Take Me Back to Oklahoma

In B-westerns of the 40s and 50s, music was frequently inserted into the film--especially the films of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry--both fine singers who sang quite a bit themselves. However, in almost all these films, the music is secondary. In the case of "Take Me Back to Oklahoma", however, it looks as if the film is almost all music--with only a bit of a story. This is great if you adore old time country music--but miserable otherwise. In this case, Boy Wills and the Texas Playboys sing and sing and sing and sing. They sing as they ride in on the stage, they sing when folks are stealing the strongbox---heck, they probably sang in their sleep! And, oddly, after a while I found myself liking the music a lot---which surprised me, as I usually hate this sort of singing. But, even though I did like the singing, there just wasn't much room for a story! The story is pretty typical--a local baddie is trying to run the town and take over the stage business--though no one knows for sure that he's behind all the crazy happenings. But, when Tex comes to town and tries to help out the lady who owns the stage, the baddies all conspire to frame him for robbery and then, when that doesn't work, shoot him--all to stop him from driving in 'the big race' (another cliché).

Pluses were decent music and,....Ritter did NOT use a stuntman in a few very dangerous scenes. As for the acting, at times it was pretty lame--especially from Tex's really annoying third-rate sidekick, Slim. And, the story is both familiar and thin. Overall, worth seeing if you love old B-westerns, but if you don't, this one won't win you over to the genre!

Tex , Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys all seem pretty matey. They spend large chunks of this movie roaring with laughter and back slapping for no obvious reason.

It doesn't matter though because their obvious enjoyment of everything that isn't happening is infectious! To supplement the (better than average) musical numbers, there is an assortment of standard B western ingredients, apparently chucked in at random with little regard for credibility.

In one scene, comic relief Slim Andrews is trapped inside a Tardis-type paybooth, lassooed and dragged across the prairie by bad guys after the concert takings. Incidentally, the character he plays is Slim Hunkapillar. What a great name! Can't be too many of those in West London: Hunkapillars I mean, not Slims.

This B Western has it all - a really shaky frame-up, a posse chase aborted for no apparent reason, a stagecoach race featuring not one, but two coach top fights and a disintegrating wheel on the winning coach. It also has the music of Tex Ritter and of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. That and some funny bits here and there earned this movie a 4.

The scene with Bob Wills and his band riding on top of a stage coach strumming a tune is priceless. Tex Ritter is in fine form saving the little lady's property and snaring the bad guys. Ritter, who has a trusty side kick to add a little slapstick to the plot, sings and so does Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. To any Wills fan this is an excellent opportunity to see how the band looked in a performance. Wills' dancing is not unlike some modern performers. Good entertainment and a great reminder of how Westerns once were in the U.S. This is the kind of movie I spent countless Saturday afternoons seeing and sometimes staying over to see again. Without the music this is about average; with the music it is priceless.

Take Me Back To Oklahoma finds Tex Ritter and trusty companion Slim Andrews on the way to help Terry Walker and Carleton Young to save their stagecoach line. Ritter and Andrews are just in time to save the last working coach, but there's still a lot of damage.

They know it's perennial western villain Karl Hackett who is trying to takeover the franchise and a race between one of his vehicles and that last vehicle that Tex saved. The last few minutes of that race where Tex Ritter overcomes all obstacles is good.

Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys are featured here and have some numbers with and without Ritter. A little too much music, but they were a premier act on the country music circuit at the time and I'm betting Monogram Picture had to guarantee a lot of screen time devoted to them.

Their fans and Tex Ritter fans should be pleased.