The Texan

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.

THE TEXAN (Paramount, 1930), directed by John Cromwell, from the story "A Double-Dyed Deceiver" by O. Henry, is a worthy follow-up to Gary Cooper's first talkie and previous western outing of THE VIRGINIAN (1929). Now as a Texan known as The Llano Kid, Cooper brightens his acting range in another character, that of a likable good-badman type.

Opening with a wanted sign for The Llano Kid with a $500 reward on his head, The Llano Kid (Gary Cooper) rides his horse to the nearest blacksmith where John Brown (James Marcus), who also happens to be the town sheriff, works on the stranger's horse for its horseshoe replacement. During his wait, the Llano Kid heads for a bar for a drink and a game of cards with other cowboys, with one cardsharp getting gunned down for cheating. The Llano Kid returns to the blacksmith, who recognizes him, to reclaim his horse. He throws the blacksmith's gun into a bucket of water and makes his escape. Heading towards the next train out of town, the Llano kid steals a ticket belonging to fellow passenger, Abner J. Thacker (Oscar Apfel). Because the cowboy happens to resemble a man of 25, Thacker, a lawyer representing a rich widow who's son ran away from home 15 years ago, to locate him in Texas and bring him back to her. He not only hires the cowboy to accompany him to South America for the impersonation, but schemes in obtaining Senora Ibarra's (Emma Dunn) bags of gold on top of her $1,000 reward to him. During his two month stay before leaving on the next boat back to the states, The Llano Kid, now known as Enrique, lovingly called "Quico" by his "mother," becomes acquainted with his "cousin", Consuelo (Fay Wray), and new lifestyle until something occurs to change all that. Others in the cast include: Donald Reed, Soledad Jimenez, Ed Brady and Enrique Acosta.

Unlike Cooper's first talkie, THE VIRGINIAN, THE TEXAN (title not to be confused with THE TEXANS (Paramount, 1938) starring Randolph Scott), was never sold to commercial television, becoming unavailable for viewing for many decades. It's one of those movies one hears about but something that will never see the light of day again. After many years in obscurity. THE TEXAN finally resurrected on the Encore Western Channel in March 2020, and a worthy rediscovery and welcome addition to the cable network.

Regardless of its age and lack of musical scoring in the plot, THE TEXAN is leisurely paced and recommended viewing. Fay Wray (best known for KING KONG (1933)), gets by physically as a Spanish senorita, and makes due with her accented way of talking. It would not be the first nor last time she would assume a Spanish character. Also commendable in their roles are Oscar Apfel as the crooked lawyer and James Marcus as the sheriff/blacksmith who happens to be a religious man. THE TEXAN was remade by Paramount as THE LLANO KID (1939) featuring Tito Guizar in the title role with Gale Sondergaard and Emma Dunn reprising her original role of the mother. As with THE TEXAN, to date, THE LLANO KID is unavailable for viewing.

While Gary Cooper appeared in other, yet better westerns in later years, winning an Academy Award for HIGH NOON (1952), THE TEXAN (at 79 minutes) is worthy viewing. (***)

Saw part of this recently made-available 1930 film on Encore Western. Before I checked out this site, I was undecided whether or not the protagonist was being played by Gary Cooper. He looked somewhat like the older Cooper I'm used to seeing, and talked somewhat like him. But, he is extraordinarily stiff in this film. Spends too much time just standing around silent with his head pointed downward, often shifty-eyed. True, he's supposed to be an outlaw. I certainly wouldn't have regarded him as a promising actor...........In contrast, Fay Wray, in playing his beautiful Mexican girlfriend, Consuelo, seemed much more at home in her role. Later, she became Hollywood's first 'scream queen', beginning with her much remembered role as the damsel King Kong picked up, causing her to let out a shrill scream. She was also in several other early horror movies.

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.

"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.