Rider from Tucson

Tim Holt and Chito Rafferty were a colorless B movie duo but this vehicle has been nicely crafted within the low budget limitations of the series. It's pretty well all one shot one scene. Director Seylander was one of the surest hands in this area and notice his use of the kind of action staging we get later in the films of John Sturges - foreground figures blazing away at background action.

This one also boasts a female bad guy, nicely handled by the wasted miss Borg and superior location shooting by film noir specialist Musuraca in what looks like the always welcome Devils Marbles terrain.

I just watched Rider From Tucson (1950) on TCM. It's an excellent B-western. Tim Holt plays Dave Saunders and Richard Martin is, of course, Chito Jose Gonzalez Bustamante Rafferty. Dave and Tim's good friend, Tug Bailey, has found a gold mine but is being besieged by outlaws who want to learn its location. Saloon keepers John and Gypsy Avery are leading the bad guys. They kidnap Tug's fiancé, Jane Whipple, But Dave and Chito rescue her. Now the baddies go after Tug directly. Are there too many of them for Dave and Chito to handle?

Rider From Tucson (1950) boasts a great supporting cast. Long time character actor William Phipps is great as Tug. Elaine Riley is Jane. She and Richard Martin were married in 1946 and remained so until his death in 1994. Veda Ann Borg is excellent as Gypsy. She made a great villainess in this one. Familiar 1950s TV actor Robert Shayne is John Avery. Douglas Fowler shines as kidnapper Bob Rankin.

This B-Western features a good script, excellent acting by all, and plenty of hard riding, shooting, and fisticuffs. It's well worth watching on a freezing cold Saturday morning.

After browsing some of the B-westerns on IMDb I've noticed there are few comments on these movies. The problem with trying to critique these movies is, they simply can't be evaluated by A-movie standards or even A-westerns standards. Such is "Rider from Tucson".

While at a rodeo in Arizona, Tim and Chito (Tim Holt & Richard Martin) are called back to a friend's (william Phipps) wedding. Right away you notice the difference between the A & B western. This movie presumably set in the old west shows the rodeo arena with overhead lights (like a baseball park). Not exactly the stuff of 1800's America. Budget limitations, tight shooting schedules and off of the cuff scripts are all part of these movies.

Given these limitations Tim Holt turned out some of the very best of these, especially his post-WW II westerns. Quite contrary to previous comments on this movie I've always found Tim and Chito to be one of the more enjoyable of the old Saddle Pals and despite the idiosyncrasies "Riders from Tucson" is one of their best. Good acting, good pacing and a better than average plot and script make this a must see for fans of the B. Typically first class direction from Lesley Selander and nice film sequences tie this one together with the general feel of a higher budget western despite the obvious budget restraints. Definitely worth a watch.

B-Western Grading Scale ********* 8/10

Cowpunchers Dave and Chito are competing in a Tucson rodeo when they receive a telegram from an old friend. He has struck gold but a gang are trying to jump his mining claim. The duo leave Arizona for Colorado to help their friend out of trouble.

Rider from Tucson is another standard yet entertaining Tim Holt western with the right amount of gun smoke, fights, and drama. Its plot is diverting enough, but what makes this interesting are the villains who are husband and wife, John Avery (Robert Shayne) and Gypsy Avery (Veda Ann Borg), but it's Gypsy who wears the trousers in that marriage, controlling her husband with an iron mouth; Veda Ann Borg is great in her role, greedy, ambitious and cold. She berates her husband, calling him a coward. The monolithic landscapes is stunning and the finale is quite tense.

I quite enjoyed this. It's harmless fun. It won't stretch your brain too much, but the acting is okay & the plot believable.It's just one of the better "B" grade westerns that proliferated around this time in the 1950's.