Law of the Badlands (1951) Poster

(1951)

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7/10
Tim & Chito foil a counterfeiting scam !
revdrcac26 October 2006
Tim Holt and Richard "Chito" Martin were among the very best western teams, with great chemistry and personality that leapt from the screen. This 1951 pairing finds the two lawmen going undercover to expose a counterfeiting ring ----- until they are accidentally exposed by Chito's old flame.

Added to this great mix of B-western action is a fine supporting cast and entertaining story line. Bob Livingston has a very fine featured role here, one of his best roles since his 3 Mewsquiteers heyday.

While some audiences today may not be keen on B-westerns, this one will definitely appeal to most fans of vintage oaters. The action, comedy and suspense here are outstanding....... Enjoy !
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5/10
Chito's Libido
bkoganbing5 July 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Despite the fact that the Badlands are relocated to Texas for this story, Law of the Badlands is a fast paced, entertaining western from the Tim Holt-Richard Martin series from RKO.

The boys are Texas Rangers on assignment from Captain Kenneth MacDonald to look for a counterfeiter and apprehend him in an area of Texas called the badlands. The area is the 'badlands' because bad guys operate there with impunity. There's also an undercover man from the Secret Service there they also have to locate.

The unusual twist to the Tim Holt westerns is that Chito the sidekick was the lady's man in the series. He's constantly romancing the senoritas while Tim sticks to the cowboy code. In this case one of his amours, Joan Dixon, gives the boys away and they get themselves in one pretty pickle with the outlaws.

Law of the Badlands also reverses casting in another way. Longtime movie villain Harry Woods may be in one of the only good guy roles in his long career. And former Three Mesquiteer Robert Livingston is one of the outlaw band.

Tim and Chito were always a pair of my favorite movie cowboys and Law of the Badlands is a great example of the team.
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6/10
Passably entertaining!
JohnHowardReid12 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Director: LESLEY SELANDER. Original screenplay: Ed Earl Repp. Photography: George E. Diskant. Film editor: Desmond Marquette. Music composed by Paul Sawtell and Roy Webb, conducted by Constantin Bakaleinikoff. Art directors: Albert S. D'Agostino, Feild Gray. Set decorators: Darrell Silvera, William Stevens. Sound recording: John Cass, Clem Portman. RCA Sound System. Producer: Herman Schlom.

Copyright 27 December 1950 by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 24 February 1951. Australian release: 29 January 1953 (sic). 60 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Two Texas Rangers masquerade as outlaws in order to capture a counterfeiting ring.

NOTES: Negative cost: $98,000. After print, advertising and distribution costs, RKO still lost $20,000 of this modest outlay.

COMMENT: Passably entertaining Tim Holt western of no special distinction, competently directed, with the standard fights and chases and some attractive location photography. RKO's "B" westerns had a professional gloss that was often noticeably absent from the output of Poverty Row studios. Despite its comparatively modest budget, Law of the Badlands is no exception.
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Rangers vs. Counterfeiters
dougdoepke21 April 2015
Solid Holt-Rafferty entry. As Texas Rangers, the guys are assigned to go undercover and break up a counterfeit ring in the Texas badlands. Naturally complications ensue. Plot means more here than usual as getting the goods on the gang comes to dominate all else. There's no hard riding, and one brief barroom brawl. Of course, Rafferty gets to whisper sweet nothings to the lovely Dixon, but her role is worked nicely into the plot. No scenery to speak of, since filming never leaves greater LA. Still, our movie duo never needed Lone Pine-type mountains as a draw. My only gripe is the poorly staged street shootout that's a little too sloppy even for a matinée production. Anyway, Dixon is real eye-candy, sinister Ken MacDonald gets to play a good guy, while the boys are in fine form. So what else can a front-row fan ask for.
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7/10
Pigeons come to the rescue
coltras3513 April 2023
The Texas Rangers send Dave and Chito into the badlands to see if they can locate a counterfeiting operation. They arrive posing as wanted outlaws and this gets them into the gang. But as soon as they uncover the operation and locate the printing press, one of Chito's girl friends arrives to expose their identity and they find themselves trapped by the entire gang.

Tim Holt and Richard Martin as Chito Rafferty ride into danger again, this time taking on counterfeiters. You get the usual slam bang action, but with a more investigatory angle and some fine tension towards the end. It's above average Holt Western.
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Counterfeit western for a counterfeit topic
searchanddestroy-113 December 2022
That's one of the last westerns from the grade Z scale, with a running time of one hour, made in the early fifties. Before TV industry will totally and rapidly replace this kind of stuff, recurrent character for an one hour program. Only the B westerns, not below 70 minutes, will continue for a decade or two. This is short, yes, not that boring, but not that exciting either. Only destined to westerns fans and Tim Holt ones in particular. Directed by Lesley Selander, the equivalent of Ray Nazzaro for this kind of material, you can easily forget it just after viewing. Undercover Texas Rangers to smash a counterfeit ring, that's not very unusual. But I have seen far worse. Good directing for such a grade Z western, let's be fair, good camera work.
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