Saturday, September 6, 2014

Movie Review: ***Texas Terror (John Wayne)

Texas Terror: A Lone Star Picture, 1935.
John Wayne stars as the sheriff of a Texas town, and in a botched robbery his best friend is killed.  He was counting on courting his friend's daughter when she returns from school in the East in another year.  A gang of three actually were guilty of the killing, but they skedaddled, and left the money behind after the killing.   
However, Sheriff John Higgins (Wayne) is left with the impression he shot his friend in a shoot out, and his friend had been part of the robbery.  He leaves his job distraught, and heads to the mountains to live the hermit's life. 
A year later, when the daughter Bess Mathews (Lucile Brown) returns, in a motorized stage, the stage is robbed while she is around the corner stretching her legs.  However the driver is shot (not killed) and the robbers take off with express money.  Higgins comes upon them and retakes the express money.  (He doesn't see the girl until later.)  The robbers start following them, but he is able to hold them off.  He comes upon the girl, gets her into the car with the driver where she can drive away to safety.  (He keeps the money.)  Bess assumes he is one of the robbers with his appearance. 
She tells the current sheriff about the robber she saw, and gives his description.  In the meantime, Higgins has come to town to return the money. 
As Bess is set to run her father's ranch, Higgins takes the job of foreman, knowing when she discovers he killed her father, she will hate him.
However, at a town dance, the community gets their first break and first evidence in the robbery and murder.  Someone uses money from the robbery.  This gets Robbins back on the trail, where he can discover what really happened a year before.
I really enjoyed John Wayne's performance, however his female lead was not up to par.  She seemed a bit stiff more my taste. 

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