He seems a bit out of place here, but makes good use of a running gag where he tries to kiss everyone as a means of thanks. As the cavalry commander, his frequent commands of “A-roar haarrh!” become so unintelligible to his troops that at one point two troopers turn to each other saying, “What did he just say?”Īlain Delon, though French, is strangely cast as a Spaniard. Though only in a few scenes, Peter Graves’ performance shows the comic chops he would later show off more fully later in his career. By the end of the picture Andrea decides Sam can go with Phoebe and he and Lonetta leave them to it. While Sam steals the spotlight and spends most of the film trying to get cozy with Phoebe in increasingly flagrant ways, Andrea falls for Lonetta. The answer of course according to Kronk, is, “Mom run too fast.” High art it definitely isn’t. ![]() With lines like, “How come your Dad isn’t a Comanche?” how could it fail. Though he uses the same gag consistently throughout the film, it strangely never grows tiresome. Every so often he will lapse into broken English for a punch line. Joey Bishop plays the foil toe Martin during most of the picture, babbling incoherently in his own mishmash language. Martin, though clearly too old to be a serious love interest to her, carries along with his usual sly wit, knowing that the audience is in on the joke. Rosemary Forsyth’s accent goes in and out but at its best warbles intentionally in the most stereotypical Southern dialect imaginable. Ultimately Sam ends up with Phoebe, Don Alain ends up with Lonetta and all ends well.Įverything in Texas Across the River is over the line. Over the course of their journey, they pick up a young Indian girl named Lonetta (Tina Marquand), fight bulls and avoid chasing Comanches and the cavalry, led by Captain Stimpson (Peter Graves). He meets Sam Hollis (Dean Martin) and his Indian friend Kronk (Joey Bishop) and helps them transport guns to Moccasin Flats in the south of Texas and on the other side of Comanche territory. ![]() After a confrontation just prior to marrying Phoebe (Rosemary Forsyth), Spanish nobleman Don Andrea (Alain Delon) is forced to escape. The plot is fluid and a mere framework on which to hang jokes. The film, labeled as a spoof of western films, is really just an excuse for Dino and a few of his pals to have a laugh. There is nothing deep about the film and the variety of off color and politically incorrect jokes work only because they are almost universal in targeting at various times almost everyone. Texas Across the River isn’t a movie that has aged well, but that doesn’t mean it still isn’t enjoyable- I myself dozed off during my first viewing. No, not the glory of The Young Lions or even Rio Bravo, but rather the glory that is the Matt Helm series. He is the star of this one and he is in all of his glory here. ![]() We are Dean Martin fans, for good or bad. In this light, 1969’s Texas Across the River has never been considered perfect, and rightfully so.įirst, let’s be clear. Few films- if any- have ever been considered perfect. Likewise later films of the 60s echoed a more freewheeling and laid back style. Perhaps this is most evident in looking at pre-code films, noir, or even the lavish epics of the 1950s as reflective of their time and the responses society had to outside pressures of those times. In film this is most noticeable in a few areas, though never has every movie from a period been able to be pigeonholed into a few neat and tidy boxes. One of the fun things about watching older films is seeing how society has changed and each generation puts their own particular stamp on their respective cultural output. A Swinging Fun-Romp that Fractures the Fron tier!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |