Sexyloutak
Absolutely the worst movie.
Ogosmith
Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Calum Hutton
It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...
petra_ste
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
tavm
In a remarkable coincidence, this was the next film on my Netflix delivery list when Anita Ekberg died several days ago. So having just watched the movie, she was quite a presence in it though I thought Ursula Andress was more sexy with what was put on her. As for the male leads-Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin-well, Dean seemed to be more professional than Frank so was the more charismatic of the two. No wonder director Robert Aldrich wanted Sinatra sacked! Despite the long running time, I mostly enjoyed this western comedy especially when The Three Stooges-Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe-arrived. So on that note, 4 for Texas is worth a look. P.S. Since It's a Wonderful Life is my favorite movie, I feel the need to note of three connections here: Joseph Biroc-one of the directors of photography on that movie was one of three responsible for second unit photography here, Ellen Corby-who was the lady James Stewart kissed when she asked for less money than the other customers at the Bailey Building & Loan there-got to join in on hitting the Stooges, and the song "Buffalo Gals"-you know the song Jimmy and Donna Reed sing outside after falling in their former high school's swimming pool-is played instrumentally during the riverboat opening.
JasparLamarCrabb
Not really a rat pack movie, but close enough. Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin are rival gamblers vying for possession of a riverboat gambling joint. It's a funny, smörgåsbord type of comic western with Sinatra & Martin in top form, supported by the likes of Victor Buono, Mike Mazurki and Charles Bronson. They're all great and Bronson gets plenty of laughs sending up his steely tough-as-nails persona; he's a real thorn in Sinatra's side. Buono is fun as a thoroughly corrupt bank manager. The very large supporting cast also includes Jack Elam, Ellen Corby, Nick Dennis as Angel and Dave Willock (you'll likely recognize the voice). The Three Stooges pop up briefly for a reasonably funny bit. Ursula Andress and Anita Ekberg provide love interests for Martin & Sinatra respectively. The great music score is by Nelson Riddle. The unexpected director is Robert Aldrich, who sandwiched this film in between his two grand guignol masterpieces WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? and HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE.
Jay Raskin
This movie has four stars, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Anita Ekberg and Ursula Andress, so I gave it four stars. Actually two stars are for Dean Martin's attempts to add humor. Anita and Ursula get one each, but Frank Sinatra gets no stars.When the movie opens a group of bandits are attacking a stage-coach. Frank Sinatra is shooting the bandits from the top of the coach, while Dean Martin is shooting them from out the window of the coach. Sinatra has a silly grin on his face as he shoots. There is no indication that he might die any moment or that he is actually killing human beings. He is smiling as if he is just playing a game. Dean Martin also looks totally relaxed and nonchalant, but he is not grinning the way Sinatra is. There is no acting going on here. It is as if the director said to Sinatra, "Smile and shoot the gun." Anybody above the age of ten could have played the scene more realistically.I understand that Aldrich was upset with Sinatra. He said that Sinatra worked a total of 80 hours over a 38 day period. In other words, he worked about two days a week, for five or six hours a day, over a seven week period. Nice work if you can get it. I wonder if Aldrich used the inappropriate footage in the opening scene as a way of getting revenge on Sinatra, actually purposefully making him look like a bad actor.While the Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra both have about twenty minutes of scene time in the first half of the movie, Sinatra only has a few quick scenes in the second half until he walks in at the end for the climatic fight scene. I'm also wondering if Aldrich cut down on Sinatra's scenes when he saw that Sinatra was just saying his lines and not acting.Anita Ekberg was paired with Sinatra, but there was no chemistry there. She is only on-screen for about ten minutes. I suspect that Aldrich cut scenes with her and Sinatra when he saw that they weren't working.On the other hand, Ursula Andress does connect with Martin and the scenes of him lusting over her may be sexist, but they are practically the only amusing scenes in the film. Just as in the first James Bond movie, "Dr. No." she appears only after the film is half over. Unlike the James Bond movie, she cannot save this film, but she does relieve some of the tedium.Aldridge is a fantastic director under the right circumstances. "Kiss Me Deadly," "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane," and "Emperor of the North Pole," are my favorites. I suspect that he really wanted to create tension between Sinatra's and Martin's characters, but Sinatra refused and only wanted the rivalry to be good-natured kidding between pals. Apparently, he sought to get Sinatra fired, but failed. The result is a movie that moves at glacier speed and has few surprises, unless you can call the pointless appearance of the Three Stooges, a surprise.I think only Ursula Andress fans will enjoy this one. She wears some great dresses and appears quite self assured, relaxed and sexy. If you are one, just watch the second half. You won't miss anything.
