Kitty Collins (<a href=">Mady Lawrence) and her brother Walter (<a href=">James Martin) operate a mail-line between Yuba and Gold Center. One of their two pony-express riders has been killed by a masked bandit who rides a pinto pony. Texas Rangers "Tex" Wyatt (<a href=">Dave O'Brien), Jim Steele (<a href=">James Newill) and "Panhandle" Perkins (<a href=">Guy Wilkerson)are sent to investigate. They come upon Walter just as he has been shot by the unknown bandit, who makes an escape. The Rangers take Walter to Kitty's house. Doc Carson (<a href=">Ed Cassidy)extracts an unusual bullet (.42 caliber) from the wound and places it upon a table near an open window. Kitty suspects Tom Torrant (<a href=">Jack Ingram)is the Pinto Bandit, since he operates a stagecoach line from Yuba to Gold center, and rides a pinto horse. But "Spur" Sneeley (<a href=">Charles King), a crooked deputy sheriff also has his eye on gaining control of the mail contract. The Texas Rangers set out to learn the identity of a masked horse thief who is trying to stop a mail line run between two cities. Director Elmer Clifton had already been around movies for more than 35 years when he directed this, and his experience shows.<br/><br/>One sign of a good director is believable interplay between and among players. And there is plenty of good interplay and byplay here.<br/><br/>Naturally, since this is a Western, there is a saloon brawl. Well, watch the bartender.<br/><br/>Jim Newill is known as a singing cowboy, but there are two other guitar players in this film. Keep your eyes open.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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! <br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>Remember the context, admire the high caliber of performer, and you'll agree with my rating, or you might even rate it higher. 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.
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