I am a huge Gary Cooper fan ( especially in Westerns), so I was extremely excited to see The Texan pop up on Encore Westerns. I have seen mostly every western he ever starred in: Only The Spoilers, The Wolf Song, The Last Outlaw, a modern day Western I Take This Woman, and the lost Arizona Bound have escaped me. As for the story, it is s story by O'Henry about a person who pretends to be the lost son of a Hispanic Noblewoman. This story was also covered in the Alan Ladd movie Branded, with Mona Freeman and Charles Bickford. It is important to note that this movie is Pre-Code, so ( Spoilers ahead), Cooper remains pretending that he is her son ( a man who was a card cheat that Cooper killed in self defense), which was a different ending then Branded ( where Ladd finds the son and brings him back to Bickford and his wife).,Also the love interest Consuelo ( Fay Wray) is very different then Mona Freeman ( although both Cooper and Ladd get the girl). One other point; IMDB notes this movie has never been shown ( until now) because of legal issues ( Same problem as The Spoilers, so maybe that one can show up as well?). I give The Texan 10/10 stars. All for Cooper and the rediscovery of a film that when it becomes seen, will be regarded as one of Cooper's best.
Review of The Texan
