Raiders of San Joaquin (1943)

Raiders of San Joaquin: Directed by Lewis D. Collins. With Johnny Mack Brown, Tex Ritter, Fuzzy Knight, Jennifer Holt. An outlaw gang is stealing land under the pretense that they are getting it for a railway.

“This 1943 entry from Universal rivals Republic for production values and entertainment value. Raiders of San Joaquin stars Johnny Mack Brown and Tex Ritter when both were in their prime, Director Lewis Collins gives both stars their lead and they are excellent. Brown plays the son of a railroad vice president sent by his father to find out why people are losing their ranches for railroad property rights. Ritter turns outlaw after his father is killed protecting their ranch. This is a change of pace for Ritter who usually plays a singing cowboy /lawman.In turn Brown sets out to find the mastermind that causing all the trouble for the ranchers.As for most of u0026quot;bu0026quot; westerns,everything is neatly wrapped up in about an hour. The movie features a capable supporting cast led by Fuzzy Knight as comic relief,Jennifer Holt,and the Jimmy Wakely Trio providing some nice singing. Tex Ritter was a very good singer with a warm baritone voice. He provides one nice song for the movie. The movie is lensed by William Sickner in fine fashion,and Hans Salter provides a rousing score.Lots of action and a good example of the u0026quot;bu0026quot; western genre from Universal Pictures.”