The Lucky Texan (1934)

Jerry Mason, a young Texan, and Jake Benson, an old rancher, become partners and strike it rich with a gold mine. They then find their lives complicated by bad guys and a woman.

Director:

Robert N. Bradbury

Writer:

Robert N. Bradbury (story)

Stars:

John Wayne, Barbara Sheldon, Lloyd Whitlock

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Wayne	...	Jerry Mason
Barbara Sheldon	...	Betty Benson
Lloyd Whitlock	...	Harris
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Jake Benson (as George Hayes)
Yakima Canutt	...	Joe Cole
Eddie Parker	...	Al Miller (as Ed Parker)
Gordon De Main	...	Banker Williams (as Gordon Demaine)
Earl Dwire	...	Sheriff Miller

Storyline

When miners Mason and Benson turn in their gold at the assay office, the assay officials trail Benson back to the mine and shoot him. Mason is then arrested for the murder. But the supposedly dead Benson survived and now plans a surprise for the culprits at Mason's trial.

---

Plot Keywords:

gold | trial | attempted murder | horse | blacksmith | 

---

Taglines:

Action all the way, a hundred thrills in a fight for GOLD and a GIRL!

---

Genres:

Romance | Western

---

Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gold Strike River

Filming Locations:

Kernville, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lone Star Productions (I), Monogram Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

55 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In October of 1996 when a fire broke out on a late Saturday afternoon in the New York studios of WNBC-TV, a station staffer quickly put a cassette of "Lucky Texan" in the tape player on his way out of the building. The film played on Ch. 4 uninterrupted twice, much to the confusion of viewers.

---

Connections

Featured in 100 Years of John Wayne (2007)

User Reviews

One of the best of the Lone Star productions

John Wayne made 16 Westerns for Lone Star productions between 1933 and 1936. Many of them starred some of the same actors, (Wayne, Geo.(Gabby)Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Earl Dwyer etc.). The Lucky Texan is one of the best I've seen and I've seen nearly all of them. Sure the production techniques are primitive ( lots of jump cuts and zips, poor audio and editing) but these are marks of Bradbury's earlier films and only make these early films more interesting for me. Gabby Hayes is a laugh riot in drag in the courtroom scene and Canutt's "injun Joe" escape (through the open window of the courthouse) had me rolling. I loved this film. I'm glad I bought it.