The Texan (film)

Last updated
The Texan
The Texan 1930 Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Cromwell
Produced by Hector Turnbull
Written by
Screenplay by Daniel Nathan Rubin
Based on"The Double-Dyed Deceiver"
by O. Henry
Starring
CinematographyVictor Milner
Edited by Verna Willis
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • May 10, 1930 (1930-05-10)(US)
Running time
  • 79 minutes
  • 9 reels, 7,142 ft [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Texan is a 1930 American Western film directed by John Cromwell and starring Gary Cooper and Fay Wray. [2] Based on the short story "The Double-Dyed Deceiver" by O. Henry, the film is about a daring bandit called the Llano Kid who shoots a young gambler in self-defense and is forced to hide from the law. He is helped by a corrupt lawyer who involves the bandit in a scheme to swindle a Mexican aristocrat whose son turns out to be the young gambler killed by the Llano Kid. The screenplay was written by Daniel Nathan Rubin, and the story was adapted for the screen by Oliver H.P. Garrett and Victor Milner. Produced by Hector Turnbull for Paramount Pictures, The Texan was released in the United States on May 10, 1930. [3] The film received positive reviews upon its theatrical release. [4]

Western (genre) multimedia genre of stories set primarily in the American Old West

Western is a genre of various arts which tell stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, often centering on the life of a nomadic cowboy or gunfighter armed with a revolver and a rifle who rides a horse. Cowboys and gunslingers typically wear Stetson hats, neckerchief bandannas, vests, spurs, cowboy boots and buckskins. Recurring characters include the aforementioned cowboys, Native Americans, bandits, lawmen, bounty hunters, outlaws, gamblers, soldiers, and settlers. The ambience is usually punctuated with a Western music score, including American and Mexican folk music such as country, Native American music, New Mexico music, and rancheras.

Elwood Dager Cromwell, known as John Cromwell, was an American film and stage director and actor. His films spanned the early days of sound to 1950s film noir, when his directing career was cut short by the Hollywood blacklist.

Gary Cooper American actor

Gary Cooper was an American actor.

Contents

Plot

A young bandit called the Llano Kid (Gary Cooper) is wanted by the law and has a price on his head. After stopping in at the local blacksmith, John Brown (James A. Marcus), a highly religious man who fancies himself a sheriff, the Kid gets into a poker game during which he notices a young gambler cheating, confronts him, and is forced to kill him in self-defense. The Kid is then pursued by Sheriff Brown and is almost apprehended, but is able to get the draw on the zealous lawman. As the Kid leaps into the saddle, Sheriff Brown pledges, "God will deliver you into my hands."

James Marcus (American actor) American actor

James A. Marcus was an American actor. He appeared in 109 films between 1915 and 1937. He was born in New York City and died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack. Marcus' most notable films include Regeneration, Oliver Twist and Sadie Thompson.

Later aboard a train, the Kid meets an unscrupulous lawyer named Thacker (Oscar Apfel), who convinces him to pose as the son of Señora Ibarra (Emma Dunn), a wealthy South American widow whose son Enrique disappeared fifteen years earlier. Having set himself up as the widow's agent hired to find the lost son, Thacker plans to return with her "son" and swindle the widow's gold in the process. Soon the two men set sail aboard a schooner to South America, where they arrive at Señora Ibarra's family hacienda in a little seaport town of Buenas Tierras. With his basic Spanish speaking skills, new sideburns, and tattooed hand (similar to Enriques), the Kid is able to pass himself off as Enrique, the long lost son of Señora Ibarra.

Oscar Apfel American actor

Oscar C. Apfel was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in 167 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927.

Emma Dunn actress

Emma Dunn was an English character actress on the stage and in motion pictures.

Their plans are interrupted, however, when the Kid meets and falls in love with his lovely "niece" Consuelo (Fay Wray). Softened by Señora Ibarra's affection for him, and his newfound love, he begins to have second doubts about the scheme. When the Kid learns that Señora Ibarra's son was in fact the very man he shot in self-defense in the saloon, he calls off his deal with Thacker. Angered by this turn of events, Thacker organizes a gang to steal the gold outright.

Fay Wray American actress

Vina Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film King Kong. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international recognition as an actress in horror films. She has been dubbed one of the first "scream queens".

Meanwhile, Sheriff Brown arrives at Buenas Tierras, having finally tracked down the Llano Kid, who has been "delivered into his hands". He waits until nightfall before making the arrest. During the ensuing gunfight, the Kid is wounded, and Thacker is killed. Afterwards, Brown has a change of heart after seeing the Kid's true character and courage. The sheriff agrees to keep the Kid's identity secret so Enrique can continue his life with his new family.

Cast

Film still with Gary Cooper and Fay Wray Gary Cooper and Fay Wray in The Texan 1930.jpg
Film still with Gary Cooper and Fay Wray

Donald Reed was a film actor, and later, Beverly Hills video consultant. He appeared in 47 films between 1925 and 1940. He married the beauty pageant winner Janet Eastman and the two had one daughter together, Joy. He was born in Mexico City, Mexico and died in Westwood, Los Angeles, California.

Production

The Texan is based on the short story "The Double-Dyed Deceiver" by O. Henry, which was first published in Everybody's Magazine in December 1905. [5] The story was previously filmed as A Double-Dyed Deceiver (1920) with Jack Pickford in the lead role.

O. Henry American short story writer

William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American short story writer. His stories are known for their surprise endings.

Jack Pickford Canadian-American actor

Jack Pickford was a Canadian-born American actor, film director and producer. He was the younger brother of actresses Mary and Lottie Pickford.

Critical response

In his review for The New York Times , Mordaunt Hall called the film "an expertly touched-up audible pictorial adaptation of O. Henry's story". [4] Hall praises Cooper for his "capital acting", comparing his performance to his earlier success, The Virginian. "The lean, lanky Mr. Cooper elicits a great deal of sympathy as the double-dyed deceiver," Hall observes. He also acknowledges the supporting performances by screen veterans Oscar Apfel, the "splendid" James Marcus, the "pleasing" Emma Dunn, and Fay Wray, who "has never been more captivating than she is as Consuelo". Hall gives most of the credit for the film's success to director John Cromwell and screenwriter Oliver H. P. Garrett, who are able to balance the irony of O'Henry's original story with a love interest that is "adroitly introduced without hindering the dénouement". [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Searchers</i> 1956 film by John Ford

The Searchers is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, set during the Texas–Indian wars, and starring John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece, accompanied by his adoptive nephew. Critic Roger Ebert found Wayne's character, Ethan Edwards, "one of the most compelling characters Ford and Wayne ever created".

Tommy Lee Jones American actor and film director

Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive.

A star is a luminous astronomical object.

Larry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller, and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the Old West or in contemporary Texas. His novels include Horseman, Pass By (1962), The Last Picture Show (1966), and Terms of Endearment (1975), which were adapted into films earning 26 Academy Award nominations. His 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Lonesome Dove was adapted into a television miniseries that earned 18 Emmy Award nominations, with the other three novels in his Lonesome Dove series adapted into three more miniseries, earning eight more Emmy nominations. McMurtry and cowriter Diana Ossana adapted the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain (2005), which earned eight Academy Award nominations with three wins, including McMurtry and Ossana for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Powers Boothe American actor

Powers Allen Boothe was an American television, video game, and film actor and voice actor. Some of his most notable roles include his Emmy-winning portrayal of Jim Jones in Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones and his turns as TV detective Philip Marlowe in the 1980s, Cy Tolliver on Deadwood, "Curly Bill" Brocius in Tombstone, Vice President and subsequently President Noah Daniels on 24, and Lamar Wyatt in Nashville.

The Stranger or Stranger may refer to:

Jensen Ackles American actor and director

Jensen Ross Ackles is an American actor and director. He has appeared on television as Dean Winchester in The CW horror fantasy series Supernatural, Eric Brady in Days of Our Lives, which earned him several Daytime Emmy Award nominations, Alec/X5-494 in Dark Angel and Jason Teague in Smallville. He also starred as the lead in the box office success My Bloody Valentine 3D and voiced Jason Todd in the popular animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood.

Thomas Haden Church American actor, director, writer

Thomas Haden Church is an American actor, director, and writer. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in Sideways, his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3 and his role of Lyle van de Groot in George of the Jungle (film). He also made his directorial debut with Rolling Kansas.

Shelley Duvall American actress

Shelley Alexis Duvall is an American former actress, producer, writer and singer. Over the duration of her career, Duvall garnered critical acclaim for her portrayals of various eccentric characters.

Peter Weller American actor

Peter Frederick Weller is an American film and stage actor, television director, and art historian.

Bruce McGill American actor

Bruce Travis McGill is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his work with director Michael Mann in the movies The Insider (1999), Ali (2001), and Collateral (2004). McGill's other notable film roles include Daniel Simpson "D-Day" Day in John Landis' Animal House, Com. Matuzak in Timecop, Reverend Larson in Shallow Hal, Gene Revell in The Sum of All Fears, and Lt. Brooks in Ride Along and its sequel Ride Along 2.

Sam Elliott American actor

Samuel Pack Elliott is an American actor. His lanky physique, thick moustache, deep and resonant voice and Western drawl have led to frequent roles as cowboys and ranchers. His accolades include an Academy Award nomination, two Golden Globe Award nominations, two Primetime Emmy award nominations, and a National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Lupe Ontiveros Mexican-American actress

Guadalupe "Lupe" Ontiveros was an American actress best known for portraying Yolanda Saldívar in the film Selena. She acted in numerous films and television shows, often playing a maid or, near the end of her career, an all-knowing grandmother. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on Desperate Housewives and received critical acclaim for her role in Chuck & Buck, for which she won the National Board of Review award for Best Supporting Actress, and was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.

Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. Love or Loved may also refer to:

<i>The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</i> (2003 film) 2003 US film directed by Marcus Nispel

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Marcus Nispel, written by Scott Kosar, and starring Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, Eric Balfour and R. Lee Ermey. Its plot follows a group of young adults traveling through rural Texas who encounter Leatherface and his murderous family. It is a remake of Tobe Hooper's 1974 film of the same name, and the fifth installment in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. Several crew members of the original film were involved with the project: Hooper and writer Kim Henkel served as co-producers; Daniel Pearl returned as cinematographer; and John Larroquette reprised his voice narration for the opening intertitles.

Margo Martindale American actress

Margo Martindale is an American character actress who has appeared on television, in film, and onstage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on Justified. Martindale was nominated for an Emmy Award four times for her recurring role as Claudia on The Americans, winning the award in 2015 and 2016. She has played supporting roles in several films, including The Hours, Million Dollar Baby, Dead Man Walking, The Firm, Lorenzo's Oil, ...First Do No Harm, Eye of God, Win Win, Marvin's Room, Forged, Orphan, The Savages, Hannah Montana: The Movie, August: Osage County, and Paris, je t'aime.

Lauren German American actress

Lauren Christine German is an American actress. She had her first major role in the 2002 romantic drama film A Walk to Remember, followed by roles in the horror films The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and Hostel: Part II (2007). From 2011 to 2012, German had a main role as DHS agent Lori Weston in the second season of the CBS police drama Hawaii Five-0, and from 2012 to 2015, she starred as Leslie Shay in the NBC drama Chicago Fire. In 2016, she began starring as detective Chloe Decker in the American fantasy comedy-drama Lucifer.

Jesse Plemons American actor

Jesse Lon Plemons is an American actor and comedian. Beginning his career as a child actor, Plemons achieved a career breakthrough with his supporting role as Landry Clarke in the NBC drama series Friday Night Lights (2006-11). He subsequently portrayed Todd Alquist in the fifth season of AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad, winning a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance as part of the show's ensemble cast. He subsequently earned his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination and won a Critics' Choice Television Award for portraying Ed Blumquist in the second season of the FX anthology series Fargo. He received a second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his portrayal of Robert Daly in "USS Callister", an episode of the Netflix anthology series Black Mirror.

Buck Taylor American actor

Walter Clarence Taylor, III, known as Buck Taylor, is an American actor best known for his role as gunsmith-turned-deputy Newly O'Brien in 174 episodes during the last eight seasons of CBS's Gunsmoke television series (1967–1975). In recent years, he has painted the portrait of his friend and Gunsmoke series' star James Arness. Taylor's painting specialty is the American West, and each year, he creates the posters for several Texas rodeos. Taylor lives with his second wife on a ranch near Fort Worth, Texas.

Two Guys from Texas is a 1948 Technicolor musical comedy film directed by David Butler and starring Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, and Dorothy Malone. The film was written by Allen Boretz and I.A.L. Diamond, produced by Alex Gottlieb, and released by Warner Bros. Pictures on September 4, 1948. This was a follow-up to Two Guys from Milwaukee, also starring Morgan and Carson, which in turn was an attempt to capture some of the appeal of Paramount's Bing Crosby and Bob Hope Road pictures.

References

  1. ↑ AFI Catalog, F25581
  2. ↑ "The Texan (1930)". The New York Times. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  3. ↑ Erickson, Hal. "The Texan (1930)". AllMovie. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Hall, Mordaunt (May 17, 1930). "The Cisco Kid Returns". The New York Times. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Texan". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.