From Hell to Texas (1958)

The naive cowboy Tod Lohman accidentally kills the son of the powerful land baron Hunter Boyd. Tod runs for his life, pursued by the dead man's vengeful brothers. Tod shelters on the ranch ... See full summary »

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Robert Buckner (screenplay), Wendell Mayes (screenplay),

Stars:

Don Murray, Diane Varsi, Chill Wills

Cast

Cast overview:
Don Murray	...	Tod Lohman
Diane Varsi	...	Juanita Bradley
Chill Wills	...	Amos Bradley
Dennis Hopper	...	Tom Boyd
R.G. Armstrong	...	Hunter Boyd
Jay C. Flippen	...	Jake Leffertfinger
Margo	...	Mrs. Bradley
John Larch	...	Hal Carmody
Ken Scott	...	Otis Boyd
Rodolfo Acosta	...	Bayliss
Salvador Baguez	...	Cardito
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Trueblood
Jerry Oddo	...	Morgan
José Torvay	...	Miguel
Malcolm Atterbury	...	Hotel Clerk

Storyline

The naive cowboy Tod Lohman accidentally kills the son of the powerful land baron Hunter Boyd. Tod runs for his life, pursued by the dead man's vengeful brothers. Tod shelters on the ranch of Amos Bradley and he falls in love with his daughter Juanita. However, Tod is concerned that he'll eventually have to leave when his pursuers catch up with him.

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Plot Keywords:

opening action scene | revenge | based on novel

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Taglines:

in the tradition of "StageCoach" "High Noon" and "Shane" [UK]

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 June 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hell-Bent Kid

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to myth, Dennis Hopper required 85 retakes for one scene, causing director Henry Hathaway to yell at him, "You'll never work in this town again!" and that it was ten years before Hopper obtained another major role. Don Murray recently confirmed that this never occurred, and in fact, Hopper worked steadily through the 1960s, including twice more with Hathaway: "The Sons of Katie Elder" in 1965 and "True Grit" in 1969.

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Goofs

Although the story takes place in the Old West of the 19th Century, Diane Varsi sports an up-to-the-minute 1958 D.A. hairstyle.

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Quotes

Hunter Boyd: Leak out of this region fast. But sleep with one eye open and ride on the far side of your horse.

User Reviews

It was the first western I remember seeing with a complex plot.

It was a memorable film that i first saw on 'Saturday Night At the Movies" when I was 12 years old, (six years after it was released in 1958). Being raised on a diet of TV and movie westerns, 'From Hell to Texas' stood out from all of them; I identified with the lead and had a crush on Diane Varsi that lasted for years.

I saw this feature only one more time when I was 21, just before shipping out to Nam. This time I identified with the scope of the film and the depth of the characters. Chill Will gave a memorable performance definitely a cut above his typical side-kick comic relief roll, and I thought it interesting for a father to actually help his daughter's suitor in such a unstinting fashion. Opposite Wills was R.G. Armstrong and his son Dennis Hopper, though the heavies one could not really hate them. It was through these characters that it was easy to understand that it is not the person who is evil it is the deed. This film has always been in the back of my head and deep in my heart, for it stood out as having both action and a message. I hope it will be transferred to DVD soon. On memory alone I give it an '8'out of 10.