THE TEXAN (Paramount, 1930), directed by John Cromwell, from the story "A Double-Dyed Deceiver" by O. Henry, is a worthy follow-up to Gary Cooper's first talkie and previous western outing of THE VIRGINIAN (1929). Now as a Texan known as The Llano Kid, Cooper brightens his acting range in another character, that of a likable good-badman type.
Opening with a wanted sign for The Llano Kid with a $500 reward on his head, The Llano Kid (Gary Cooper) rides his horse to the nearest blacksmith where John Brown (James Marcus), who also happens to be the town sheriff, works on the stranger's horse for its horseshoe replacement. During his wait, the Llano Kid heads for a bar for a drink and a game of cards with other cowboys, with one cardsharp getting gunned down for cheating. The Llano Kid returns to the blacksmith, who recognizes him, to reclaim his horse. He throws the blacksmith's gun into a bucket of water and makes his escape. Heading towards the next train out of town, the Llano kid steals a ticket belonging to fellow passenger, Abner J. Thacker (Oscar Apfel). Because the cowboy happens to resemble a man of 25, Thacker, a lawyer representing a rich widow who's son ran away from home 15 years ago, to locate him in Texas and bring him back to her. He not only hires the cowboy to accompany him to South America for the impersonation, but schemes in obtaining Senora Ibarra's (Emma Dunn) bags of gold on top of her $1,000 reward to him. During his two month stay before leaving on the next boat back to the states, The Llano Kid, now known as Enrique, lovingly called "Quico" by his "mother," becomes acquainted with his "cousin", Consuelo (Fay Wray), and new lifestyle until something occurs to change all that. Others in the cast include: Donald Reed, Soledad Jimenez, Ed Brady and Enrique Acosta.
Unlike Cooper's first talkie, THE VIRGINIAN, THE TEXAN (title not to be confused with THE TEXANS (Paramount, 1938) starring Randolph Scott), was never sold to commercial television, becoming unavailable for viewing for many decades. It's one of those movies one hears about but something that will never see the light of day again. After many years in obscurity. THE TEXAN finally resurrected on the Encore Western Channel in March 2020, and a worthy rediscovery and welcome addition to the cable network.
Regardless of its age and lack of musical scoring in the plot, THE TEXAN is leisurely paced and recommended viewing. Fay Wray (best known for KING KONG (1933)), gets by physically as a Spanish senorita, and makes due with her accented way of talking. It would not be the first nor last time she would assume a Spanish character. Also commendable in their roles are Oscar Apfel as the crooked lawyer and James Marcus as the sheriff/blacksmith who happens to be a religious man. THE TEXAN was remade by Paramount as THE LLANO KID (1939) featuring Tito Guizar in the title role with Gale Sondergaard and Emma Dunn reprising her original role of the mother. As with THE TEXAN, to date, THE LLANO KID is unavailable for viewing.
While Gary Cooper appeared in other, yet better westerns in later years, winning an Academy Award for HIGH NOON (1952), THE TEXAN (at 79 minutes) is worthy viewing. (***)
Opening with a wanted sign for The Llano Kid with a $500 reward on his head, The Llano Kid (Gary Cooper) rides his horse to the nearest blacksmith where John Brown (James Marcus), who also happens to be the town sheriff, works on the stranger's horse for its horseshoe replacement. During his wait, the Llano Kid heads for a bar for a drink and a game of cards with other cowboys, with one cardsharp getting gunned down for cheating. The Llano Kid returns to the blacksmith, who recognizes him, to reclaim his horse. He throws the blacksmith's gun into a bucket of water and makes his escape. Heading towards the next train out of town, the Llano kid steals a ticket belonging to fellow passenger, Abner J. Thacker (Oscar Apfel). Because the cowboy happens to resemble a man of 25, Thacker, a lawyer representing a rich widow who's son ran away from home 15 years ago, to locate him in Texas and bring him back to her. He not only hires the cowboy to accompany him to South America for the impersonation, but schemes in obtaining Senora Ibarra's (Emma Dunn) bags of gold on top of her $1,000 reward to him. During his two month stay before leaving on the next boat back to the states, The Llano Kid, now known as Enrique, lovingly called "Quico" by his "mother," becomes acquainted with his "cousin", Consuelo (Fay Wray), and new lifestyle until something occurs to change all that. Others in the cast include: Donald Reed, Soledad Jimenez, Ed Brady and Enrique Acosta.
Unlike Cooper's first talkie, THE VIRGINIAN, THE TEXAN (title not to be confused with THE TEXANS (Paramount, 1938) starring Randolph Scott), was never sold to commercial television, becoming unavailable for viewing for many decades. It's one of those movies one hears about but something that will never see the light of day again. After many years in obscurity. THE TEXAN finally resurrected on the Encore Western Channel in March 2020, and a worthy rediscovery and welcome addition to the cable network.
Regardless of its age and lack of musical scoring in the plot, THE TEXAN is leisurely paced and recommended viewing. Fay Wray (best known for KING KONG (1933)), gets by physically as a Spanish senorita, and makes due with her accented way of talking. It would not be the first nor last time she would assume a Spanish character. Also commendable in their roles are Oscar Apfel as the crooked lawyer and James Marcus as the sheriff/blacksmith who happens to be a religious man. THE TEXAN was remade by Paramount as THE LLANO KID (1939) featuring Tito Guizar in the title role with Gale Sondergaard and Emma Dunn reprising her original role of the mother. As with THE TEXAN, to date, THE LLANO KID is unavailable for viewing.
While Gary Cooper appeared in other, yet better westerns in later years, winning an Academy Award for HIGH NOON (1952), THE TEXAN (at 79 minutes) is worthy viewing. (***)