Streets of Laredo (1949)

Despite slack direction from Leslie Fenton, this is a better-than-average Technicolor Western. At the time Holden was not yet a headline performer, while Carey never reached that pinnacle. Here, both contribute nicely, especially Carey whose bad-good guy with a toothy grin is just slippery enough to be convincing. The chemistry between him and Holden comes across effectively. Too bad that director Fenton doesn't do more to bring out the dramatic aspects of the friendship, though the final scene is both well-staged and appropriate. For me, the movie's highlight is the absolutely gorgeous Technicolor framing of the outdoor scenes. Somebody sure knew how to frame those scenes in an impressive way that adds greatly to the film's unusually riveting eye-appeal. The story itself is a good one. The screenplay develops Holden and Bendix's transition from outlaws to Rangers in believable fashion. What is suggested is that some outlaws can be reformed by respect and an honorable code of conduct, which strikes me as a worthwhile piece of insight and good moral to the story. On the downside, Mona Freeman as the high-spirited lass comes across as too callow and stagey for the much more mature Holden and Carey to butt heads over. Then too, Alfonso Bedoya's unlikely role looks like an effort at cashing in on his Treasure of the Sierra Madre success. In passing-- note that the classic trail song "Streets of Laredo" is not the one sung in the movie. It's a disappointing something else, probably composed for the film. I wonder if the producers had trouble getting rights to use the real song. Too bad. Anyway, the movie plays better than Leonard Maltin's rather dismal professional review, especially for those who like long views, big clouds, and a sense of open horizons.

A reasonable enough entry to be included as part of AMC's Saturday morning Western lineup, the film brings together the somewhat unlikely trio of William Holden, MacDonald Carey and William Bendix in a tale of villains and Texas Rangers. The boys start out as amiable bad guys who get separated following one of their adventures, with Jim Dawkins (Holden) and Wahoo Jones (Bendix) eventually joining the Rangers, while their amigo Lorn (Carey) schemes to replace Charley Calico (Alfonso Bedoya) as the main desperado in the vicinity of Laredo. As formulaic as Westerns can be, I can't say that I've seen another quite like it before, especially when Lorn Reming does a Han Solo like bushwhack on his former ally Wahoo later in the picture. Even though Wahoo was planning to turn in his ex-buddy, the vicious turn of Carey's character was a sit up and take notice moment.The story offers a few other novelties as well. Alfonso Bedoya gets a bit more screen time here than he did as 'Gold Hat' in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", though he'll never have as great a line as the one about those 'steenking badges' from that movie. I was really caught off guard to see Ray Teal as Calico's henchman Cantrel, virtually any time you see him in a Western he's playing a sheriff.I don't want to forget mentioning Mona Freeman as the story's romantic interest, first intrigued with Lorn Reming, and then when his true nature reveals itself, casting an eye for Jim Dawkins. Because the story spans a couple of years, her character Rannie Carter advances from a cute teenage cowgirl to a mature frontier woman. Bendix' character had a great line when they first met - "You're mighty pretty if you're a her".Though the Texas Rangers as an entity are part of the story, the film doesn't necessarily rely on that connection to work. However it does offer a convenient way for Jim and Wahoo to go straight while their partnership with Lorn falls apart. Of course the ending does submit to a fairly standard formula, but perhaps not in the manner in which it's carried out. For that though, you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for your local cable listings, as I'm unaware of the movie's availability elsewhere.

Holden, Carey and Bendix are three bandits holding up stagecoaches until a chase separates one from the other two. Those two eventually join up with the Texas Rangers and reform, while the one keeps to his old outlaw ways. Thus, the stage is set for the final showdown. Mona Freeman is the love interest who falls for one of the bandits but eventually catches on that the man of her dreams is really someone else. I saw this one when I was a kid and the scene of one of the characters being gunned down in cold blood from beneath the table blew me away. That still packs a wallop, but after having watched "Streets of Loredo" again, I realize it is all pretty routine as Westerns go. Even so, it's full of the clichés and values that made me love them when I was growing up. A young Macdonald Carey stands out as the dashing villain dressed, of course, in black.

This stars MacDonald Carey and William Holden. I grew up always watching McDonald Carey as Dr. Horton on Days Of Our Lives but I had never seen what he looked like when he was so young before. He was very handsome. He played an outlaw who helped rescue the main woman in the movie when she was just a girl. Also in this movie is Alfonso Bedoya. I saw him in the very first film I saw at film class in college, The Treasure of The Sierra Madre -- also a very good Western. Anyway, what I liked about this one is how the two friends who rescued the main woman when she was a girl were enemies now on account of how McDonald Carey was now an outlaw but William Holden was now a Sheriff and William Bendix, who was very funny, played his deputy, Wahoo. So, there was lots of tension back and forth, and the ending really surprised me. I liked this Western a lot.