Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

JohnHowardReid Director: CHARLES WALTERS. Screenplay: Dorothy Kingsley. Story: Dorothy Kingsley, George Wells. Photographed in Color by Technicolor by Robert Planck. Film editor: Adrienne Fazan. Art directors: Cedric Gibbons and William Ferrari. Set decorators: Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason. Costumes designed by Helen Rose. Hair styles: Sydney Guilaroff. Special effects: A. Arnold Gillespie, Warren Newcombe. Make-up: William Tuttle. Stunts: Gil Perkins. Technicolor color consultants: Henry Jaffa, James Gooch. Assistant director: Jack Greenwood. Sound supervisor: Douglas Shearer. Western Electric Sound Recording. Producer: Jack Cummings. Music director: David Rose. Choreography: Hermes Pan. Songs: "It's Dynamite!" (sung and danced by Ann Miller), "Carnie's Pitch" (Skelton), "Whoa, Emma!" (Keel), "Young Folks Should Get Married" (Keel), all by Harry Warren (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics); "Clap Your Hands" by David Rose (music) and Earl Brent (lyrics); "Deep in the Heart of Texas" by June Hershey and Don Swander. Copyright 10 September 1951 by Loew's Inc. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture. New York opening at Loew's State: 12 October 1951. U.S. release: 5 October 1951. U.K. release: 8 December 1951. Australian release: 25 January 1952. 76 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Staff at a luxurious Texas dude ranch/hotel mistake a carnival pitch man for a multi-millionaire.COMMENT: I've said before that Red Skelton is most definitely not one of my favorite comedians. He tends to squeeze out and excessively belabor material that is both unfunny and threadbare to begin with. Until the climatic chuck-wagon race, that comment is true of Texas Carnival. True, there are two or three good moments along the way, but it's not until Red is actually astride the tearaway chuck-wagon that the fun really begins—and it's well worth waiting for! Fortunately, there are also a few compensations along the way, including peppy Ann Miller, an underused Esther Williams (who does swim a little in a double-exposed fantasy sequence in which she vamps Howard Keel), a belligerent Keenan Wynn (who is forced to stooge for Red in a boring episode with a shade and a shower) and a pistol-happy Tom Tully. It's also good to see Glenn Strange in a sizable role as the friendly villain of the piece (he milks at least two really good gags with Skelton) and I also enjoyed catching one or two glimpses of Paula Raymond. OTHER VIEWS: Here's the principal gag-line of Chaplin's "City Lights" riding the range in this brightly colored but rather empty musical. Despite its short running time, Texas Carnival was sold as an "A" picture, but it has enough traditional "B"-western features (including songs and the all-stops-out chase climax) to warrant watching. True, it's Skelton's picture — the other stars are sidelined - but the laugh quality of his material is mostly poor. Despite his inability to handle Skelton, director Charles Walters has tried to invest the movie with an occasional bit of razz and even style, but the end results are mostly rather mild. The new songs are not much help either, even though they were composed by Harry Warren (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics), both of whom have done far, far superior work with other collaborators elsewhere. As it turns out, the most exciting number in the movie is that old standard, "Deep in the Heart of Texas". All the same, the script's constant adulatory references to Texas become rather too, too obvious. Even Texans will probably find most of this picture disappointingly tiresome. - JHR writing as Charles Freeman,

MartinHafer I like Red Skelton films. However, they're certainly not all alike. His best are films where he's the star and nothing else. But since MGM was the studio of the big musicals as well, often he was placed in musicals...with mostly second-rate results. I have nothing against musicals....but when you are making a comedy, let the comedian do his schtick and don't distract the audience with songs. And, unfortunately, this one also has a bit of Esther Williams' swimming...and so Skelton isn't exactly the sole focus of the movie.Cornie (Skelton) and Debbie (Esther Williams) work at a carnival. One day, a super-rich Texan, Dan Sabinas (Keenan Wynn) arrives and takes an instant liking to Cornie and invites him to a big party he's throwing. Unfortunately, Dan is dead drunk and has no recollection of doing this...but Cornie takes him at his word and brings Debbie with him to Texas for the party. Through a case of mistaken identity, the pair are mistaken for Dan and his sister--and soon everyone is making over them like they are rich millionaires. Insanely, the pair decide to play along...and ultimately get into all sorts of trouble. The worst part is that Red accidentally loses $17,000 in a poker game that lasts about 30 seconds...and he cannot possibly pay. How can he extricate himself from this huge mess? And, what will Debbie do when a man (Howard Keel) has fallen from her and it appears that he thinks she is Dan's sister!While the plot sounds pretty funny it suffers from three problems. The first I mentioned above--singing and swimming that get in the way of the comedy. The second is that the ending is incredibly ludicrous with everything working out just fine...almost as if an intertitle card popped up and said "Ignore the mess they've gotten into....PRESTO...it's gone". Third, and the previous two problems contribute to this, is that it just isn't a particularly funny film. Agreeable but nothing more.

vincentlynch-moonoi I'm a tremendous fan of Red Skelton. And that's what it takes to get very excited about this film -- being a fan of Skelton, Esther Williams, or Howard Keel.Red Skelton does fine here. Enough slapstick to keep you interested. Esther Williams doesn't have a great swim routine until after mid-way through the film...although it's a nice one that is a sort of dream sequence with a lovely white flowing gown. Howard Keel's numbers are sort of hick-ish. Ann Miller is there, though I still don't understand what MGM saw in her...a horse of a woman that, in my view, wasn't that good a dancer. Keenan Wynn is sort of annoying here.The plot centers around two carnival sideshow workers who are mistaken for a rich Texan, but can't seem to get themselves out of the misunderstanding.The saving graces of the film include the aforementioned Williams swim routine (the only one in the film), the great drunk scene in the bar (no one was better at playing drunk than Red Skelton), and the chuck wagon race finale (which includes some pretty spectacular stunt riding).

bkoganbing Esther Williams set on the MGM lot must have been in repair, maybe the pool needed a chlorine refill because none of the spectacular aquatic scenes associated with her films will be found in Texas Carnival. In fact this is really a Red Skelton film and the powers that be at MGM who always liked to keep their contract players working said do this film while we clean the pool.It's not the greatest Esther Williams or even Red Skelton film, but it does have an amusing moment or two. Red and Esther are working at a dunk tank in a cheap carnival when an inebriated Keenan Wynn shows up and through a combination of circumstances Williams and Skelton wind up going to a Texas resort being mistaken for Wynn and his sister Paula Raymond.They both find love and trouble at the resort with Williams taking a real liking to Howard Keel who is the foreman of Wynn's ranch and Red falling for the tap dancing sheriff's daughter in the person of Ann Miller. Red also by playing up to the big Texas cattle baron manages to lose $17,000.00 dollars in what the Texans just call a friendly game among millionaires.As I said Texas Carnival is clearly more Red's film than Esther's and he dominates with a hilarious chuck wagon race finale and one of his patented drunk scenes. What's interesting is that in this film Skelton had Keenan Wynn to contend with in the inebriation competition. Both of these guys have played incredible imbibing scenes in their respective films.In his memoirs Howard Keel says that Red Skelton was a comic genius, but so much so that his contemporaries had trouble keeping up with him. In that barroom scene with Keenan Wynn it took half a day to shoot because Wynn couldn't help breaking up at his performance.Don't look for too much aquatics in this Esther Williams film, but it's a not bad Red Skelton comedy.