William Holden and Glenn Ford were soon to become stars at Columbia. However, in 1941 they were still on their way towards stardom and as a result were begin given films that were okay but far from the better ones the studio was producing. So, this film is longer and with a slightly better cast than the huge crops of Bs the studio was churning out....but also not among their better films, that's for sure. The biggest problem is that the film doesn't seem to have much of a plot for almost half the film. Instead, it's played almost as a comedy or a buddy picture. It sure could have used a much tighter script and most of the first portion of the film removed or significantly trimmed. For example, there is a comic boxing sequence that went on and on and on but had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the film! Following the unnecessary boxing scene and the first 25 minutes or so, the actual plot begins. Out of work Holden and Ford are friends headed to Texas after the end of the Civil War. They stumble upon a robbery of a stage coach and decide to then rob the crooks! But, the Sheriff and his posse incorrectly assume Ford and Holden committed the original robbery. Only due to the intervention of the Doc (Edgar Buchanan) did Holden avoid a hanging. Later, however, he would join up with the gang of robbers. As for Ford, after he made his getaway from the posse, he fell in with a female rancher (Claire Trevor) and her outfit--and becomes an upstanding citizen in the community. Now the two lifelong friends are on a collision course--as sooner or later they are bound to have a showdown. Unfortunately, this ultimate collision course is pretty much exactly as I'd anticipated. Overall, this is only an adequate western--even with the two future stars in the lead. Unless you are a HUGE fan of the genre, this one is easy to skip.
Review of Texas
