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Plot

Fred MacMurray stars as a US Army misfit who, with pals Albert Dekker and Gilbert Roland, roam the west in search of adventure. Arriving in a small town, they befriend the elderly newspaper editor (Arthur Allen) and his young granddaughter (Betty Brewer). The trio learns that the community is under the thumb of a covetous land baron (Joseph Schildkraut), who is endeavoring to push out the ranch owners and take over the territory. Advertised by Paramount Pictures as a standard western, Rangers of Fortune is full of startling surprises, not the least of which is the fact that Fred MacMurray doesn't get the girl (Patricia Morison). In one scene, villain Joseph Schildkraut explains his motivations so persuasively that he seems to be more in the right than the heroes. And despite Paramount's promotional buildup of their new child star Betty Brewer, the studio had no qualms about killing off her character some ten minutes before the end!
MPAA Rating:
Genre(s):
Action,Westerns
Run Time:
80min.
Distributor(s):
Paramount
Director(s):
Sam Wood
Starring:
Fred MacMurray , Albert Dekker , Gilbert Roland , Patricia Morison
Themes:
Taming the West
Tone:
Earnest,Gritty,Tense
Keywords:
Mexico,army,assistance,bad-guy,boxing,chase,child,conflict,cowboy,editor,escape,firing-squad,girl,good-guy,help,newspaper,offer,officer,outlaw [Western],ranger [military],renegade,town