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