Texas Across The River is a 1966 American

Techniscope Techniscope or 2-perf is a 35 mm motion picture camera film format introduced by Technicolor Italia in 1960. The Techniscope format uses a two film-perforation negative pulldown per frame, instead of the standard four-perforation frame us ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Michael Gordon and starring Dean Martin, Alain Delon,

Rosemary Forsyth Rosemary Forsyth is a Canadian-born American actress most notable for her role as Bronwyn opposite Charlton Heston in '' The War Lord'' in 1965. Early years Forsyth was born in Montreal, Quebec. Her father, David Forsyth, was Scots-Canadian ...

and

Joey Bishop Joseph Abraham Gottlieb (February 3, 1918 – October 17, 2007), known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a talk ...

Plot

Phoebe Ann Naylor is about to be wed to Don Andrea Baldazar, El Duce de la Casala in Louisiana in 1845. The festivities are broken up by the arrival of Yancey Cottle and his relatives, who form a U.S. Dragoons

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Tr ...

under the command of Cottle's cousin, Captain Rodney Stimpson. Yancy, who wishes to marry Phoebe himself, duels Don Andrea, but is accidentally defenestrated and killed by the actions of his comrade, Lt. Howard, who then accuses Don Andrea of murder. Andrea flees, promising to meet up with Phoebe Ann across the river in Texas, not yet a U.S. state. In the wake of the failed wedding, Phoebe Ann is sent to Texas to lie low until the scandal blows over. Sam Hollis, a trek guide, and his Indian sidekick Kronk hire Don Andrea as an additional escort because the Army refuses to provide troops for their latest job until Texas has become an official part of the Union. Along the way, Hollis and Andrea, whom Hollis nicknames "Baldy", get into a clash of cultures, but also end up rescuing Indian maiden Lonetta from getting ritually killed by a Comanche

medicine man A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and cerem ...

. At the same time, the Comanches under their chief, Iron Jacket (who is named after his Spanish breastplate), and his inept son Yellow Knife prepare an attack on Phoebe Ann's wagon train and the other settlers in the area. Hollis and Kronk join the trek, where Hollis becomes romantically interested in Phoebe Ann, and despite his lack of social graces gradually manages to win her heart. Andrea decides to settle down, and with Lonetta's help tames a small number of wild cattle, inspiring the other local settlers to do the same. Eventually, Andrea discovers Phoebe Ann's presence and Hollis' designs on her, but before they can duel, news arrive that Texas has now joined the Union, and Cpt. Stimpson's arriving cavalry detachment forces Andrea and Lonetta to flee into the wilderness. The Comanches launch an attack against the settlers, and with the soldiers too fixated on capturing him to take notice, Andrea heroically lures them back to the town. Meanwhile, the Comanches' attack is broken up by a stampede of the newly tamed cattle from a fire. In the aftermath, Andrea is arrested and about to be executed despite Phoebe Ann's testimony and protests on his behalf. In desperation, Phoebe Ann pushes Howard against Cpt. Stimpson, which causes the latter to topple into a

watering trough A watering trough (or artificial watering point) is a man-made or natural receptacle intended to provide drinking water to animals, livestock on farms or ranches or wild animals. History In Australia, the watering trough is established s ...

and thus exonerate Andrea. Hollis and Andrea prepare to settle their differences once and for all, but just before things get serious, Phoebe Ann and Lonetta start a fight in order to distract their respective love interests from killing each other. The disgraced Howard, who was assigned to finish Andrea's grave for the prospective loser of the duel, accidentally hits a crude oil deposit. As the oil sprays to the surface, the dismayed settlers are faced with the prospect of having to relocate their town, while the worn-out Comanches simply return home.

Cast

* Dean Martin as Sam Hollis * Alain Delon as Don Andrea *

as Phoebe *

as Kronk *

Tina Aumont Maria Christina "Tina" Aumont (February 14, 1946 – October 28, 2006) was an American actress. She was the daughter of French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont and Dominican actress Maria Montez. She made her acting debut in the British film ''Modesty Bl ...

as Lonetta (as Tina Marquand) *

Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Jim Phelps in the CBS television series ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 ...

as Capt. Stimpson *

Michael Ansara Michael George Ansara (April 15, 1922 – July 31, 2013) was an American actor. He portrayed Cochise in the television series '' Broken Arrow'', Kane in the 1979–1981 series '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'', Commander Kang in '' Star Tr ...

as Iron Jacket *

Linden Chiles Truman Linden Chiles (March 22, 1933 – May 15, 2013) was an American character actor. Early years Chiles was born in St. Louis, Missouri but grew up in Barrington, Illinois. He graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor of arts ...

as Yellow Knife *

Andrew Prine Andrew Lewis Prine (February 14, 1936 – October 31, 2022) was an American film, stage, and television actor. Early life and career Prine was born in Jennings, Florida. After graduation from Miami Jackson High School in Miami, Prine attend ...

as Lt. Sibley * Stuart Anderson as Yancy *

Roy Barcroft Roy Barcroft (born Howard Harold Ravenscroft; September 7, 1902 – November 28, 1969) was an American character actor famous for playing villains in B-Westerns and other genres. From 1937 to 1957, he appeared in more than 300 films for Re ...

as Morton * George Wallace as Willet *

Don Beddoe Donald Theophilus Beddoe (July 1, 1903 – January 19, 1991) was an American character actor. Early years Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Beddoe was the son of Dan Beddoe, a Welsh classical singer, and his wife Mary. He graduated from the ...

as Mr. Naylor *

Kelly Thordsen Kelly Thordsen, born Sherman Jess Thordsen (January 19, 1917 – January 23, 1978) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Thordsen was born in Deadwood, South Dakota. He served in the United States Navy during World War II ...

as Turkey Shoot Boss * Nora Marlowe as Emma * John Harmon as Gabe *

Richard Farnsworth Richard William Farnsworth (September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000) was an American actor and stuntman. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award: in 1978 for Best Supporting Actor for ''Comes a Horseman,'' and in 2000 for Best Actor in '' T ...

as Medicine Man (as Dick Farnsworth)

Production

Filming began January 1966 with the film being shot in

. Portions of the film were shot at North Ranch in

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tr ...

Musical score

The title song for the film, also known as "Texas Across the River", was written by

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

and James Van Heusen and performed by

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

."Texas Across the River", Lyrics Playground, 2005–09, retrieved 2008-10-03.

Home media

The film is now available on DVD through Universal's MOD program. The VHS version is long out of print. On January 5, 2021, it was released on Region 1 Blu-Ray by

Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films, ...

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Texas Across The River 1966 films 1960s Western (genre) comedy films American Western (genre) comedy films Films scored by Frank De Vol Films directed by Michael Gordon Universal Pictures films Films set in Texas Films set in 1845 Films set in the 19th century 1966 comedy films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films