La fureur des hommes

I saw this for the first time recently n got pleasantly surprised. It is a well made western with sufficient action, drama n romance.

A mild mannered man Tod, good with shooting but refrains from taking life due to his dead mother's upbringing, accidentally kills a man in self defense. Hell bent on revenge, the dead man's family members pursue Tod relentlessly. Tod flees to New Mexico to seek his estranged father across desert canyon country pursued by his enemies but on the way he comes across people who likes Tod for his clear conscience. The film moves at a decent pace, it has some striking picturesque settings n a lil bit tension n suspense towards the end.

It was a memorable film that i first saw on 'Saturday Night At the Movies" when I was 12 years old, (six years after it was released in 1958). Being raised on a diet of TV and movie westerns, 'From Hell to Texas' stood out from all of them; I identified with the lead and had a crush on Diane Varsi that lasted for years.

I saw this feature only one more time when I was 21, just before shipping out to Nam. This time I identified with the scope of the film and the depth of the characters. Chill Will gave a memorable performance definitely a cut above his typical side-kick comic relief roll, and I thought it interesting for a father to actually help his daughter's suitor in such a unstinting fashion. Opposite Wills was R.G. Armstrong and his son Dennis Hopper, though the heavies one could not really hate them. It was through these characters that it was easy to understand that it is not the person who is evil it is the deed. This film has always been in the back of my head and deep in my heart, for it stood out as having both action and a message. I hope it will be transferred to DVD soon. On memory alone I give it an '8'out of 10.

This western has all the elements that make it highly watchable. It is fast paced and full of action, has interesting characters you care about and romance but not too much and good plotting. The casting is excellent especially with Murray in the lead and one has to wonder why it is sitting on a shelf somewhere while lesser films are on video and TV and shown repeatedly. The unavailability of this film and other good films make me wonder what the selection process involves and who makes the decisions that govern what we ultimately view. There are not many votes for "From Hell To Texas" but in my opinion that is because many have never had the chance to view it in the first place. On the other hand many mediocre films have many votes probably because they are available rather than of quality. I can think of at least half a dozen films that fall in the same category. There should be some better method of resurrecting films like "From Hell To Texas" so that generations behind me can at least have the opportunity to know that a film like this even exists.

The stars, Murray & Varsi, are good if a little bland. The old-timers, Wills & Armstrong, steal the show & give the movie some extra flavor. Hopper plays the role of "the youngest son" with the usual angst we have come to expect from him. Nice scenery, simple plot, well-directed. Overall, an enjoyable adult western with lots of shooting. I rate it 8/10.

I switched on the TV today and accidentally caught this movie (having missed the first 8 mins) on (Freeview) FilmFour (UK) digital TV channel.

The "info" panel said it was first released in 1958 and directed by Henry Hathaway - a name I recognised from all those movie history books.

All the other reviewers have told all you need to know about the plot. There are no cardboard villains here. One feels empathy for the "bad" guys too!

If you enjoy watching intelligent movies that your parents (or your grandparents) may have enjoyed watching on the big screen in their youth then this is a movie you should try to catch!

Most of Hollywood movies of 90s and '00s seem such forgettable dreck compared with this movie!