The Pinto Bandit (1944) User Reviews

"From now on, you'll do your singin' someplace else."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 28 December 2012]

Before even tuning in, I began wondering about the title of the picture - why would an outlaw ride a distinctive looking horse like a pinto? Well we get an answer by the end of the story but it won't be what you'd expect. They don't call them 'paints' for nothing.

So here's another team up by the Texas Rangers - Dave 'Tex' O'Brien, Jim Newill and Guy Wilkerson. The trio made fourteen films together, then Tex Ritter replaced Newill for another eight sagebrush tales. If you're keeping score, "The Pinto Bandit" was number twelve in the lineup, a decent enough oater that reworked the familiar theme of an outlaw bunch attempting to take over a mail line from the current operators, Miss Kitty Collins (Mady Lawrence) and her brother Walter (James Martin).

There's a twist in the story that seems to come out of left field, in that the character set up as the villain of the piece, Tom Torrant (Jack Ingram) winds up winning a horse race that determines the new mail contract. But it turns out that he actually WAS being framed as the pinto bandit of the title. I can't say I was happy to see him get the girl in the end because he played it like a heel pretty much all the way through and even the Rangers had their good eye on him.

The picture has a pretty brisk pace, coming in at a mere fifty six minutes, and it's paced along with a trio of tunes by the singing Ranger, Jim Newill. I find it interesting that in the Texas Rangers series, Dave O'Brien was top billed as the nominal leader of the group, but in the Renfrew of the Royal Mounted series, he backed up his Ranger partner Newill who starred in those flicks. Watching the picture today, I was also intrigued by the closing message to the 1944 war time audience - 'Let's All back The Attack! Buy An Extra War Bond Today!'

Find the gun, find the Pinto, find the bandit

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 15 May 2018]

PRC's Texas Ranger trio of Jim Newill, Dave O'Brien, and Guy Wilkerson are on an assignment to bring in a bandit who rides a pinto horse like Little Joe Cartwright and who's been plaguing a certain stagecoach line with robberies. So much so that some ruthless people are planning to take the mail contract over. They have to win a relay race in order to do it. A race set up like the old Pony Express did it.

The bandit also has another signature that the Rangers recognize, he uses a special 41 caliber bullet which requires a special gun as well. Find the gun, find the pinto, find the bandit. But it isn't as easy as all that as our Texas Rangers discover.

Nicely done western and a bit more plot than you find in B westerns or PRC films in general.

Mostly Routine, With One Good Action Sequence

[Snow Leopard · 28 June 2001]

A mostly routine Western about the Texas Rangers, "The Pinto Bandit" is mostly worth watching for one fast-paced action sequence. The story itself is mildly interesting. Someone is using violence to interfere with a mail line, and the Rangers have only two clues - a Pinto horse and a bullet size. Most of the characters are not very interesting, although the story itself brings a couple of mild surprises. The best part comes when there is a big race to settle some of the issues involved with the mail line - the race ties together the rest of the plot, and has a couple of exciting moments. Except for that, the movie is not particularly memorable.

For PRC, an excellent movie

[morrisonhimself · 9/10 · 29 October 2008]

Director Elmer Clifton had already been around movies for more than 35 years when he directed this, and his experience shows.

One sign of a good director is believable interplay between and among players. And there is plenty of good interplay and byplay here.

Naturally, since this is a Western, there is a saloon brawl. Well, watch the bartender.

Jim Newill is known as a singing cowboy, but there are two other guitar players in this film. Keep your eyes open.

Dave "Tex" O'Brien is one of my favorite actors. I was in his office once, unfortunately a few years after his death, but his fellow writers still missed him.

O'Brien was not only a great cowboy -- and, to me, a great cowboy really is at the top of his profession and doesn't need to do or be anything else -- but he was a singer and dancer and, at the end of his life, a top-rated writer.

Guy Wilkerson, who was busy for more than 30 years in movies, played the more-or-less funny sidekick, but his Panhandle Perkins was more than a tag-along. He was an integral part of the team.

There is another set of characters, played by everybody's favorite, Charles King, as well as Bob Kortman, a holdover from silent days, and Budd Buster. They are just great!

Finally, a word about the music: Lee Zahler is the music director. I don't know how much of the score is original, but he deserves credit for the movie's sound. He too was very busy over a long period of years.

My copy of "The Pinto Bandit" is in a set in the Great American Western series, Volume 35 of "over 30 volumes." Obviously someone is not keeping up with their own work. This print is too many generations along, but the movie is of enough quality one can overlook, or should overlook, the picture quality.

Remember the context, admire the high caliber of performer, and you'll agree with my rating, or you might even rate it higher.