Young Guns of Texas (1962) Online

Young Guns of Texas is directed by Maury Dexter and written by Henry Cross. It stars James Mitchum, Alana Ladd, Jody McCrea, Chill Wills and Gary Conway. A CinemaScope/DeLuxe Color production with cinematography by John M. Nickolaus and music by Paul Sawtell and Burt Shefter. The title song is sung by Kenny Miller.

There's not a lot of good will around for this Western but it's far from being a stinker. Very much using a gimmick by starring the offspring of Western heroes Robert Mitchum, Alan Ladd and Joel McCrea, it's an OK Oater to pass the time of day with.

Plot sees the young guns team up for a perilous journey through dangerous Mescalero territory. Accompanied by wise old Preacher Sam Shelby (Wills), they each have different reasons for being out on the lam. Be it eloping, friendship or hunting for a patrol who have stolen an army payroll in their possession, they all have a common bond to move forward. Naturally they in turn are being pursued by a posse led by the angry father of Lily Glendenning (Ladd). This essentially means there are three separate groups out in the wilds, and as the bodies begin to pile up and the various character dynamics are unearthed, all three groups catch up to each other and have a date with the Mescaleros!

The acting is standard fare, with Wills holding the young cast together, and it's hardly genius in plotting or direction. However, it's lovely to look at as it's filmed out of Big Bend National Park in Texas, there's enough requisite action (including an extended fist-fight) for the undemanding Western fan; in fact for the finale the kill quotient is very high, while there's a slight veer away from the expected during said finale. So some value to be found, then, even if it's not a comfortable recommendation to Western fans. 6/10

Okay this a typical Western for the time. You have a bad rancher, played by Robert Lowery, (Jessie), who does the usual try to ride rough shod over any and all opposition. It doesn't work with James Mitchum as Morgan Coe. Coe was rescued after five years with the Comanche's. Taken in by Jessie, Coe falls for his daughter. So Jessie sends her back East for school and fires Coe, (can't trust an Injun). She returns and things heat up. At a church social Jessie sics his hired gun on Coe and Coe kills him. Tyler shows up in town, is following his brother, a Union captain and six Rebs, they also have the Captain's wife and $30K in stolen gold. The upshot of all this is the patrol goes into Apache country and so Tyler goes after them. Due to circumstances written into the plot Coe, the daughter, an un-ordained preacher and his son also come with. The father now grabs his crew and they follow the daughter. The captain and his wife are found murdered by the Reb's. Then two of them are found a little further on. Meanwhile Tyler and gang are close and so is daddy. The Apache's finally show up, kill two more of the patrol, then run into Tyler's group. Now is where I have a real problem with the film. The Indians just come riding up shooting willy-nilly and stay mounted right in front of the blazing guns of the whites. Finally daddy and his men appear and they are just as stupid. They stay on their horses too and every one is shooting at everyone else. Daddy sees Coe and kills him, then as the Apache's ride off one of them kills Jessie. So the show ends with daddy and the husband dead. The preacher has recovered the gold, gives it to Tyler. The last scene at the graves of Jessie and Coe shows you the future, Tyler is staying west and returning the gold to the Army and the daughter and he are obviously going to hook up down the line.

"Young Guns of Texas" was very reminiscent of an Elvis movie - a simple plot where you will easily guess the ending, but will still be entertained. This is the type of movie to see after an especially stressful day - no underlying meanings or political messages, just an enjoyable movie. It has a nice mixture of humor, action and drama with just a dose of romance. ...and Jody McCrea is just darling as Jeff Shelby!

If you like Joel McCrea, Robert Mitchum, Alan Ladd or even Chill Wills, I'd definitely recommend this movie...you'll enjoy seeing their kids in action.

Young Guns of Texas is a western with a gimmick starring the children of well known actors. The film sees these young ones team up for a perilous journey through dangerous Apache territory, accompanied by a veteran preacher. Gary Conway is hunting for a patrol who have stolen money from the army and this could lead to a personal conflict. There is a wild man raised by Indians who is eloping with a wealthy landowner's daughter, the irony is that it was the landowner who rescued him from the Indians and raised him as his own son and is now hunting him down with his posse.

Conway is the main star of the film who has screen presence. James Mitchum has top billing but although he has his father's looks, he does not have his acting chops. Alana Ladd looks nice but again the acting is just so-so.

Itmis left to the veterans to add some meat and bite to their roles, the film is simplistic, low budget but is watchable enough if you are looking for something undemanding. There is a nice shootout at the end as the different hunting parties converge in Indian territory.

The movie contains a bunch of Hollywood actor's offspring in a Western about...about....well it's about three groups of people all out in the western wilderness with different agendas.

You first have six rebels and one union officers and a chick that have stole a large amount of money. Not much is revealed about the eight but they have the money and going through Indian territory. -- Then you have one person chasing the group, Tyler Duane (Gary Conway) along with his friend, Jeff Shelby (Jody McCrea) and two other people that have just married and want a new start in a different location, Morgan Cole (James Mitchum)and Lily Glendenning (Alana Ladd)also along for the ride is a preacher Sam Shelby (Chill Wills). ---Now on the trail of the five is the father of the new bride, Jesse Glendenning (Robert Lowery), and his bunch, that think his daughter has been kidnapped. Now the entire group is in the Apache territory that will only lead to one after another being killed for a variety of reasons.

There is more going on in this long story than 'just the chase'. There are family members in different groups and also old friendships that have turned sour. All these experience add to the situation as the group makes there way through the dangers of the early west.

The concept of the story seemed to be an interesting tale. However, the screenplay, along with the suspicious acting abilities, made the story feel like a much longer trek than needed. There were actually some very good scenes in the movie but there just was not much feeling in the heart of the actors. After the first thirty minutes, I thought this was going to be a terrible movie but as things settle down and we got some western action going, the film became somewhat interesting. And the glue that kept the viewer's attention was the veteran actor Chill Wills. Who would have thought?

This western uses the gimmick of 3 sons or daughters of famous actors being used to fill about half the major roles. These are James Mitchum, Alana Ladd, and Jody McCrea. More cryptically, it included Barbara Mansell, as Martha Jane Canary: the birth name of Calamity Jane. Judging by some old photos, Barbara was notably better looking than Calamity! We have basically 4 groups that are involved in part or most of the story. Group A consists of 7 former Civil War soldiers, led by the brother of Tyler Duane(Gary Conway), plus his wife, apparently. They have stolen a $30,000. Union payroll. and are heading toward a Mescalero Apache territory, in SE NM, or Texas, perhaps on the way to Mexico. These Apache constitute a significant risk to their lives and treasure. However, it turns out that their comrades are just as murderous, the first victims being Tyler's brother and his apparent wife, until only 2 are left when they engage the other groups in a climactic shootout........Group B consists of several young men, played by Mitchum, McCrea, and Gary Conway(Tyler). In addition, there's veteran Chill Wills, as unordained minister Sam Shelby, and bride Lily Coe(Alana Ladd), formerly Lily Glendenning, just married to Morgan Coe(Mitchum), although it's unclear how legitimate this marriage is. Morgan and Lily are running away from Lily's father, Jesse, who is out to kill Morgan and bring Lily back home. He is the leader of Group C: hot on the heels of Group B. Meanwhile, Tyler, of Group B, is intent on capturing the money held by Group A, and returning it to the US Army. Group D: a band of Mescalero, don't want any of the above groups passing through their territory. I forgot to mention that Martha Jane((Barbara Mansell) joined Group B, along the way. Why, instead of tending her cattle? My guess is she thought Lisa could use some female companionship. Also, she was running from Lisa's father(Group C), whose cattle she had rustled. See the film to find out the result of the big 4 way gun battle, and its aftermath......I thought none of the offspring of the famous actors had any appreciable charisma. It was up to Chill Wills and Barbara Mansell to supply the charisma......See it at YouTube.

I suppose just for the marquee value of the names of Mitchum, McCrea, and Ladd Young Guns Of Texas cast them in the leads. But it's not the people with those names you're familiar with. Young Guns Of Texas stars James Mitchum, Alana Ladd, and Jody McCrea and is set in post Civil War Texas where some former Confederates have robbed a payroll. What would have been an act of war now makes them outlaws.

Mitchum and McCrea team up with Gary Conway who is another young gun looking for the payroll. But Mitchum mixes some pleasure in it when he also runs off with Alana Ladd daughter of the local rancher Robert Lowery who really doesn't like Mitchum. He sics his foreman on Mitchum, but Mitchum kills him. Now Lowery gets a posse going after the young guns.

McCrea is the son of the local preacher Chill Wills who married the couple and Wills joins them.

Did I forget to mention that the payroll robbers, the young guns, and the posse are all riding into Apache territory? Some honeymoon Mitchum and Ladd are going to have.

No credit was reflected on those great movie names by their kids appearing in this western. Yes it's as dumb as I've described it.

Gary Conway is the real protagonist of this western, although the siblings of Joel McCrea, Robert Mitchum and Alan Ladd were given top credit. But James Mitchum had no charisma, and Alana Ladd was not a good actress, so the best parts of the film are carried out by Conway, Jody McCrea, and Chill Wills.The film starts well when Conway arrives in a town controlled by a nasty landowner. He is following a patrol of Southern rebels carrying stolen money. But then the attention turns to the romance of the landowner's daughter (Ladd) and a guy raised by Indians (Mitchum). As things get more complicated and the film demands higher production values, the budget betrays everybody's effort, making everything look really cheap.

This film has nothing going for it. It used the gimmick of starring the children of three famous Stars (sound familiar?). The sons of Joel McCrea and Robert Mitchum, and the daughter of Alan Ladd play cardboard characters in a dime novel. This novelty of the casting is the only reason anybody ever saw this film in its day, and the only reason to fast forward through it now. As for "whatever happened to", Alana Ladd's filmography speaks volumes. The Boys fared a little better, but not much.

I was surprised to see no comments on this movie, which has certainly been on TV fairly recently (at least in the UK). I also saw it in the cinema in the UK when it first came out. It is in many ways a typical Western of the early sixties, starring actors straight out of contemporary TV series, who looks as if they belong to a Beach Party movie rather than the real Wild West! This film is also famous for starring a string of children of more famous stars. It begins at a good pace, with Gary Conway arriving in town, having an extensive fist fight, and meeting Jody McCrea. After that it becomes increasingly boring & pedestrian, and I couldn't give away the ending, because I don't really remember it! So my advice is, make sure you watch the beginning, but don't bother too much if you miss the end!