William Holden and Glenn Ford, two strapping young guys near the beginnings of their legendary careers, are two amiable saddle bums, good friends, and former Civil War soldiers in 1866. They intend to make it to Texas in the hopes that good fortune will come their way. They end up having a series of adventures as they witness a stagecoach robbery (and steal the money away from the thieves!), get mixed up with greedy bad guys, fight over a woman (an enticing Claire Trevor as a prat falling leading lady), and have different agendas when it comes to an epic-scale cattle drive. Holden, as you'll find out, will give in to temptation and start doing sleazy things.
While maybe not a truly great Western, this engaging film still stands as a good example of the genre. It's got action, plenty of comedy (some people may think that the film is overly silly at first), and nefarious doings by our nasty antagonists. And yet, the actors in these roles (including Edgar Buchanan as dentist Buford Thorpe and George Bancroft as Windy Miller) are so damn interesting that you can't bring yourself to really hate them, especially Buchanan. And speaking of interesting roles, Ford is playing more of a straight arrow than Holden and thus doesn't get to have quite as much fun. In fact, there's a good beefcake sequence with a shirtless Holden entering a boxing ring and repeatedly getting pummelled by a top fighter named Dutch Henry (Lyle Latell), but managing to go the distance.
As I already said, the comedy content is pretty heavy for a while, but the film does strengthen as it gets deeper into its entertaining story (by Michael Blankfort and Lewis Meltzer). That doesn't mean, however, that "Texas" ever completely drops the sense of humour, especially when it comes to the climactic action. The film is further enhanced by able direction by George Marshall and a fine Western supporting cast also including Don Beddoe, Andrew Tombes, Addison Richards, Edmund MacDonald, Joseph Crehan, James Flavin, Raymond Hatton, and Carleton Young.
Overall, a solid film that shows the audience a good time. Holden and Ford later reunited for another Columbia Western, "The Man from Colorado".
Seven out of 10.
While maybe not a truly great Western, this engaging film still stands as a good example of the genre. It's got action, plenty of comedy (some people may think that the film is overly silly at first), and nefarious doings by our nasty antagonists. And yet, the actors in these roles (including Edgar Buchanan as dentist Buford Thorpe and George Bancroft as Windy Miller) are so damn interesting that you can't bring yourself to really hate them, especially Buchanan. And speaking of interesting roles, Ford is playing more of a straight arrow than Holden and thus doesn't get to have quite as much fun. In fact, there's a good beefcake sequence with a shirtless Holden entering a boxing ring and repeatedly getting pummelled by a top fighter named Dutch Henry (Lyle Latell), but managing to go the distance.
As I already said, the comedy content is pretty heavy for a while, but the film does strengthen as it gets deeper into its entertaining story (by Michael Blankfort and Lewis Meltzer). That doesn't mean, however, that "Texas" ever completely drops the sense of humour, especially when it comes to the climactic action. The film is further enhanced by able direction by George Marshall and a fine Western supporting cast also including Don Beddoe, Andrew Tombes, Addison Richards, Edmund MacDonald, Joseph Crehan, James Flavin, Raymond Hatton, and Carleton Young.
Overall, a solid film that shows the audience a good time. Holden and Ford later reunited for another Columbia Western, "The Man from Colorado".
Seven out of 10.