Seems unfair to attack Rangers--would seem to coincide with reconstruction.
During much of the film, the famed Texas Rangers police force are infamous for the evil they are perpetrating. Again and again, they commit various atrocities. Gene, an ex-Ranger, is angry and makes it his task to expose the evil commander of the Rangers as well as his partners in crime, the various US Army officers who are all exploiting the poor citizens of Texas.
The plot to "Night Stage to Galveston" is quite unusual...and probably all hooey as well! Unlike most Autry films (which were set in a weird modern day west), this one is set during the Reconstruction period...just after the US Civil War. In the film, the Texas Rangers are NOT decent law enforcement officers but crooks who kill and steal at will and are aided in this by Federal troops. I have never heard of this and did some research...and found NOTHING of the kind. I can only assume that the story was influenced by the thinking of the 1940s-50s...that the South was unfairly treated by the evil North after the war (a view created by "Birth of a Nation"). An interesting, though incorrect, view of US history.
I taught US history and have idea what I'm talking about here. I also felt uncomfortable about this story because it seems to demonize this police force...and most folks who saw the film in 1952 probably assumed this portrait was factual. So my advice is watch and enjoy the movie...but don't look at it as an accurate history lesson.
So, apart from the plot, is the film any good? Well, considering it's pretty much all the movie, my answer is no. It is modestly entertaining...but nothing more.
During much of the film, the famed Texas Rangers police force are infamous for the evil they are perpetrating. Again and again, they commit various atrocities. Gene, an ex-Ranger, is angry and makes it his task to expose the evil commander of the Rangers as well as his partners in crime, the various US Army officers who are all exploiting the poor citizens of Texas.
The plot to "Night Stage to Galveston" is quite unusual...and probably all hooey as well! Unlike most Autry films (which were set in a weird modern day west), this one is set during the Reconstruction period...just after the US Civil War. In the film, the Texas Rangers are NOT decent law enforcement officers but crooks who kill and steal at will and are aided in this by Federal troops. I have never heard of this and did some research...and found NOTHING of the kind. I can only assume that the story was influenced by the thinking of the 1940s-50s...that the South was unfairly treated by the evil North after the war (a view created by "Birth of a Nation"). An interesting, though incorrect, view of US history.
I taught US history and have idea what I'm talking about here. I also felt uncomfortable about this story because it seems to demonize this police force...and most folks who saw the film in 1952 probably assumed this portrait was factual. So my advice is watch and enjoy the movie...but don't look at it as an accurate history lesson.
So, apart from the plot, is the film any good? Well, considering it's pretty much all the movie, my answer is no. It is modestly entertaining...but nothing more.