The Lucky Texan (1934)

Powerful

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

THE LUCKY TEXAN is another of the B-movie westerns that John Wayne made for Lone Star back in the 1930s. It's a fast-paced and amusing little picture in which Wayne and his buddy play gold prospectors who decide to open a mine, only to be attacked by murderous rivals. This film is notable for featuring plentiful action sequences and a minimum of plotting. There are a lot of two-fisted bouts, a hilarious stunt sequence of Wayne water-skiing, and a classic rail cart chase climax which certainly lifts a smile or two. It's strictly ordinary, but still infinitely more entertaining than much modern-day fare.

When John Wayne & George "Gabby" Hayes strike it rich in the mine, a group of mustache twirling villains become determined not only to find the location of the mine, but to get Gabby's property as well. Over a long stretch of 53 minutes, the Duke is framed for murder, but "Gabby" has a trick up his sleeve in his old costume box-the dress from a production of "Charley's Aunt" he uses to outwit the villains. So if anybody ever asks you what John Wayne movie has a man in drag, you can tell them Gabby Hayes in this one. There is also a silly sequence where Wayne rides across the range while someone else is sliding over a waterway on what appears to be some sort of stick. (Broomstick, perhaps?) Fortunately, it's all over and resolved in less than an hour, and results in some laughs-at the film's expense.

John Wayne and blacksmith George "Gabby" Hayes strike gold in a nearby creek, prompting crooked gold office employees into tricking Gabby into signing his property over to them in an attempt to get closer to the gold. Complicating things is the no good son of the town's sheriff who frames poor Gabby for attempted murder.Another good film from the Duke's tenure as a Lone Star/Monogram contract star, this is fast-paced, well edited and a heckuva lot of fun.As well as playing the chief heavy, Yakima Cannut appears to have performed every stunt in the movie himself. For example, in the scene where Wayne confronts the sheriff's son, the escaping villain turns into an easily recognizable Cannut who does a flying leap onto his horse. Wayne runs after him and also turns into Cannut. He then leaps onto White Flash and begins chasing himself!A great climax begins with scene-stealer Gabby in a dress. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he really was an old woman!

"Lucky Texan" is one of a series of Lone Star westerns made by Wayne between 1933-35. This one is a cut above the average. The plot involves Wayne and his partner (George Hayes) finding gold and the efforts of baddies Lloyd Whitlock and Yakima Canutt to cheat them out of it. This film contains a couple of oddities for a series western. Firstly, while pursuing one of the bad guys on horseback, Wayne actually misses tackling him off of his horse and lands at the bottom of a ravine. But fear not. A large downward sloping sluce just happens to be nearby and the Duke grabs a tree branch, mounts it and slides down the sluce in time to leap up a tree and jump the fleeing villain. Secondly, the final chase sequence is also interesting in that the baddies are escaping in an old railway utility car and are pursued by Hayes in a vintage auto which criss crosses the tracks Keystone Cops style with the villains, and of course by Wayne on horseback.It is also noteworthy that Hayes, who played many different characters in this series, plays Jake Benson very close to his eventual "Gabby" character, which he had not fully developed at this time. The series also benefited from the stunt work of Yakima Canutt who can be clearly seen doubling for Wayne and others in this entry.