Very well executed

Sadly Over-hyped

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Red River Robin Hood finds Tim Holt and sidekick Cliff Edwards doing the Robin Hood thing when they find their friend Russell Wade with whom they plan to go into partnership with on a ranch in jail. Seems as though Eddie Dew has forged himself an old Spanish land grant to which he is the heir. He wants to extort money from all the ranches in the area or evict them.So Holt and Edwards don capes and masks and become Mr. Justice robbing Dew's rent collectors. They also go to work for Dew.Red River Robin Hood got enough action to satisfy any B western fan. But I have to say I did have a problem with how dumb Dew and his crowd could be and how easy Holt and Edwards fooled them. The only ones who are in on the game are Wade, editor Otto Hoffman and his daughter Barbara Moffett.Some good comic relief besides Edwards is found with Sheriff Tom London who's a rather dim bulb and his thicker than a brick deputy Earl Hodgins.Tim Holt's fans will be pleased.

Routine oater with the usual ingredients, but an interesting plot twist. Swindler Yager (Dew) uses phony Spanish land grant to evict ranchers unless they pay rent to stay. Few can afford to. Jim and Ike (Holt & Edwards) devise clever scheme involving black robes disguise to try to foil the scam. There's one well staged brawl, and some hard riding, but little good scenery since filming is in greater LA. Edwards is kind of lame comedy relief, showing why Richard Martin (Chito) was such an asset to Holt's later matinée series. I wish director Selander had given us more close-ups of the characters, especially Holt. As it is, events are photographed from an impersonal distance. Anyway, it's an okay oater without being anything special.