Along the Rio Ordinary
With his rheumatism playing up Pop Edwards (Harry Humphrey) sends Jeff (Tim Holt), Smokey (Ray Whitley) and Whopper (Emmett Lynn) to Sweetwater to bank the money from the sale of his cattle. And all is going well as the men bank the money except as they do someone shows up with a note requesting the boys return with the money. With the bank manager smelling a rat trouble breaks out in the bank and Jeff, Smokey and Whopper end up being put in jail by the sheriff (Hal Taliaferro). It is in there they find themselves with one of Doc Randall's (Robert Fiske) rustlers and suspecting Randall had something to do with the note and as they discover Pop's murder. When the rustler is broken out of jail Jeff and the guys follow him across the border where they become part of Randall's gang in the hope of getting him back across the border to face justice.
For the most "Along the Rio Grande" is one of those typical old oaters where we have various cliches with the main one being the three ranch hands seeking justice against the crook who murdered their friend and boss. In typical fashion they end up pretending to be bad guys in order to get in to the gang so that they can get justice and just to add to the cliches there is an attractive woman for our lead man Tim Holt to win over before the credits roll. All of which whilst typical of the genre is also entertaining for those who enjoy these old westerns.
About the only thing which stands out about "Along the Rio Grande" is the mix up which sees Jeff, Smokey and Whopper ending up in jail when they have to rob the bank as the bank manager won't return the money. This in turn allows them to masquerade as bank robbers to become part of Randall's gang which makes it a nicely worked little set up for what is otherwise a typical movie.
What this all boils down to is that "Along the Rio Grande" is just another one of those old westerns which these days has limited appeal, as in it is only of interest for western buffs rather than for those seeking entertainment.
