Forever switching its time-frame from past to present, Republic's "Three Mesquiteers" series returned to a contemporary milieu for THREE TEXAS STEERS. The story revolves around a bankrupt circus, and the efforts made by Stony (John Wayne), Tucson (Ray Corrigan) and Lullaby (Max Terhune) to save the show from going under. Carole Landis, a starlet on the verge of bigger things, plays circus owner Nancy, whose efforts to stay afloat are undermined by the covert machinations of her "faithful"manager Ward (Ralph Graves). The film's outcome hinges on a big race, with the circus' dancing horse as a contestant; this scene includes an unexpected moment of high comedy, at once relieving and compounding the tension! THREE TEXAS STEERS represented Terhune's "adios" to the Mesquiteers; his replacement in WYOMING OUTLAW was Raymond Hatton.