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4 for Texas
In the 1870s, two rival businessmen, Zack Thomas and Joe Jarrett, on a stagecoach heading to Galveston, Texas, must pull together to protect $100,000 from an outlaw named Matson. Once in Galveston, however, their rivalry continues, as Thomas joins up with Elya Carlson and Jarret with Maxine Richter. But Matson is still on the loose, and a scheming banker threatens both Thomas and Jarrett.
Release : | 1963 |
Rating : | 5.5 |
Studio : | Warner Bros. Pictures, The Sam Company, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Property Master, |
Cast : | Frank Sinatra Dean Martin Anita Ekberg Ursula Andress Charles Bronson |
Genre : | Comedy Western |
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Reviews
Just perfect...
Highly Overrated But Still Good
Excellent but underrated film
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
For me the name "Robert Aldrich" usually evokes the mental picture of Lee Marvin plunging a knife into someone's neck. Or an unshaven James Stewart lost in the desert, dying of thirst. Or a mud-splattered Ernest Borgnine grimacing in pain. Or Burt Lancaster, Jack Palance, Cliff Robertson... you know, this kind of guys. Aldrich excelled at testosterone-heavy, gritty dramas about men as tough as polar bears facing danger and death (The Dirty Dozen, The Flight of the Phoenix, Too Late a Hero...).There are exceptions. Some are good exceptions, like What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, a mostly female psychological horror which is skin-crawlingly creepy. And then there is 4 for Texas.Once upon a midnight dreary I started watching this and I was shocked, shocked to eventually learn it was directed by Aldrich. While neither terrible nor unwatchable, this western/comedy starring Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin is a lackluster entry in the director's impressive filmography. The comedic rhythm feels off, like when someone wants to tell a joke but takes too long to get to the punchline and there is much awkward grinning and shuffling of feet. In particular, the romantic banter with voluptuous blondes Ursula Andress and Anita Ekberg feels interminable.I guess Aldrich was the wrong person for this lightweight fluff; it's like Michael Mann directing Blazing Saddles.5/10
The best part of this movie is the five minutes of screen time given to The Three Stooges. It's hilarious, and a welcome relief from the rest of the boring, exhausting, confusing film. After the Stooges leave, unfortunately, the movie returns to the normal terrible pace.Dean Martin steals one hundred thousand dollars from Frank Sinatra in a stagecoach, but Frank steals it back, but then Dean steals it again and rides off into the sunset. The next we see, Frank Sinatra is prospering in Galveston, Texas, waited on hand and foot by scantily clad French maids, and doted on by Anita Ekberg. He's in cahoots with banker Victor Buono, but Buono has contracted Charles Bronson out to kill Frank. Dean Martin comes to town, and his stolen money attracts everyone's attention, including Ursula Andress. It's a very complex plot, and to explain the rest of it would take a lot of time, and it would bore you.I thought 4 for Texas was going to be a silly Rat Pack comedy, but besides the cameo by The Three Stooges, there weren't any jokes. Or if there were, they weren't funny. This movie is terribly boring, and the acting is as uninspired as the script. Even if you're a Rat Pack fan, watch Ocean's 11 instead. This one will grate on your nerves.
This film stars the two biggest members of the so-called 'Rat Pack'--Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Oddly, the film is a western--and it's very strange to see either of these guys in a western. You'd expect to see them in a film like "Oceans Eleven"...not the old west. Even weirder, the European sex-pots Ursula Andress and Anita Ekberg are along for the ride...and a bumpy one at that considering how ill-cast the production seemed. And you KNOW it's got a bizarre choice of actors when the Three Stooges seem more appropriately cast! The only really appropriately cast guy was Charles Bronson--and he was pretty much wasted.The film begins with Zack (Sinatra) and Joe (Martin) happening on a stage coach that has been attacked. The passengers and crew are dead but the hidden gold is still there. Both men want it and Joe ends up with it after some interesting machinations. Much of the rest of the film consists of Joe and Zack trying to outsmart each other--all the while, Zack's partners are planning on double-crossing them.Sometimes, instead of writing a review, I wish I could simply write "Read so-and-so's review--they said it as good or better than I could...plus they wrote it first". This is exactly the case with the review for "4 For Texas" by Bob the Moo. Bob's analysis of the film is correct when he said it is '...lifeless, self indulgent and lacking in fun or wit, made solely on the basis of the two stars being famous and thus bringing an audience with them when the film plays'. This really sums it up very well! The film, despite a quirky and clever start, soon bogs down and all sense of fun soon diminishes. In fact, so does any sense that either of the leads even cared! It was like they were just going through the paces--assuming the Rat Pack lovers would show up in the theaters in droves regardless. My assumption is that, for the most part, they were correct. The writing was amateurish and often made no sense (especially the scenes where Martin and Andress meet), the acting uninspired, pacing listless and the film looked good but was very unsatisfying--much like the desserts you'd find at an all you can eat buffet. A cynical and forgettable film.
Check out the cast of this Western: Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, a young (and STUNNING) Ursula Andress, and the Three Stooges. Sounds good, right? Well no... Unfortunately, it really isn't. Despite an eclectic cast and Ursula Andress' face, "4 for Texas" largely fails to entertain. This picture is just too boring and predictable to be worth much. Ursula Andress doesn't show up until the second half, and her sex appeal is greatly underutilized. Similarly, the Three Stooges only get 2-min of screen time, and it is easily the film's high point. For the majority of the movie, you are stuck with a visibly drunk Dean Martin, who is just going through the motions and generally not giving a damn. Frank Sinatra's performance is all right, even if he is just playing himself, but unfortunately, he isn't captivating enough to be an effective leading man. The story is contrived and predictable, but not terrible enough to crack jokes at. I didn't hate this movie, but it was a tedious, largely uneventful watch. This is the kind of picture where I kept waiting for good things to happen, but nothing ever panned out. When the dust settled, "4 for Texas" was a disappointment. Aside from an occasional gawk at Ursula, this was an entirely forgettable waste. Not recommended.