Texas Across the River ** (1966, Dean Martin, Alain Delon, Joey Bishop, Rosemary Forsyth, Tina Aumont, Peter Graves, Andrew Prine, Michael Ansara) – Classic Movie Review 4779

The 1966 comedy Western film Texas Across the River is a passable old-style entertainment, starring Dean Martin, Alain Delon, Rosemary Forsyth and Joey Bishop.

Director Michael Gordon’s 1966 tongue-in-cheek Technicolor and Techniscope American comedy Western film Texas Across the River is a passable old-style entertainment, but at heart it is just a humble B-movie programme filler movie, with only mild entertainment value.

The handsome French street tough guy actor Alain Delon might have liked an international career but he was not easy to integrate into American films, partly because of his strong French accent, and here he crops up very oddly cast as a Spanish nobleman, Don Andrea de Baldazar, helping Texas cowboy Sam Hollis (Dean Martin) and Indian woman Lonetta (Tina Aumont) across Comanche land with a consignment of guns.

Dean Martin (1917–1995).

Nevertheless, Martin is agreeably laid back and amusing (except when he keeps calling De Baldazar ‘Baldy’), Delon is a very welcome presence, and the movie is likeable enough, with its satirical spin, as a fun Sixties romp. However, Martin’s Rat Pack buddy Joey Bishop is embarrassing as an Indian sidekick called Kronk.

Tina Aumont (credited as Tina Marquand), who plays Lonetta, is Jean-Pierre Aumont’s daughter.

Texas Across the River co-stars Rosemary Forsyth as Phoebe Ann Naylor, Peter Graves as Captain Rodney Stimpson, Andrew Prine as Sibley and Michael Ansara as Iron Jacket.

Alain Delon is a very welcome presence.

Also in the cast are Roy Barcroft, George Wallace, Don Beddoe, Richard Farnsworth, Linden Chiles, Stuart Anderson, Kelly Thordsen and Nora Marlowe.

Filming began January 1966 at North Ranch in Thousand Oaks, California and in San Diego, California.

The title song is written by Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen and performed not by Dean Martin, as you’d expect, but by The Kingston Trio.

Texas Across the River is directed by Michael Gordon, runs 101 minutes, is made and released by Universal Pictures, is written by Wells Root, Harold Greene, Ben Starr and John Gay (uncredited), is shot in Technicolor and Techniscope by Russell Metty, is produced by Harry Keller, and is scored by Frank De Vol [Frank DeVol] and Joseph Gershenson (music supervisor), with Art Direction by Alexander Golitzen and William D DeCinces.

Release date: October 26, 1966.

Michael Gordon recalled: ‘I liked the idea of the picture, and some of the things in it I thought were very funny. But I didn’t enjoy working with Dean Martin because he liked to play around and just wing a performance. We were on totally different wave lengths.’

The cast are Dean Martin as Sam Hollis, Alain Delon as Don Andrea de Baldazar, Rosemary Forsyth as Phoebe, Joey Bishop as Kronk, Tina Aumont (credited as Tina Marquand) as Lonetta, Peter Graves as Captain Stimpson, Michael Ansara as Iron Jacket, Linden Chiles as Yellow Knife, Andrew Prine as Lieutenant Sibley, Stuart Anderson as Yancy, Roy Barcroft as Morton, George Wallace as Willet, Don Beddoe as Mr Naylor, Kelly Thordsen as Turkey Shoot Boss, Nora Marlowe as Emma, John Harmon as Gabe, and Richard Farnsworth (credited as Dick Farnsworth) as Medicine Man.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4779

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com

Dean Martin plays Texas cowboy Sam Hollis.

Alain Delon plays Spanish nobleman Don Andrea de Baldazar in Texas Across the River (1966).