Three Guns for Texas

Never passing up an opportunity to squeeze every last dollar out of a property, Universal reacted to NBC's cancellation of the "Laredo" TV series by awkwardly splicing together three episodes from the show's first season and dumping it into theaters on a double bill with "The Counterfeit Traitor," a segment of NBC's Bob Hope's Chrysler Theater starring Jack Lord and Shirley Knight. What else would you expect from a studio that also capitalized on Charles Bronson's post spaghetti western stardom by releasing old TV episodes of "The Virginian" in which he had guest-starred and releasing them theatrically in Europe, promoting them as new Bronson action pics? "Laredo" was a good show, fun and exciting, but you wouldn't know it from these early episodes which are just a tad on the dull side. But since this is a "movie" and therefore packaged with other movies when sold to television, it gives the show's small group of fans an opportunity to see Neville Brand, Peter Brown, and William Smith in their Texas Ranger roles once again, something that isn't possible as long as the series itself remains an unattractive buy in syndication due to its having had a mere two-season run, and a low rated one at that.

"Native American" (shame! shame! you could have hired Buffy Sainte-Marie) Shelley Morrison kidnaps Texas Ranger William Smith (after he displays his perfect pecs); an arrogant New Hampshire constable tries to teach Lone Star lawmen about "proper law enforcement" (believe me, nothing has changed in that respect!); Albert Salmi plays a jinx-bedeviled cowboy (ironic considering his eventual real-life suicide), and Neville Brand's gravel-voiced grumbling grates in this goofy but gregarious series send-off of the "Laredo" tv show. It ain't no "Wild Wild West", but its wacky and warm western wiles are still engaging.

Laredo came on the air when i was nine years old,,,,,,,,i grew up watching television and westerns in particular just like my dad had. this series was fun to watch, and the characters were very enjoyable. reese being the oldest and sometimes the dumbest had chad and joe kidding him through out the series run. these three guys will remain my favorite characters till i die. waiting to but every episode when available.. three guns for Texas was both entertaining and had plenty of action,,,,,,see it and just enjoy the show.

This western looks what it is, a TV programme elongated to make it even more repetitious and boring than it would have been on the small screen.I am not sure who was worse -- Neville Brand,pulling faces, all gruff knockabout stupid amiability, William Smith, like Brand a fine actor when playing 'tough' roles, here struggling to play a nice guy,Shelley Morrison, as the ludricously expressionless and monotonous Native American woman who leads an outlaw gang ( yeah, right) or her knockabout sidekick, forever taking pratfalls entirely unamusingly.

This also has a ridiculous gunfight in which our hero Texas Rnagers simply ignore the bullets and engage the baddies in fisticuffs -- why the baddies didn't just shoot them, I don't know, except they were knockabout fools too and killing people wouldn't have been in keeping in a film made by amateurs for juveniles.

I am being unfair in criticising this as an adult, but one can only take as one finds....and this was execrable....

Yep, the whole thing is made for corny laughs. More slapstick then real humor. The dialogue is very infantile and totally ridiculous, but that's the idea. No one with half a brain can take any of this seriously. All fluff despite rugged actors like gruffy talking war hero Neville Brand and muscleman William Smith. The shootouts and the fights are more along the Keystone Cops. The story plot is as basic c as basic can be and is geared towards kids and preteens. However, adults looking for some simplicity, can get a few laughs, a few chuckles and some rainy night entertainment. The overall acting is pretty bad, especially from those actors performing as Native Americans.