A rather weak entry in producer
Edward F. Finney's series of
Tex Ritter Westerns,
Trouble in Texas enjoyed a much longer than usual shelf life courtesy of its beautiful leading lady
Rita Hayworth, then known as Rita Cansino.
Ritter stars as a rodeo champion searching for the villains who killed his brother. The gang, headed by Barker (
Earl Dwire), is summarily poisoning competition to Barker's own champion, Squint Harmer (
Yakima Canutt). With the assistance of Carmen (
Hayworth) and comedic sidekick Lucky (
Horace Murphy),
Ritter not only avoids being poisoned, but goes on to win the rodeo. As a sort of consolation prize, the Barker gang rob the local bank, but choose a rather unfortunate wagon filled with dynamite as the getaway vehicle. In between riding in the (stock-footage) rodeo and chasing down his brother's killers,
Ritter sings his own "Song of the Rodeo" and
Al Bryan's "Down the Colorado Trail," while
Hayworth performs a Mexican dance. When
Trouble in Texas was re-released in 1943 by Ambassador Pictures,
Rita Hayworth not surprisingly earned star billing ahead of
Ritter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide