Dois Aventureiros do Texas

Steve (Dennis Morgan) and Danny (Jack Carson) are northern boys who end up in Texas. Their car breaks down and then gets stolen...and they are stranded. Fortunately, a combination ranch/night club (??) is nearby and they get jobs. Soon they start trying to woo the same lady...and this is interrupted by some crooks committing a robbery and everything thinks Steve and Danny did it...so they get locked up in jail. So they did what anyone in Hollywood would do...they break out and prove their innocence!

In so many ways, this follow-up film to "Two Guys from Milwaukee" plays like a Bob Hope-Bing Crosby Road Picture. You have the guys vying for the same lady, you have them get into mischief and you have a lot of singing....but none of it quite as good as Hope- Crosby. Worth seeing, but pretty much in the category of 'Time Passer' for me.

By the way, get a load of the awful rear projection used in the bucking bronco sequence...yecch!

Bing Crosby and Bob Hope and their "Road" pictures were some of the hottest properties around during the 1940s and it seems that the Warner studio was trying to recreate the magic with Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan in their shared pictures. Unfortunately it did not work. One of the things that made the "Road" pictures so much fun was the obvious friendship and chemistry between Bing and Bob. A large part of the dialog in their films was ad-libbed, something that Jack and Dennis either could not do or were not allowed to do. No, the songs are not all that memorable and, no, Dennis Morgan doesn't have as good a voice as Bing, but while the songs are forgettable they are still pleasant. Jack Carson was a good actor and a fair comedian, but he was never as funny as Bob Hope. The story here is pretty predictable and Jack's total phobia about animals (and the easy way he gets over it) is slightly silly but even with its shortcomings this film is fun and worth at least one watching. I just recently saw it again on TCM and enjoyed it a lot.

The duo of Morgan and Carson has always been full of fun and laughs, perhaps because the two gentlemen were such good friends in real life. But I did notice that a good deal of the plot structure and character development were cribbed from another Warner Brothers musical, A Cowboy From Brooklyn. This isn't to say that the film isn't a delight, because it is. It's just that in the late 1940's Warner Brothers started the process of cannibalizing its own material. They'd turn ordinary comedies into musicals and very often the star of the show would be none other than Dennis Morgan himself. All I can say about Two Guys From Texas is sit back, relax and prepare to enjoy yourself for the next ninety minutes or so!

Taking their "Bob Hope and Bing Crosby" act from Rhode Island to California, crooner Dennis Morgan (as Steve Carroll) and partner Jack Carson (as Danny Foster) run out of gas and are stranded in Texas. The "Two Guys from Texas" (not) stay at a dude ranch owned by beautiful dark-haired Dorothy Malone (as Joan Winston). Both men are attracted to Ms. Malone, but she seems to prefer Mr. Morgan. Adding more romance possibilities are pretty blonde Penny Edwards (as Maggie Reed) and 6'6" tall in his wedgies Forrest Tucker (as "Tex" Bennett)...

An obese Native American woman (as a Fat Indian squaw) follows Mr. Carson around throughout the story; she has a little secret to reveal before the closing credits. In a shorter running joke, Carson has to overcome a fear of animals. The poolside scene gives Malone an opportunity to model her two-piece yellow swimsuit. In a nicely done animated dream sequence, "Bugs Bunny" has a cameo. The intended hit "Every Day I Love You (Just a Little Bit More)" by Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne didn't go far, but the sweetly melodic "Hankerin'" charted for Gordon MacRae.

**** Two Guys from Texas (8/6/48) David Butler ~ Jack Carson, Dennis Morgan, Dorothy Malone, Penny Edwards

Steve Carroll (Dennis Morgan) and Danny Foster (Jack Carson) are a couple of song and dance men who get stranded in Texas when they run out of gas. They reconnect with their friend Maggie Reed (Penny Edwards). Danny has a debilitating fear of animals. Steve courts Joan Winston (Dorothy Malone).

This apparently is an attempt to copy Crosby and Hope. The guys are no Crosby and Hope. I wasn't going to watch this but I really wanted to see the animated section. The comedy is broad. The animal fear is stupid and not that funny. The songs are not catchy although some are somewhat fun. As for the animated section, Bugs makes a surprise cameo. For that alone, I'm willing to sit through the rest of this movie.