This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
To Protect and Serve
Plot Overview
Retired
Texas Ranger Nash Crawford (Walter Brennan) has received
a summons from “a friend” saying an old comrade in arms
is in trouble in Waco. He hits the trail and rounds up fellow Texas
Rangers Gentleman George Agnew (Chill Wills) from a poker game
in which he couldn't lose and once sharp-eyed Jason Fitch (Edgar Buchanan)
from his stag party on the eve of his wedding. They ride hard to Waco
but seemingly arrive too late. However, they do recognize another
of their number in a saloon. He's in his cups.
They sober him up with coffee, a shave and new duds, They “got a one-day reformed drunk wearin' new clothes.” They talk him up to the mayor who makes him temporary town marshal to replace the dead one. His cronies bluff the troublemakers in town into thinking he's the real deal and so behave themselves. Word is, however, that the gang of robbers who cleaned out the Wells Fargo office are coming back to pick up their loot that mysteriously went missing. The rangers must set a trap to try to outwit them.
Ideology
Nash confronting a poker dispute defused
it by saying their “difference of opinion” wasn't worth
getting into a shooting match over. He suggested the cowboy who'd
lost ten hands in a row take back calling the ranger winner a cheater.
Likewise when the report out of Waco had it one of their number
was leader of a robber gang, they knew there must be some mistake.
Rangers don't take things that don't belong to them. The microcosm
of the poker game doesn't support the macrocosm of the unequally yoked
gang. We see such a dynamic in Paul's writings when (2Cor. 6:15) “what part hath he
that believeth with an infidel?” leads to a broader application,
(2Cor. 6:14) “Be ye not unequally
yoked together with unbelievers.” In the KJV
dialect—the last word in translation back then—ye
& you were plurals as opposed to singular thee &
thou.
The upcoming wedding of ranger Jason to the widow Mrs. Murphy (Lillian Bronson) illustrates Paul's teaching to Christian couples. (1Cor. 7:32-33) “But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.” A married man gives a great deal of care to providing for his wife; a single man just trusts the Lord. In the first episode Jason had “no horse, no artillery, no money to make the trip” but the Lord provided well enough. Now getting married he's about to settle into a “life of luxury.”
Paul advises, (1Cor. 7:29-31) “But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.” In this movie's application, the man—still single—is riding into danger (“Be careful, my love”) in a way a married man will think twice about but still might do.
Furthermore, Paul states,
(1Cor. 7:34) “There is difference
also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the
things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but
she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please
her husband.” Louise Murphy is dressed with proper modesty and she is
putting off her wedding day until the fifteenth to emulate her mother when
she got married. The succession of generations speaks to procreation—in
their case a long shot—the purpose of sex in marriage.
Paul advises the widow (1Cor. 7:39) to marry “only in the
Lord.” Here that takes the form of, “You ladies keep that way
by staying away from our wild doings,” by which is meant the mens'
rockin' stag party that included passing around the jug of corn liquor
and a picture of a French mademoiselle dressed in a négligée, ooh la la!
When the show is over, the rangers,
those who are still vertical, return to their personal lives, the
above aforementioned to getting married, the most personal one
can get. The rangers look to be attending his wedding, as even Paul
went along with his disciples getting married as their personal business.
Fact is the new marshal in his rounds of checking on the saloons,
“begins to squire a girl and she's not half his age.”
When he makes plans to open a gun shop up in California and if he
continues to pursue the young numbers, it's not the rangers' business
to interfere, and as for Paul, he more or less tells us the world
is our oyster, (1Cor. 3:21-22)
“For all things are yours; Whether … the world, or …
things present, or things to come; all are your's.”
Production Values
“” (TV Movie 1970) was directed by George McCowan. It was written by Richard Carr. It stars Walter Brennan, Fred Astaire, Chill Wills, and Edgar Buchanan. Brennan and Wills were solid. Check out Fred Astaire playing a drunk slouched against the bar. He rests his forearm along its edge and extends his right leg straight out at an angle to the floor giving his drunken character a broad triangular support base so he won't fall. Only a consummate dancer would pay attention to such detail, and his left foot is still free to tap away to some internal rhythm.
This movie was not rated but it fits in with regular TV fare. These old actors are a sight for sore eyes. This was supposed to be a series, but it didn't get picked up, not for lack of interest, but the aging actors couldn't be counted on to complete it. There are a number of fades to black & back again to allow the insertion of commercials, but they would make handy places to pause the picture should one desire to. Runtime is 1 hour 15 minutes.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
This one has a more thoughtful plot than the first. The characters are very sympathetic. I'd watch more episodes if there were any.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Decent action scenes. Suitability for children: Suitable for all ages. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: Good for Groups. Suspense: Predictable. Overall movie rating: Three stars out of five.
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