''Streets of Laredo'' is a 1949 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Leslie Fenton Leslie Fenton (12 March 1902 – 25 March 1978) was an English actor and film director. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1923 and 1945. Early life Fenton was born on 12 March 1902 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. He emigrated to ...

and starring

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

Macdonald Carey Edward Macdonald Carey (March 15, 1913 – March 21, 1994) was an American actor, best known for his role as the patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. For almost three decades, he was the show's central cast member. ...

and

William Bendix William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film, radio, and television actor, who typically played rough, blue-collar characters. He is best remembered for his role in ''Wake Island'', which earned him an Academy ...

José David Saldívar, ''The Dialectics of Our America: Genealogy, Cultural Critique, and Literary History'' (Duke University Press, 1991)
52
as three outlaws who rescue a young girl, played by

Mona Freeman Monica Elizabeth "Mona" Freeman (June 9, 1926 – May 23, 2014) was an American actress and painter. Early years Freeman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in Pelham, New York. A lumberman's daughter, she was a model while in hig ...

. When they become separated, two reluctantly become Texas Rangers, while the third continues on a life of crime. The film is a

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

's black-and-white film '' The Texas Rangers'' (1936), which starred

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

in Holden's role,

Jack Oakie Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on Theatre, stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Charlie Chaplin, Chaplin's ''T ...

in William Bendix's,

Lloyd Nolan Lloyd Benedict Nolan (August 11, 1902 – September 27, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Among his many roles, Nolan is remembered for originating the role of private investigator Michael Shayne in a series of 1940s B movies. Bi ...

in MacDonald Carey's role, and

Jean Parker Jean Parker (born Lois May Green; August 11, 1915 – November 30, 2005) was an American film and stage actress. A native of Montana, indigent during the Great Depression, she was adopted by a family in Pasadena, California at age ten. She init ...

as the girl they rescue.

Plot

A trio of outlaws, Jim Dawkins (Holden), Lorn Reming (Carey), and Reuben "Wahoo" Jones (Bendix), rob a stage. But when a young lady, Rannie Carter (Freeman), is menaced by rich and ruthless Charley Calico (

Alfonso Bedoya Benito Alfonso Bedoya y Díaz de GuzmánSan Antonio Light, Dec. 17, 1957, p. 20 (April 16, 1904 – December 15, 1957) was a Mexican actor who frequently appeared in U.S. films. He is best known for his role in ''The Treasure of the Sierra Madre ...

) after her uncle is killed, the robbers come to her rescue. They run him off, then pay old Pop Lint (

Clem Bevans Clem Guy Bevans (October 16, 1880 – August 11, 1963) was an American character actor best remembered for playing eccentric, grumpy old men. Early life Bevans was born in Cozzadale, Ohio. Career Bevans had a very long career, starting in va ...

) to watch over her at his ranch. Lorn ends up separated from his partners but continues his life of crime. Jim and Wahoo inadvertently aid some Texas Rangers and are sworn in as Rangers themselves. Lorn sees an opportunity, steals a herd of cattle the Rangers are guarding, then lets Jim and Wahoo enhance their reputation by being the ones who bring the cattle back. Lorn's friends turn a blind eye to his activities for a while. Calico is a worse villain, burning Pop's barn and causing the old man to have a fatal heart attack. Calico assaults a Ranger as well, and is ultimately killed by Jim. But it doesn't end there. Lorn now wants Calico's empire for himself. He also wants Rannie, who has grown to be a beautiful woman. Jim, who loves her, calls off the agreement to look the other way at Loren's misdeeds. But he does remove a bullet when a wounded Lorn hides out at Rannie's after a holdup. Jim resigns as a lawman, then vows revenge after Wahoo is gunned down. Now that Rannie can see Lorn for what he really is, she wishes Jim luck as he rides to Laredo for a showdown. The former partners face each other for the last time, then Lorn is killed by Rannie.

Cast

as Jim Dawkins *

as Lorn Reming *

as Rannie Carter *

as Wahoo Jones *

Stanley Ridges Stanley Charles Ridges (17 July 1890 – 22 April 1951) was an English-born, American actor who made more than 100 appearances in theatre and movies from 1917 to 1951. After his American film debut in '' Success'' (1923), he appeared in films ...

as Major Bailey *

as Charley Calico *

Ray Teal Ray Elgin Teal (January 12, 1902 – April 2, 1976) was an American actor.The book ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'' gives Teal's birth date as January 12, 1908. His most famous role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the televis ...

as Cantrell *

as Pop Lint * James Bell as Ike * Dick Foote as Pipes * Joe Dominguez as Francisco *

Grandon Rhodes Grandon Rhodes (born Grandon Neviers Augustine Rolker; August 7, 1904 – June 9, 1987) was an American actor. Early years Rhodes was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. Career Early in his career, Rhodes acted in repertory theatre with troupe ...

as Phil Jessup * Perry Ivins as Mayor Towson

Inspiration

The film takes its title from the old Western

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

The Streets of Laredo "Streets of Laredo" (George Malcolm Laws, Laws B01, Roud Folk Song Index, Roud 23650), also known as "The Dying Cowboy", is a famous American cowboy ballad in which a dying ranger (1911/ Rhymes of the range and trail) tells his story to another c ...

", which is frequently used as underscoring.

References

External links

* * * {{TCMDb title, id=91722, title=Streets of Laredo 1949 films Films scored by Victor Young Films set in Texas Films directed by Leslie Fenton 1949 Western (genre) films Paramount Pictures films American Western (genre) films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films