Tex (1982)

Coming-of-age adventure about two teenage brothers and their struggles to grow up, on their own, after their mother dies and their father leaves them.

Director:

Tim Hunter

Writers:

S.E. Hinton (novel), Charles S. Haas (screenplay),

Stars:

Matt Dillon, Jim Metzler, Meg Tilly

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Dillon	...	Tex McCormick
Jim Metzler	...	Mason McCormick
Meg Tilly	...	Jamie Collins
Bill McKinney	...	Pop McCormick
Frances Lee McCain	...	Mrs. Johnson
Ben Johnson	...	Cole Collins
Phil Brock	...	Lem Peters
Emilio Estevez	...	Johnny Collins
Jack Thibeau	...	Coach Jackson
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Hitchhiker
Tom Virtue	...	Bob Collins
Pamela Ludwig	...	Connie
Jeff Fleury	...	Roger
Suzanne Costollos	...	Fortune Teller (as Suzanne Costallos)
Marilyn Redfield	...	Ms. Carlson

Storyline

Coming-of-age adventure about two teenage brothers and their struggles to grow up, on their own, after their mother dies and their father leaves them.

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Plot Keywords:

coming of age | compassion | high school | prank | schoolteacher | 

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Taglines:

His father's gone. His mother's a memory. His brother's moving on. But Tex McCormick isn't giving in.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 July 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un ragazzo chiamato Tex

Filming Locations:

Bell's Amusement Park - 3901 E. 21st Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several mock-up sets duplicating Tex's house were built inside the National Guard Armory building on the campus of Broken Arrow Senior High.

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Goofs

During the shots where it is considered "morning" like when Tex is riding Rowdy before school, where a hungover Tex overhears Mason and Cole's conversation, and when Tex and Mason's father arrives, the sunlight tells us that it is noon, when the story line is supposed to be around 7 or 8 o clock in the morning.

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Quotes

Ms. Carlson: And Tex, I don't want another report on "Smokey the Cow Horse"
Tex McCormick: Yeah, but I read it everytime
Ms. Carlson: Why don't you read another book by the same author?
Tex McCormick: You mean, that guy, wrote another book?
Ms. Carlson: Yes Tex, in the library.
Tex McCormick: Oh, wow!

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Connections

Referenced in The 55th Annual Academy Awards (1983)

User Reviews

He looks good in the cowboy hat...aside from that, not a whole lot happening

In her review for The New Yorker, film critic Pauline Kael quipped that the young actor Matt Dillon who stars in "Tex" possessed an extraordinarily natural grasp of acting, and that he had never played a rascally, down-home country kid before. Actually, the character of Tex McCormick, Oklahoma high school student struggling to stay out of trouble after he and his brother are abandoned by their father, is like an expanded version of Dillon's character from 1980's "Little Darlings". In other words, there are no surprises from this up-and-coming star, no revelations, and not a trace of personal substance on display. Dillon falls for the pretty daughter of self-righteous Ben Johnson, who seemingly always plays self-righteous (no surprises from him, either). Johnson's way of acting is to pontificate clearly, as if he were making a speech in the town hall. This Disney drama, taken from S.E. Hinton's novel, is rather slow and fuzzy--and after an hour, the audience is still waiting for the plot to get started. The rural locations are capably captured, but the drama inherent in the story of these two brothers lays flat. *1/2 from ****