good bit better than usual for such a film and they managed to carry it off--making the acting seem more natural than usual. Worth your time.
The film stars a big western star of the day, the all but forgotten George O'Brien as well as an up and coming star, Tim Holt. It also offers a very rare chance to see a very young Rita Hayworth before she was reinvented by Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn. What I mean by this is that Cohn envisioned her as a big star and had her makeup, hair and even hairline altered to create a much more glamorous image. Here in "The Renegade Ranger", although she's pretty, she isn't yet the stunner she'd soon become.
As far as the plot goes, the only way this really differs from the 101231092312 other westerns with evil boss-men is that the leader of the opposition is a lady (Hayworth) and an ex-Ranger (Holt) is working both sides of the fence during the picture! So why, if it's so familiar do I recommend it? Well, the acting. The three leads were a good bit better than usual for such a film and they managed to carry it off--making the acting seem more natural than usual. Worth your time.