Texas, nous voilà !

The first and perhaps, only time I saw this movie was a day or two after having hernia surgery in 1975. That viewing gave new meaning to the phrases "busting a gut" or "being in stitches." I couldn't stop watching despite the pain from the laughter and would love to see it again. It was silly but hilarious nonetheless. Who says movies have to be anything but? Then again, I was/am a big fan of the "Pink Panther" movies, too. As one other review stated, maybe I won't find it as funny the next time around, but I still chuckle remembering Peter Graves and his unintelligible military commands and Joey Bishop's facial expressions. It certainly can be watched with the entire family, and you can't say that about too many movies these days.

Released in 1966, "Texas Across the River" is a Western parody that takes place in 1845, starting at the Louisiana wedding of debutante Phoebe Ann Naylor (Rosemary Forsyth) to Don Andrea (Alain Delon), a Spanish nobleman. When the wedding is interrupted by Cavalry men (e.g. Stuart Anderson & Peter Graves), Don Andrea flees across the river to Texas, where he hooks up with Sam Hollis (Dean Martin) and his Native pal, Kronk (Joey Bishop), who are delivering weapons to Moccasin Flats. Don Andrea soon saves a Native lass, Lonetta (Tina Aumont), which attracts the attentions of a Comanche war party (Michael Ansara, Linden Chiles, etc.). Meanwhile the cavalry are hot on their trail.

You have to be in the right mode to enjoy "Texas Across the River," as it's full of mid-60's goofy humor (think Gilligan's Island or I Dream of Jeanie in the Old West). I personally chuckled from beginning to end and enjoyed it more than "Support Your Local Sheriff" (1969). It's just a fun movie with a great cast and locations, not to be taken seriously.

Speaking of which, one notable critic lambasted the movie for having Bishop play Hollis' Indian sidekick. I guess he didn't get the joke: The movie's poking fun at all the Westerns that used obvious white folk to play Natives; it's the same thing with Aumont playing the Indian cutie, who looks anything but Native American.

Directed by Michael Gordon, the movie was a fair hit at the box office. It runs 101 minutes and was shot in Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, Universal City & San Diego, California.

GRADE: B

I have always been a fan of Alain Delon and preferred Dean Martin to the rest of the Rat Pack, so when TEXAS ACROSS THE RIVER came on a nearby theater in the early 70s, I dared not to miss it, and there I was for the first night. And a good decision that was, because at the very end of the last reel, the projector caught alight, the theater closed for a couple of nights, and TEXAS ACROSS THE RIVER never showed there again!

Delon is at the peak of his physical condition and good looks, and he seems thoroughly to enjoy the part (his exchange of clothes with a passing rider and his bullfight scene are high points, even if his double in the latter clearly looks nothing like Delon - but somehow it just adds to the enjoyment of TEXAS taking nothing seriously); a peaking Martin weighs in with a wry and cynical sense of humor, and his amorous pursuit of Forsyth from a delusional state of mind, and a wound caused by an Indian arrow, is a gem; Joey Bishop is superb, whether is deadpan, ratting on Delon, displaying "Kronk" emotions -- or doing a rain dance, one of the movie's funniest moments.

Peter Graves is a hoot with his outlandish commands to his clumsy military force (the scene where he goes past a swarm of Indians on the warpath and does not even see them because he is so intent on catching Delon is another belly laugh); the Indian chief's exchanges with his constantly blundering son, while the rest of the tribe's elders look on knowingly, are sublime; and the witchdoctor is a riot, even if his presence in the film hardly totals 1 minute.

And, last but by no means least, the two beatiful women, Forsyth and Marquand: Forsyth, who starts the film looking purity itself in her white wedding dress, turns out to be a cheat at the slightest opportunity. Marquand, the Indian sqwaw, is about to be sacrificed by her tribe for the alleged commission of some illegality, but she is the purest, even if she is not above a good punch up with Forsyth.

This film perfectly captures the spirit of the West in the humorous, positive and deconstructionist 1960s. Some have criticized the fact that the Indians are made to look dumb, but so do the Union troopers, Martin, Delon, et al. Everybody has a turn looking dumb. In fact, the two most sensible characters are played by Bishop and Marquand - both Indians.

Direction is splendid in the humorous sequences, otherwise nothing memorable. Cinematography has its ups and downs - beautiful color, but some amateurish day for night, and clearly visible background cutouts.

Thankfully, I was able to buy a VHS copy, then a DVD copy, and I must have watched TEXAS ACROSS THE RIVER some 7 times by now: always enjoyed it, as did my kids, who remember it fondly.

I saw this movie at the theatre as a kid and, thanks to regular television airings, multiple times through the years. I practically have the film memorized. And yet, I bust a gut laughing every time I see it to this day. There are so many memorable scenes and lines that will immediately bring a smile to anyone's face who has seen it; "Texas isn't even a state, how big can it be?", "The coward attacked him from the rear", the slapping scenes, the arrow in the rear, Joey Bishop as an Indian, Rosemary Forsyth in a wet blanket, "No Comanche is a friend of mine", that '60s guitar music whenever the Comanches are around, "Only read Kronk", and the oft quoted "ARUHROAR HAR!". Simply put, this film is funny. It's a horrible injustice that this film has not yet received a studio DVD release. I long to see this film again in a wide screen presentation without the awful pan and scan.

Don Andre de Baldasare was set to marry Pheobe Ann Naylor of Louisiana; after an affair of honor goes wrong, he has to flee across the river, into the wilds of Texas. Once arrived, he meets encounters Sam Hollis and his Indian sidekick, the Karonkawa Indian, Kronk, who are transporting rifles to the town of Moccasin Flats. Don Andrea rescues an Indian maiden, Lonetta, uses Spanish skills to tame longhorns, becomes Sam's rival for Phoebe's affections, heads off a band of angry Comahces and runs continually from the cavalry (who have come to Moccasin Flats to celebrate Texas' statehood but mostly charge after him in gallant groups). At the end of the film, the man Sam calls "Baldy" saves the town and also gets his girl--but which one wins him? In this cheerful and frequently hilarious screenplay, Alain Delon is very funny and understated as Don Baldasare, Dean Martin is a bit too-old as Sam Hollis perhaps but shows his excellent comedic timing in the likable role. Rosemary Forsyth is vivacious and very pretty as Phoebe Ann, Southern accent and all; Peter Graves and Andrew Prince lead the cavalry, to whom Graves continually issues orders such as "To the rur, har!" which no one understands any more than they can penetrate Kronk's Indian sayings, delivered deadpan and rather beautifully by Joey Bishop. Others in the large cast include Tina Aumont as the Indian girl, Michael Ansara as the Indian chief pursuing them, and Linden Chiles as his physically- inept son, Stuart Anderson, Roy Barcroft, George Wallace, Don Beddoe,.Kelly Thordsen, Nora Marlowe, and John Harmon. Director Michael Gordon kept the action and the laughs coming despite much of the film being filmed out-of-doors. the bright cinematography was supplied by veteran Russell Metty, the script by "Maverick" TV series alumnus Wells Root and Harold Greene, and the art direction was done by William D. DeCinces and Alexander Golitzen. Set decorations were supplied by John McCarthy Jr. and  James Redd; the vivid costume designs were created by Helen Colvig and Rosemary Odell. This is a personal favorite of mine as a writer, breezy in dialogue and attractively colorful and often amusing. I recommend it for repeated viewing, for its spaciousness and its intelligent comedy, its style and its infectious and fantasy-free good humor.