Bandit King of Texas (1949) User Reviews (3)

"Yeah, I guess the only way for me to keep from swallowin' a wasp is to keep my mouth shut."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 24 February 2006]

It's not uncommon for "B" Westerns to have titles that bear no relationship to the story. "Bandit King of Texas" at least nominally describes the film's bad guy, town boss Dan McCabe (Jim Nolan), but a king he's not. McCabe's gimmick is to sell government land to unsuspecting buyers, assign phony deeds, and then retrieve the deeds and eliminate the victims. When McCabe steals a brooch belonging to Emily Baldwin, he has shop keeper Nugget Clark (Eddy Waller) make it into a stick pin for himself. As Nugget studies the brooch, he sees an inscription with the names "Emily and Rocky", so when Rocky Lane arrives in the town of Elko, Nugget finds he may have an ally in ridding the town's bully bad boy.

"Bandit King" manages to find ways to rise above the standard "B" Western fare of the day, beginning with a fairly innovative early scene when a covered wagon flips over. We see a notice from the phony Jewel Land Company framed by the spokes of a spinning wagon wheel; it's quite creatively done. Later on,with Rocky Lane aboard Black Jack, horse and rider make a nice leap over another disabled wagon while a bad guy posse can only pull up short. Though the story winds up being fairly typical, the players pull it off with a decent semblance of credibility. Followers of these early films will recognize the likes of John Hamilton, Harry Lauter, I. Stanford Jolley and Lane Bradford.

There's one scene to keep an eye on as hero Rocky takes after McCabe on horseback. On an open trail, as Lane catches up to McCabe and takes him down, they wind up duking it out between two large boulders that weren't there a split second ago.

I also got a kick out of the movie's finale when Rocky Lane winds up clearing his name after being framed by the bad guys more than once. Remember the brooch from the beginning of the story? Well Rocky re-gifts it to the wife of Harry Lauter's character, her name was Cynthia. Won't she be surprised to see Emily's name inside!

Thars a Rocky Road Ahead!

[bsmith5552 · 6/10 · 25 October 2020]

"Bandit King of Texas" is an Allen "Rocky" Lane western about a land company swindling eager settlers looking to buy some cheap land.

A young couple, the Baldwins, Jim (Richard Emory) and his wife Emily (Danni Sue Nolan) are on their way to Elko, Texas to buy some land from the Jewel Land Co. Rocky and Black Jack is to meet them there and help them settle. Unfortunately, the young couple are murdered by outlaws before they reach their destination. Another couple, Trem (Harry Lauter) and Cynthia Turner (Helen Stanley) alonf with Cythia's father Deputy Marshal John Turner (John Hamilton) are saved from the same gang by Rocky who never misses, and who drives them off.

In town we meet Dan McCabe (James Nolan) who is the head of the land scheme. It seems that he is selling off government land on his own and then murdering the settlers who have bought parcels of land from him. McCabe enlists the help of Thatch Dobson (George Lloyd) who poses as an amiable land agent.

When Rocky and the Turners arrive in town, Trem asks Rocky to buy his land on his behalf. Trem it seems, has a past with McCabe. Rocky completes the transaction and is given a deed by Dobson. When Rocky is unable to locate Trem, he heads back to the wagon but is waylayed by McCabe's henchmen Gus (Robert Bice) and Cal Barker (Lane Bradford). They rough Rocky up and take Trem's deed. Rocky unmasks Barker before he is knocked out.

Back in town, Rocky and Trem go to the Jewel Land office but find agent Willets (I. Stanford Jolley) who claims to know nothing of the land transaction. Dobson is nowhere to be seen. Nugget Clark (Eddy Waller) who among other things, is a jeweler, meanwhile has discovered a cameo pendant that had been given to the Baldwins by Rocky as a wedding present. The cameo had been brought in by McCabe. Nugget inform Rocky.

Rocky spots Barker in town and chases after him. After a brief tussle he brings the outlaw in. Marshal Turner arrests Rocky at the same time thinking he was in on the cheating of his daughter and son in law. McCabe arranges for Barker's escape and also to have Rocky released at the same time. The only thing is that McCabe's men lie in wait for Rocky.

Rocky escapes the ambush and takes refuse with Nugget in his store. Nugget returns Rocky's guns to him. Rocky and Nugget go to the land office and discover that McCabe has been fraudulently selling government land to unsuspecting settlers. They learn that McCabe is awaiting the arrival of a wagon train full of settlers eager to by land.

Rocky goes to a neighboring town to arrange for the sheriff and a posse to lie in wait for McCabe and his gang. Rocky enlists the aid of wagon master Tom Samson (Steve Clark) in acquiring the phony deeds as evidence. Then it's time for the showdown and...................................................................................

The Lane westerns were always action packed one hour adventures. Ever notice that Rocky never misses when he shoots at the bad guys or that he never loses his hat in a fight? Although Rocky and Nugget always meet up in each film, they play the characters as not knowing each other for some reason.

Notice when Rocky rides off to get a posse after his escape, he has both of his guns. When he returns that same night his holsters are empty until he enters Nugget's store when he again has his guns

Murderous Swindle

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 4 August 2013]

For one of the few times in Allan Lane's Republic westerns he is not some kind of official (US Marshal, railroad detective, postal inspector), working undercover. Instead he's just a friend looking to help a young married couple get settled in some new land they've bought in Texas. But what he doesn't know as he arrives in town is that his friends are dead and the victims of a murderous swindle.

What's happened is that they were among many victims of a phony land company which Jim Nolan owns and sells government land to people then kills them on their way to settle. A sharp eyed Eddy Waller playing a jeweler spots the brooch that Nolan brings in to his store and shows stranger Rocky Lane.

Lane may not be official, but that doesn't mean he's any less effective bringing the bad guys to justice.