From Hell to Texas (1958)

Simply A Masterpiece

Good movie but grossly overrated

Fresh and Exciting

Excellent but underrated film

Copyright 1958 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at RKO neighborhood cinemas: 4 June 1958. U.S. release: 1 June 1958. U.K. release: 27 July 1958. Australian release: 17 July 1958. 100 minutes. U.K. and Australian release title: MAN HUNT (up to 150 feet censored).SYNOPSIS: Tod Lohman (Don Murray), a peace-loving man, is pursued across the New Mexico wastelands by Tom Boyd (Dennis Hopper), his brother Otis (Ken Scott), and a small posse who wish to believe Tod had murdered another brother when actually the brother had accidentally fallen on Tod's knife during a fight. Hunter Boyd (R. G. Armstrong), their father, a cattle baron who writes his own laws, seeks revenge. Tod meets Amos Bradley (Chill Wills), a rancher, and his daughter, Nita (Diane Varsi). Amos knows the Boyds are after Tod but he himself has no love for any of them.NOTES: One of the two best westerns of the 1950s, according to William K. Everson in his comprehensive study of the genre. (The other is "Shane").COMMENT: Disappointing. True, the action spots are most effectively staged and directed with all that customary Hathaway vigor. True also that the heavy is an appropriately strong, interesting character — "a powerful wicked man but with a peculiar sense of justice all his own" — forcefully played by R. G. Armstrong. But with the exception of Jay C. Flippen and John Larch (and these parts are not all that large), the rest of the characters are weak and uninteresting. And alas they are just as insipidly played by folk like Chill Wills and Diane Varsi. Admittedly Dennis Hopper is supposed to be weak — so he's excused — but when the hero Don Murray is tepid too it doesn't exactly make for gripping conflict. The Varsi character for all her gameness is still a pretty conventional heroine. As for Chill Wills, he's so stereotyped and so bland, he ends up just plain dull. The movie would impact more powerfully with a lot of trimming. One of the first scenes to leave on the cutting-room floor is a romantic interlude in which either Hathaway or his editor has experimented with odd angle cutting. It doesn't work. Also ripe for the shears are some boringly long-winded dialogue scenes with Murray, Varsi and Wills.Locations are well utilized, though their appeal is somewhat undermined by obvious day-for-night lensing and glaring process screen backdrops. And we're still saddled with that early CinemaScope fuzzy photography. Other production credits are no more than par.

If you have an all-region DVD player, which costs less than $100, you may order a very fine anamorphic widescreen copy of this film from Amazon Italy.Don Murray, on the run after an accidental killing, eludes R.G. Armstrong and a very young Dennis Hopper in this stark western from Henry Hathaway. Along the way he meets a rancher and falls in love with the man's daughter. A fiery confrontation with the dead man's family finally brings closure to this violent chase story. Well developed characters not usually found in this genre.Hard to find and well worth the effort.

crammed within the "chase" formula of this western are delightful surprises a pacifist cowboy hero who - nevertheless - is wickedly good with a rifle the chasers aren't villains - they are men whose actions are made understandable - if not condonable good lead actor - Don Murray - whose real life pacifism seems to find perfect expression in this film good supporting actors - Chill Wills - R G Armstrong - J C Flippen - Dennis Hopper - Margofine direction by Henry Hathaway - with shots that seemed to presage Hathaway's TRUE GRIT and most delightful of all - Diane Varsi - in my favorite film of hers

This western has all the elements that make it highly watchable. It is fast paced and full of action, has interesting characters you care about and romance but not too much and good plotting. The casting is excellent especially with Murray in the lead and one has to wonder why it is sitting on a shelf somewhere while lesser films are on video and TV and shown repeatedly. The unavailability of this film and other good films make me wonder what the selection process involves and who makes the decisions that govern what we ultimately view. There are not many votes for "From Hell To Texas" but in my opinion that is because many have never had the chance to view it in the first place. On the other hand many mediocre films have many votes probably because they are available rather than of quality. I can think of at least half a dozen films that fall in the same category. There should be some better method of resurrecting films like "From Hell To Texas" so that generations behind me can at least have the opportunity to know that a film like this even exists.