Jack Holt (Rawhide Morgan), Tim Holt (Bob Morgan), Nan Leslie (Laura Butler), Steve Brodie (Quirt Butler), Richard Martin (Chito Rafferty), Paul Hurst (Ben Riddle), Jim Nolan (Nimino Welch), Robert Bray (Jasper Todd), Richard Benedict (Gills), William Phipps (Mac), Harry Harvey (the postman/stagecoach agent), Lane Chandler (Captain McNeil), Herman Hack (Herman, the stage driver), John Daheim (stunt double for Tim Holt).Director: JOHN RAWLINS. Original screenplay: Norman Houston. Uncredited additional dialogue: Frances Kavanaugh. Photography: J. Roy Hunt. Film editor: Desmond Marquette. Art directors: Albert S. D'Agostino, Charles F. Pyke. Set decorators: Darrell Silvera and Jack Mills. Costumes designed by Adele Balkan. Hair styles: Maudlee McDougall. Make-up: W. Fieldz. Assistant director: John Pommer. Music composed by Paul Sawtell, directed by Constantin Bakaleinikoff. Camera operator: Willard Barth. Grips: Mike Graves, Karl Reed. Stills: Ollie Sigurdson. Script supervisor: Daniel B. Ullman. Sound recording: Garry Harris, Terry Kellum. RCA Sound System. Producer: Herman Schlom. Copyright 4 April 1948 by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 18 May 1948. Australian release: 26 May 1949 (sic). 5,773 feet. 64 minutes.SYNOPSIS: A gang of rustlers meet their match, despite the fact that their leader is married to the heroine.PRINCIPAL MIRACLE: It's not often that you get a star combination of father and son playing these roles in the same picture. The only other vintage movie I can remember offhand is Proud Rebel (1958), starring Alan Ladd and David Ladd. I know that Mickey Rooney's dad appeared in many of his movies, but Joe Yule most certainly never had star parts.COMMENT: Oddly, it's not the Holt-Holt confrontation that makes this entry so interesting, but the skillful performance of Nan Leslie who does wonders with an extremely difficult role, making her torn- between-two-evils-heroine both sympathetic yet understated and expressive. Otherwise this is a technically competent but more or less routine RKO second feature, featuring the usual shoot-outs and fast riding against the usual scenically picturesque but dusty and cheerless western backgrounds.

Rough Rider Tim Holt returns from the Spanish American War with a mission from none other than Colonel Roosevelt himself. To join the newly formed Arizona Rangers and head the branch in his area. That goes counter to the plans of his reel and real father Jack Holt who runs the local Ponderosa and is his own law enforcement.It also gets downright personal when Nan Leslie the long suffering wife of outlaw Steve Brodie takes an interest in the new Ranger captain and vice versa. Brodie is the man rustling Jack's cattle and generally responsible for all the outlaw activity. Arizona Ranger is your typically tightly edited and efficient Tim Holt western and good for his legion of fans.

The Arizona Ranger is directed by John Rawlins and written by Norman Houston. It stars Tim Holt, Jack Holt, Nan Leslie, Richard Martin, Steve Brodie and Paul Hurst. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by J. Roy Hunt.Returning home from his service with the Rough Riders, Bob Morgan falls out with his father when he announces that he does not want to work on the family ranch. He instead has signed up to become one of the Arizona Rangers, which is timely as there is a nefarious element operating in the area, the leader of which has a wife that seems to need Bob's help.Clocking in at just over an hour in length, it's surprising to find that this "B" Western has more to offer than merely yee-haw histrionics. There's a well written and emotionally fraught father and son dynamic here, being played by real life father and son Jack and Tim Holt, while the role of lone female Nan Leslie rises well above being just a piggy in the middle romantic token - with a spousal abuse angle adding some potency to the pressure cooker atmosphere.On the flip-side there's enough 1940s style Western staples to cheer the genre faithful. Fist-fights aplenty, hold-ups, shoot-outs, a jailbreak and a whole ream of quality horsemanship on show, both solo and via wagons and carriages. It's also got some genuine smile inducing humour, normally when Richard Martin's Chito Rafferty is involved, and Brodie as a bully boy serves further notice to what an icon of bad guy roles he was in the 40s and 50s.With the lovely Santa Clarita backdrop helping to keep the tech credits high, and the expert use of the word lollygagging! This is a thoroughly enjoyable Oater yarn, one that's not without some screenplay smarts either. 7/10

This movie was part of Tim Holt's post-World War II western series at RKO, and arguably one of the best. It featured his father, former silent star and later character actor Jack Holt, playing his father, a big rancher who believes in handling his own problems without the law's help. When his son (played by Tim) returns with two buddies from the Spanish-American War and helps form the Arizona Rangers instead of returning to the ranch, their conflict is inevitable -- especially when Tim falls for Nan Leslie as the abused wife of rustler Steve Brodie. Ironically, Tim must save Brodie from being lynched by Jack at one point. The movie is rich in characters: Richard Martin as Chito Rafferty, Tim's traditional sidekick in the series, becomes part of the team including Tim's two soldier buddies. Paul Hurst, a fine actor later to become Monte Hale's co-star at Republic, is Jack Holt's grumpy ranch foreman. Although this was a B-western, the script was "A" quality, and the finale when father and son reunite to fight the outlaws is always good for an audience cheer.