Hit the Saddle (1937)

Load of rubbish!!

Best movie ever!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's still a mystery to me why Robert Livingston got top billing in the Three Mesquiteers flicks. Ray Corrigan had more charisma, was taller, better built and better looking, and just naturally appeared to be the leader of the trio. In this flick, Corrigan's character Stony Brooke even breaks ranks with his buddies, not that I blame him when it comes to the pretty senorita Rita Cansino. That would be Rita Hayworth for you non-Western fans, a genre in which she made a few early appearances while getting her career under way. You can catch her in the Tex Ritter film "Trouble in Texas", where she also does some singing and dancing, managing to stand out like so few female leads in these kinds of pictures.As for the Mesquiteers, they're off to a bumpy start with Stony on the outs with Tucson Smith (Corrigan) for most of the picture. Besides Rita, he's also defending a pinto stallion falsely accused of running a herd of wild horses responsible for death and destruction in their wake. Now just when I think I've seen about everything you can imagine after watching a few hundred Westerns, this one promotes the unlikely premise of the bad guys actually painting a horse to create a false identity! You read that right, painting a horse! I always thought the term 'paint' to describe a multicolored horse a bit of a misnomer, but this one set me straight, that's for sure.The idea behind this whole ruse was for villain McGowan (J.P. McGowan) to get a ban lifted against capturing wild range horses. With a contract to round up a thousand head, this was a quick buck he wasn't going to let slip away. Besides henchmen Harry Tenbrook and Yakima Canutt, McGowan's own horse Volcano was the linchpin of this operation masquerading as the pinto. Volcano and the paint wound up doing some serious battle once the action got under way, making me wonder how they managed to get the horses to mix it up the way they did.Fortunately, things wind up in favor of the Mesquiteers; Stony and Tucson eventually patch things up with a little help from Lullaby (Max Terhune) at the finale. For his part, Lullaby manages a couple of quick bits with his wooden dummy Elmer. Rita didn't stick around till the end of the story, as she took the money and ran when Tucson and Lullaby bribed her to go back East and leave Stony to come to his senses. Some pals!

Prohibited from taking wild horses off government lands, a villainous rancher uses a trained horse to wreak havoc and clear the way for him to take all the "nuisance" horses he wants. Meanwhile, Ray Corrigan, Bob Livingston, and Max Terhune are at odds over Bob's romance with beautiful gold-digger Rita Hayworth.This interesting, above average entry in Republic Pictures' Three Mesquiteers series is more offbeat than usual, with the unique premise of a horse being being used as a weapon to kick someone to death, Livingston's brooding performance, and a rare note of discontent among the three friends.In fact, the story is solid enough to have been turned (with a little work) into an A-list western!A satisfying climax features good animal footage and a neat stunt in which Yakima Canutt takes a dive off some steep rocks.My only complaint is that Hayworth's unpleasant character takes the money and runs instead of getting her just desserts. The finale should have shown her in New York, trying and failing to cash Corrigan's rubber check!

The Three Mesquiteers nearly come to an end over Rita Hayworth and a horse. Depends on your point of view as to who caused more ruckus.First there's the horse, a beautiful wild animal called the pinto stallion. He leads a herd of wild horses which are now protected by law by the government. Some dastardly villains want to shoot the wild ones like The Misfits for dog food. They train a black horse and paint him to look like the pinto so he can start stirring up the other rancher's horses. On one raid, the sheriff is trampled to death by the ersatz pinto. Robert Livingston believes in the horse's innocence, but Ray Corrigan and Max Terhune want him done in and Corrigan's the sheriff.And then there's the matter of Rita Hayworth or as she was known at this point in her career, Rita Cansino. Rita and Livingston want to get married. The other two Mesquiteers have no use for her and think she's a goldigger. This part of the plot may have been the basis for the Gunga Din story that RKO did two years later.So who does Livingston wind up with, Rita or the pinto stallion? For that you have to view this film of The Three Mesquiteers series.

This film answers the question about a cowboy's greater love: for his woman or for his horse? Although the bond with his woman exceeds those between Stony and the other Mesquiteers (Tuscon and Lullaby), after THEY pay her to leave, Stony's still stickin' up for the horse. And rightly so. The horse ACCUSED of being violent, was actually framed by a TRAINED horse, owned by a guy who wants the protection of hundreds of wild equines to be lifted so that he can round 'em up. Stony does a duet with his girlfriend, billed as Rita Cansino, who later became better known as Rita Hayworth. But, to hell with her...it's the HORSE that's important: an example of the order of priorities which is responsible for my opinion about this movie: things somewhat outta place.