Under Texas Skies (1930)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

J.P. McGowan

Writer:

George Arthur Durlam (writer)

Release Date:

15 November 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Three cowboys try to stop a crook from defrauding an orphan girl out of her money.

Plot Keywords:

Horse | Rustling | Cavalry | Pinto | Secret Service

Cast

Bob Custer	...	Bob Bainbridge - Posing as Rankin
Natalie Kingston	...	Joan Prescott
Bill Cody	...	Army Captain Jack Hartford
Tom London	...	The Boss / Captain Hartford
Lane Chandler	...	'Singer' Martin (Secret Service agent)
Bob Roper	...	Dummy (the mute brute)
William McCall	...	Deputy Marshal Walsh (as Wm. McCall)
Joe Smith Marba	...	Sheriff H. Moody (as J. S. Marba)

Runtime:

57 min | USA:51 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

G.A. Durlam Productions

Could be better, but worth watching.

I found Under Texas Skies to be less than I had expected. The only real actor in this movie is Tom London. Everyone else came across as stiff, but I do understand that this movie was an early talkie. Maybe the actors and actresses had not polished their on screen speaking skills yet. Tom London was the only one to come across naturally, and even then there are a few rough spots. Bob Custer may have had star billing, but he was mediocre in this movie. Lane Chandler was a little better, but his character appears later in the film and only served the purpose of making the plot more apparent. Expecting a lot out of a B western is often unreasonable, so I try to be forgiving in my judgment. Still, there were better western movies made at the time.

I am willing to bet that the scenes of the horse round-ups were stock footage from some time in the 1920's, but they were excellent scenes in the first place. I also find that during the silent era there was more experimentation with camera close-ups. The brutish guard, Dummy, is intimidating as he steps right out of the screen toward the viewer. The same treatment is given to another villain, Mustang Pete. This worked well to give a horror movie feel to some of the scenes.

I wish there were more examples of early sound westerns, but for now Under Texas Skies is one of the few that is available. I find it an interesting precursor to the formula westerns that were just a few years away.