4 for Texas (1963)

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Teddi Sherman (written by) &
Robert Aldrich (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Comedy

Tagline:

They're Busting Up The West Like It's Never Been Busted Up Before!

Plot:

Frank Sinatra plays a tough guy who hooks up with fellow rat packer Dean Martin to open a casino in this western. |

Plot Keywords:

Casino | Riverboat | Texas | Banker | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Frank Sinatra	...	Zack Thomas
Dean Martin	...	Joe Jarrett
Anita Ekberg	...	Elya Carlson
Ursula Andress	...	Maxine Richter
Charles Bronson	...	Matson
Victor Buono	...	Harvey Burden (President, Galveston Savings & Trust)
Edric Connor	...	Prince George (carriage driver)
Nick Dennis	...	Angel
Richard Jaeckel	...	Pete Mancini
Mike Mazurki	...	Chad (Zack's bodyguard)
Wesley Addy	...	Winthrop Trowbridge
Marjorie Bennett	...	Miss Emmaline
Virginia Christine	...	Elya Carlson's maid
Ellen Corby	...	Widow
Jack Elam	...	Dobie

Also Known As:

Four for Texas (USA) (alternative spelling)
Two for Texas (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo | Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Brazil:Livre | Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (f) (re-rated) | West Germany:16 (nf) (original rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #20571) | Canada:PG (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Mojave, California, USA

Company:

Sam Company

Trivia:

Anita Ekberg and Ursula Andress both did nude screen tests, Hollywood's first. However the censors removed all nudity from the finished film.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After the stagecoach wreck in the desert, as one of the principles is speaking to the others, in what should be a pristine desert background, a passing car is briefly visible at center screen left.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Joe Jarrett: Take a good look at him. He's the bad guy. And Joe Jarrett - that's me, and Zack Thomas, we're the good guys.
Matson: Let's go.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chappaqua (1966)

Soundtrack:

When The Saints Go Marching In

Two Rat Packers Out West

What, I wonder, would a director do on the set of a movie starring Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin? Light their cigarettes? Mix their drinks? Laugh at their jokes? One thing he certainly does not do is play "auteur." The director is present to say "Cut" and "Print," not to pursue his "vision" or any of that arty stuff. "Four for Texas" gave Robert Aldrich a pair of stars who, in terms of popularity, may have been the male equivalent of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford whom he had directed the previous year in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" But whereas Davis and Crawford were passionate enemies, Ol' Blue Eyes and Ol' Dino were the best of buddies, and their movies treated as casually as any of their swingin' Vegas gigs. It was an opportunity to have some fun and get paid doing it. If that fun translated to the screen, fine, but in this movie the cast appears to be entertaining itself while putting the audience to sleep. If Aldrich had no control over Frank and Dino, he compensated by overdirecting Charles Bronson who is as animated--for him--as Bugs Bunny. The whole shebang is a comedy-western, but there are virtually no laughs, only snickers--from the cast, not the audience. In comparison, "Ocean's 11" is some kind of classic.