Texas

Two young cowpokes played by William Holden and Glenn Ford in their youth are trying to make their way to Texas. As former Confederates they're not treated so well in Yankee country. When they spot some outlaws holding up a stage they decide to rob the outlaws. Of course when the sheriff finds Ford with the loot, Holden has to rescue him from a lynching. In eluding the posse the two go their separate ways and thereby hangs a tale.

This was the first of two films Holden and Ford made together, the second being The Man from Colorado after World War II. Both of them had the same unusual contract situation. Holden came up through Paramount ranks, but was spotted there by Harry Cohn at Columbia and given the lead as an unknown in Golden Boy. So confident was Cohn in Holden's success that he took the highly unusual step of purchasing half of his contract from Paramount. So Holden was under contract to two major studios at the same time.

Ironically enough Glenn Ford in the late Forties had half of his contract purchased by MGM when Harry Cohn sold it. These are the only two stars whoever had such an unusual arrangement.

It is also the first time Glenn Ford worked with Director George Marshall although it would take another 17 years for them to reunite in The Sheepman. After that the two of them did a whole string of successful comedies together.

There's is some humor in Texas, but the accent here is on action which comes pretty fast and furious. Holden falls in with the outlaws he and Ford held up and Ford becomes a big mover and shaker with the cattlemen. Ford persuades them all to get a big herd together and drive them to the railroad terminus in Kansas. He's also trying to impress Claire Trevor the rancher's daughter who Holden also is interested in.

Texas has a trio of villains in George Bancroft, Addison Richards and Edgar Buchanan. This was the film where Edgar Buchanan got his first attention. His folksy demeanor masks some serious scheming in this film, the first of many reprobates he played in the movies although most of them were not as seriously villainous as here.

Glenn Ford and Edgar Buchanan hit it off very well. They worked in about a dozen films together and in Ford's television series Cade's County.

Texas is a good western and it's a pleasure to watch two young screen immortals in their beginning days.

Other reviewers have spoken of the pleasures of seeing William Holden and Glenn Ford at age 23, both so young as to be almost unrecognizable; and Claire Trevor, too and Edgar Buchanan as a dentist -- he was one in real life, before he turned to acting.

But I think a lot of credit is due to the director, George Marshall. Today, almost the only Marshall movie anyone knows is the justly famous 1939 version of DESTRY RIDES AGAIN. But he was primarily a comedy director, back to the 1920s when he directed Fox Sunshine comedies, to the 1930s, when he worked at Roach on Laurel and Hardy, through the early 1970s. And this movie was directed during his peak period and it shows it. The comedy sequences are wonderfully directed, especially the boxing match.

So, while you're enjoying the acting, remember that the funny broad comedy comes from the mind of the director.

This is a very good western with two great up and coming actors at that time. Glen Ford and William Holden really shined in this movie and it paid off good for both of them.

This was Fords 9th film and Holden's 6th, but you could never tell it by their acting. These two men played well off each other. It didn't hurt that they had Claire Trevor as their love interest either. The cast is rounded out with the great actor Edgar Buchanan playing the bad guy, I know it's hard to hate a man like Buchanan.

This is NOT a B cowboy movie, far from it. The scrip and acting is very good, and the movie has a good plot as it moves alone and never leaves you bogged down. Ford and Holden play well off each other, so well in fact it wasn't long before Hollywood teamed them up again in another western "The Man From Colorado".

So if your looking for a very good western with a great cast that has plenty of action along with some humor and love, you can't go wrong with this movie.

Quite enjoyable western fare with two young superstars to be.William Holden and Glenn Ford are two young cowpokes making their way to Texas and competing for the same girl,played by Claire Trevor. Good support by veterans George Bancroft and Edgar Buchanan makes this a western worth watching. Holden has the showier part and makes the most of it.He's brash and likable and fits the part. Director George Marshall blends humor and drama the same way he did in his masterpiece DestryRides Again.Although Texas isn't in the same league as his previous masterpiece it is a damn good western.The west does really look wild and untamed in his movies.

Holden and Ford may be the stars, but the film belongs to director Marshall and the incomparable Edgar Buchanan. Marshall started out directing comedy shorts and it shows up here in several memorable scenes. That fight scene may be the most amusing on boxing record. Dutch Henry keeps popping up, dukes raised, like a whack-a-mole, and I love the way the boisterous crowd ends up in a frontier free-for-all. The buckboard scene may be brief but it's expertly done, Trevor shows real comedic ability as she struggles with a rebellious ten yards of skirt. Then there's the topper—pudgy, gravel-voice Buchanan actually doing a song and dance. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it. But more incredibly, his graceful shuffle and tuneful refrain are absolutely charming. What a marvelous actor he was as he transitions here from musical performer to shifty-eyed mastermind.

It's a good story if a bit shopworn—two buddies (Ford & Holden) falling on opposite sides of the law while competing for the same girl (Trevor). The various alliances get a little confusing so you may need a scorecard to keep up. Holden gets the majority screen time, while the always low-key Ford is even more so than usual. All in all, it's a highly entertaining, fast-paced 90-minutes, thanks mainly to an expert director and a cagey old coot.