Search - Texas on DVD

An Okay Western By Two Western Greats

Terence Allen | Atlanta, GA USA | 02/23/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Texas is not in the league with many of Glenn Ford's and William Holden's great western films. Their other Western together, The Man From Colorado, is much better in every way, but this is not a horrible movie.

Ford and Holden play two ex-Confederate soldier who head west to seek their fortune. They initially plot to rob a stagecoach. Things go awry and they split up. When they reunite, Holden has become a seasoned robber and Ford is running a successful ranch. The inevitable conflict ensuses.

Claire Trevor, who was in The Desperadoes with Ford, Edgar Buchanan (who's in both the Desperadoes and The Man From Colorado) provide solid support. This movie feels artificial and forced in places, but goes a ways on the strength of its cast."

Fun early Glenn Ford/William Holden western

Steven Hellerstedt | 11/18/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Two young drifters, Ted Ramsey (Glenn Ford) and Dan Thomas (William Holden,) find fame and fortune, romance and adventure, in the cattle rich state of Texas.

At least Texas has cattle, gold on the hoof, if the ranchers can only find a way to get them to market. The rest of the post-war (1866) country is experiencing famine and starvation, and it's a fur piece to the stockyards and railways of Abilene. Fur and dangerous. The trail is lousy with cattle rustlers. Our heroes, Ford and Holden, are a couple of personable saddle tramps who start out together, are separated early, inadvertently thrown back together a short time later. Texas may be a big state, but it's a small world. Unfortunately for their friendship, but essential to the plot, before they reune one becomes involved with the good, decent, upright ranchers while the other has through in with a scurrilous, cattle-thieving, rough bunch of prairie thugs. Add a pretty young rancher's daughter (Clair Trevor as `Mike' King) and you've got yourself a movie.

TEXAS opens with a long, long, looong scene that - until you realize this is a western-COMEDY - is, frankly, pretty tough to endure. We're in Abilene with Dan and Tod (wonder how many people in 1941 even recognized Ford and Holden before they stepped forward out of the crowd scene?) There's a prize-fight, two bare-knuckle pros, winner-take-all. Stop me if you've heard this one - one of the fighters has a disabling injury upon entering the ring, and one of our cash-strapped buddies decides... okay, everyone from Abbot & Costello to Laurel & Hardy have played this tune. It's a staple of buddy films, and when handled right hilarity ensues. In here things kind of, well, miss the beat. George Marshall directed, and his credits include a number of comfortably amusing, rather that side-splittingly hilarious, action movies. The list includes `Destry Rides Again,' `The Ghost Breakers,' and `Papa's Delicate Condition.' The comedy in TEXAS is blunt, laconic, and for those who don't see the humor in a herd of cattle walking through a room in which a man is taking a bath in a metal tub, or a skinny Bill Holden duking it out for 35 rounds (!), not to everyone's taste.

Still, TEXAS is an easygoing showcase vehicle for a couple of promising young stars, the underrated Clair Trevor adds spice, and the always welcome Edgar Buchanan chews up a big chunk of time as the somewhat grimy and seedy town dentist. Could have done without the running gag of building scenes around his checking out a feller's bicuspid - nasty looking dental equipment back then. Despite its faults I enjoyed TEXAS quite a bit. Ford and Holden are very young and pretty raw, and it was interesting to see them in their first starring vehicle. The plot wasn't gripping, but it was familiar and comfortable. Fans of the stars, or of old B-westerns, should get a kick out of it.
"

......"THE EYES OF TEXAS ARE UPON YOU"......YEE-HAW!!!!

Christopher E. Sarno | Boston, Massachusetts United States | 04/25/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Not a bad film at all; in fact, a good western yarn at that...fun seeing Holden and Ford kickoff their Hollywood careers as two Texas roustabouts raising caine...they had a real life friendship throughout their cinematic bonding which millions of their fans are grateful for, me included...too bad we have to age...youth, those were the days, but that's life...get this DVD, you'll enjoy it...1941 saw two [2] mega-stars, who are on their way up and entertain you as Texas cowboys/wranglers of yore....SSGT CHRIS SARNO-USMC FMF"

Texas

Harry Brewer | S'port, La. | 11/09/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Texas was directed by George Marshall & starred William Holden & Glenn Ford. It was only Holden's ninth movie & Ford's eleventh movie & they don't look old enough to have already made that many appearances. Texas is a lighthearted movie which George Marshall was pretty good at doing. It's an old style western which may not please everyone.

Holden & Ford are two ex-confederate soldiers that are going to Texas. They witness a stagecoach holdup but don't intervene. They track down the robbers & rob them of the money. Through a misunderstanding they are accused of the holdup. They separate in the ensuing chase vowing to meet up again in Texas.

One of the film's funnier segments is when Holden goes into the boxing ring to earn some money for the two broke friends. It's a bare knuckle event under the Marquis of Queensbury rules. It's mostly comedic with Holden getting the worse end of things. Holden ends up winning which creates a problem monetarily because Ford has gambled that Holden won't win.

Holden & Ford then take two different paths; Ford goes to work on a ranch while Holden falls in with cattle rustlers. This inevitably leads to the two main characters being on opposite sides of the law & having to question the true meaning of friendship. They are also in love with the same woman, Claire Trevor, which only intensifies the eventual showdown. Edgar Buchanan co-stars as a dentist (which he was in real life) that's the behind-the-scenes leader of the rustlers.

It all turns out to be entertaining but not very deep & not real meaningful. Texas is a film that was ahead of it's time in one sense; today, the exploration of friendship would have been addressed differently which might have made Texas a good movie instead of an average one.

Several years later Ford & Holden would reunite in The Man From Colorado. Their roles would be reversed in a much more effective film."