A forgotten B western for a fly by night poverty row outfit Rebellion is only worth remembering for being a film that had a future movie legend in the female lead. Rita Cansino later Rita Hayworth is on a mission to President Zachary Taylor to get justice for her people, the former Mexican citizens who are being exploited by ruthless Americans come over into California. Hayworth's brother Duncan Renaldo the future Cisco Kid plays the brother and now 'outlaw' leader.Taylor is as good as his word, he sends a soldier, his personal military aide Tom Keene to investigate and settle the issues. I'd say Keene went way beyond his orders with what you see here. But he's a cowboy hero and gets the job done.It's a pretty shoddy B western that if not for Rita Hayworth would be obscure and forgotten.

Mainly of interest for Rita Hayworth fans, although she's not given much chance in this one to show us what she's got in the way of both histrionic talent and body language. In fact, she displays so little of her charismatic charms that it's nondescript Tom Keene who takes away all that's left of the viewer's attention when the comic-relief clowns are not hogging up the screen. Director Lynn Shores who was under contract to Crescent Pictures at this time, and was later to helm that superb Charlie Chan installment, Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940), seems to have handled this assignment in his sleep. Admittedly, on paper Shores was a very good pick because he did have a reputation for handling both interior dialogue and location action very ably. And it's true that you could possibly blame the writer rather than the director for this movie's sluggish pace and its somewhat tiresome, we've-seen-it-all-before plot which we already know is going to finish up with vindication for the goodies and death or prison for California's bad guys. Available on a very good Alpha DVD.

Tom Keene is sent to California to bring law and order just as the territory becomes a state. It seems that the Americans are running off the Mexicans from their land unjustly. Keeane ends up helping the Mexicans when their leader is killed.Better than average western is helped a great deal by the dressing the plot is given.You may have seen it before but the window dressing is such it doesn't completely seem like it. It is also on interest because it stars Rita Hayworth in one of her first roles.Worth a look. 7 out of 10

"Rebellion" is a routine series western starring Tom Keene for the Poverty Row company, Crescent Pictures. What sets this entry apart is the casting of a young Rita (Cansino) Hayworth in the lead female role.In the year 1850, after listening to a plea from Paula Castillo (Hayworth), Captain John Carroll (Keene) is dispatched by President Zachary Taylor (Allan Cavan) to California. He is to prevent a rebellion by beleaguered former Mexicans. It seems that they are being terrorized by some ruthless Americans, following the annexation of California by the U.S. in 1848.The bad guys are led by (Harris) William Royle and his henchman Hank (Jack Ingram) who have plans to take over the Mexicans lands for themselves and drive the Mexicans away. Opposing him are a group of Mexicans led by Paula's brother Ricardo (Duncan Renaldo).Harris has installed two of his flunkies, the dim-witted and whiskey guzzling Judge Moore (Robert McKenzie) and Honeycutt (Roger Gray) as Land Commissioner. After Ricardo is killed freeing Captain Carroll from jail, the Captain takes command of the Mexicans and soon takes down the bad guys.Rita Hayworth just starting out is clearly a cut above your average "B" western heroine. She clearly out acts everyone else in the cast. She would have to wait a few more years though, for her big break. Tom Keene was a poverty row cowboy through most of the 1930s. Around 1944, he changed his name to Richard Powers and took mostly character roles under that name for the rest of his career. Oddly enough, he's probably best remembered for his final film in the cult classic "Plan 9 From Outer Space" (1959) in which (as Keene) he played a military officer. Duncan Renaldo would be a fixture in many "B" oaters of the 30s and 40s before taking on the role of The Cisco Kid in 1943.