Plot
Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven deserves a historical footnote as director William Castle's only comedy western. Future Wild Bill Hickok star Guy Madison plays Eddie Taylor, a lonesome cowboy who falls in love with city-gal Perry Dunkin (Diana Lynn). The couple "meets cute" in Brooklyn, where the two have migrated to seek their fortunes. The plot veers into Runyonesque territory as Eddie tries to write the Great American Play, while Perry "adopts" pickpocket Mandy (Florence Bates) to pose as her mother. The loosely structured storyline permits several entertaining diversions, including a trip to Coney Island and a wild episode at a Brooklyn riding academy which hero and heroine have been conned into purchasing. Audie Murphy makes his second film appearance in a near-microscopic role. Based on a Saturday Evening Post story by Barry Benefield, Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven was released in England as The Girl From Texas. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviReview
"Zany" is a comedic quality that can't simply be manufactured, as the strained Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven amply demonstrates. Texas certainly tries hard for zaniness, but the result at best is silliness and all too often is simply dull. Certainly a great deal of the problem lies with the screenplay, which confuses being loosely plotted with being random and haphazard. Still, a decent film can be created from a jumbled plot, but only if the writer comes up with some captivating characters and bring them to life through dialogue that surprises. That's simply not the case here; what we get instead is pretty stock characters in pretty stock situations spouting stock words and phrases. Director William Castle would later exert some creativity in his horror films, but here there's little inventiveness to his work; it's strictly by the book. What Texas does have is a very game cast. Granted, Guy Madison is fairly wooden, but he's at least easy on the eyes. Even easier on the eyes and a much better actor is Diana Lynn, who does as much as she can with the material she's given. The supporting cast includes such troupers as Margaret Hamilton, Irene Ryan, Lionel Stander and Florence Bates, who bring their unique talents to the project. ~ Craig Butler, RoviCast
- Guy Madison - Eddie Taylor
- Diana Lynn - Perry Dunklin
- James Dunn - Mike
- Lionel Stander - The Bellhop
- Florence Bates - Mandy
Credit
Jerome Pycha, Jr. - Art Director, Lewis Rachmil - Associate Producer, William Castle - Director, Michael Gordon - Director, James Newcom - Editor, Emil Newman - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ervin Drake - Songwriter, Mel Burns - Makeup, William C. Mellor - Cinematographer, Robert Golden - Producer, George Sawley - Set Designer, Lewis Meltzer - Screenwriter, Barry Benefield - Short Story Author| Texas, Addio (1966 Film), Texas to Bataan (1942 Film) | |
| Texasville (1990 Film), Text (2008 Film) |
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Movie Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
