The Texan

The Texan as a title is so bland, that you'd think that John Wayne starred in this film in the early 30s before he became a big star.

But what you've got instead is a little self redemption story that can only happen before the Hayes Code, or decades after it's implemented. Our intrepid villain, discovers good and decency, and a little old woman he never wishes to hurt.

Gary Cooper plays his hilarious stone cold charm. Man of few words, has little to say, but his expressions as he acts both being uncomfortable with new surroundings, and gradually becoming accustomed, says all.

This early Gary Cooper film, is fun, well handled for a simple plot, is great for any fan of old movies, or Gary Cooper.

Worth the watch, 9/10

... because it sags dreadfully, especially in the middle portion after Cooper's character arrives in South America. That and the complete absence of any kind of score makes it tough going.

Gary Cooper plays the Llano Kid, wanted dead or alive for robbing a stagecoach. He stops off in a town to have his horse shoed, and the town blacksmith happens to be a Bible beating preacher type who also, strangely enough is the sheriff. Satisfied that the sheriff has no idea who he is, the Kid goes to the saloon for a drink and some cards. But the fellow he's playing is cheating, and when exposed draws his gun and tries to kill the Kid. The Kid returns fire and kills him in what sure looks like self defense.

The Kid fools the towns folk and their posse into believing "he went thataway", retrieves his horse from the sheriff who vows to get him someday, rides to the railway station, and gets onboard. On the train he meets Abner Thacker, who offers The Kid a deal - If he'll pose as a rich South American woman's long lost son who ran away 15 years ago at the age of ten, they'll soak her for all she's worth and split the proceeds. The Kid agrees.

But once in South America, The Kid has second thoughts. The old woman who thinks he's her son is very kind to him, and he falls in love with Consuelo (Fay Wray), the old woman's companion. But Thacker is not having this newfound sentimentality cutting into his bottom line and threatens to turn The Kid into the local American consulate as a wanted criminal if he doesn't continue the ruse.

Complications ensue. In fact the complications are what liven up the last third of the film. First off there is an unexpected twist at the end. Secondly, the Bible preaching sheriff shows up at the widow's hacienda looking to bring The Kid back to Texas. This last part is very strange. This guy is a sheriff, not a U. S. marshal. He has no police powers in a foreign country. And who is guarding the town while he's globetrotting? And why this resolve to capture a guy who killed in self-defense?

The high point of this film is seeing the subtle humor in Cooper's performance. He'd played westerners and cowboys all through the 20s in the silent era because of his roping and riding skills. But talking film added a layer to the authenticity of his performance as a genuine cowboy.

The casting of this film left a bit to be desired. Gary Cooper as a con man? I don't think so. Dunn and Wray are fine in their roles. But an Italian nightclub singer (Russ Columbo) as a singing cowboy? Please. This is Hollywood gone off the deep end. The llano Kid (Cooper) is trying to con Dunn into thinking he is her long lost son. Meanwhile, the inevitable romantic interest (Fay Wray) starts to monkey around with his affections. Will he do the right thing? I think the answer is readily obvious. Fun to see Cooper as a con man and Columbo as a Westerner. I think Johnny Mack Brown would have been much better casting for this story, though.

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.

Some old movies are true classics. They seem to keep on living despite technical disadvantages of the time they were made. Some others, simply need to be remade. The Texan is one of the latter category. It screams to be remade. It suffers terribly from the painfully limited post-silent Hollywood technology.

What does not mask that disadvantages is the primitive sound, no theme music, and the awful direction. The director simply fails to get a better performance from the obviously inexperienced future star, Gary Cooper. Coop is too tall and lanky to be believable in his role as a Mexican-American bandit slowly turning good, and the director fails to minimize it with good camera angles. He is also too stiff (even by Coop's standards) and boring to be likable as the leading character. On the other hand, the director allows Emma Dunn to be annoyingly suffocating in her overacting as the doting mother. One would almost like to throw a brick at the screen every time she is in a scene.

So why am I asking for a remake of this movie? Because it does have a great premise, and a very smart ending. In the hands of a capable director, and with the advantage of good music and today's technology, this story could actually turn into at least a minor classic. As it is for now, the original is good for a one-time watching and no more.