The Texan

I truly thought this film lost and I'm sure glad it was restored. Gary Cooper stars in The Texan based on an O Henry short story. Some similarities here to that more famous O Henry story the Cisco Kid.

I guess allowances have to be made for Emma Dunn believing that Cooper is her long lost son. I guess she feels he lost his Mexican speech pattern and accent being in America too long. But she wants to have a son again so she'll believe anything.

Which is what Oscar Apfel is counting on. Cooper is on the run from the law in Texas in the person of bible quoting sheriff James Marcus. Apfel's proposition is to have Cooper portray her long lost son who ran away over 15 years ago. There's a big reward out from his mother Emma Dunn, butApfel has schemes for bigger things than just that reward.

As for Coop he's gotten interested in Fay Wray his 'cousin' and companion to Dunn. There's getting to be more and more reasons why Coop might not want to go through with this plan.

Paramount remade this film about a decade later with Mexican star Tito Guizar and this film went into mothballs. For awhile it was thought lost. As a big fan of Gary Cooper I'm glad it's not.

Good performance here by Oscar Apfel who's a real bottom feeder. Apfel's career goes back to the earliest of silent screen days with Cecil B. DeMille.

I saw a real good print of this restored classic. A must for Gary Cooper fans.

"The Texan" is a most unusual film by Gary Cooper. It was presumed lost for decades but just recently the movie was restored and shown on Starz. And, since I love classic films, it is natural that I'd watch this movie. Thanks to Bruce Kogan for letting me know that this was finally available!

When the story begins, the Llano Kid (Gary Cooper) is a wanted criminal in the old west. After a dust up in a Texas town, he's on the run and makes the acquaintance of a man who offers him a chance to make big money. It seems a family he knows in South America has a long-lost son and he wants the Kid to pose as this lost son. It makes some sense, as the Kid speaks Spanish and is about the same age....so all he needs is a tattoo and some coaching and he should be able to fool Don Enrique's mother. And, the plan ends up working very well..perhaps too well. As now the Kid has come to love his new 'mother' and can't stand the notion of hurting her. But what about his partner in crime? Surely he won't sit still for the Kid changing their bargain.

I liked the slow and deliberate pace of this film...some might see it as being too slow. Also when you compare it to other westerns made in 1930, this one is superior to most...with some nice acting, production values and an interesting story. Sure, the story is a bit familiar...but it wasn't back in 1930. Well made, well worth your time.

The casting of this film left a bit to be desired. Gary Cooper as a con man? I don't think so. Dunn and Wray are fine in their roles. But an Italian nightclub singer (Russ Columbo) as a singing cowboy? Please. This is Hollywood gone off the deep end. The llano Kid (Cooper) is trying to con Dunn into thinking he is her long lost son. Meanwhile, the inevitable romantic interest (Fay Wray) starts to monkey around with his affections. Will he do the right thing? I think the answer is readily obvious. Fun to see Cooper as a con man and Columbo as a Westerner. I think Johnny Mack Brown would have been much better casting for this story, though.

Gary Cooper is a bad man who hooks up with crooked lawyer Oscar Apfel to swindle Emma Dunn by convincing her that Coop is her long-lost son. Yet Cooper seems increasingly uncomfortable with the deception.

After a lifetime of looking at the previous year's Battered THE VIRGINIAN, the fact that this print is in pretty good shape allows longtime Paramount cameraman Victor Milner to strut his stuff. The dialogue direction tends to have everyone sound overly emphatic, but perhaps that's in reaction to the buzzy tone of the soundtrack. The story, based on O Henry's "The Double-Dyed Deceiver" has a good deal of humor in it, perhaps an attempt to emulate the Oscar-winning IN OLD ARIZONA. Oscar Apfel excels as the crooked lawyer, and Fay Wray is an adorable Consuelo.

Catch this one if you can. It's short, satisfying, and as of March 2020 in an attractive restored print. The Texan is "From" the O. Henry story, "A Double-Dyed Deceiver", per the opening credits. The short story is now in the public domain, so it is easy to find and compare to the movie. The story starts out somewhat more brutal than the movie, and you are welcome to find out for yourself how it continues.

28 year old GARY COOPER and 22 year old Fay Wray are listed right under the opening title. The Players include several names familiar to fans of early 1930's movies. Oscar Apfel plays a hard-edged character, and Emma Dunn is her familiar self. Fay Wray is at least easy on the eyes in her scenes, and surely could have been given more to do. Although the movie's pace definitely looks like it's from 1930, there is enough movement to keep it interesting. Victor Milner's photography along with Paramount's lighting of the sets also make this easy on the eyes.