The Texican

In the 1960s when your star wasn't as bright as you'd like in Hollywood, where did you go? To Europe to make spaghetti westerns where aging stars and up-and-coming newbies starred in low-budget westerns that audiences ate up. A star in countless B-westerns, WWII hero Audie Murphy only made one spaghetti western, 1966's The Texican, one of those in between movies. Not quite a full-on spaghetti, but darker/dirtier than your typical American western.

Living for over a year south of the border in Mexico after hanging up his gun, gunslinger Jess Carlin (Murphy) finds out his brother, a newspaper editor, has been shot and killed. Jess sees through the explanation because brother Roy never carried a gun, but he was found with another dead man. Taking up the gun again and risking going up bounty hunters looking to cash in on the price on his head, Jess heads north and across the border to the town of Rimrock where he meets the man, Luke Starr (Broderick Crawford), who forced him to run into Mexico.

Murphy was never considered a great actor, but like so many action/adventure stars from the 50s and 60s, he was a physical presence even if he wasn't a big man. As Jess Carlin, Murphy handles all of his own stunts including a variety of fistfights, gunfights and chases on horseback. One fistfight especially stands out with one of Starr's gunmen. It doesn't look forced or fake, but instead feels very realistic, almost like the punches are always landing.

Leading the cast, Murphy and Crawford are good as counterparts. Murphy's character could have been lifted right out of some of the American westerns he starred in. Jess is on the straight and narrow and has some of a hard edge, but nothing like Clint Eastwood in the Dollars trilogy or any number of Franco Nero westerns. Big, brooding, hulking Crawford is an imposing villain, and his deep, raspy voice adds a lot to the character. Spaghetti westerns almost always throw in a female character that serves no real purpose but is easy on the eyes. The Texican amps that up a bit with 4 different ladies, but the two important parts go to the beautiful Diana Lorys as Kit O'Neal, Luke's girlfriend who takes a liking to Jess, and Luz Marquez as Sandy Adams, Roy's ex-fiance who helps Jess out in his hunt.

As for the typical spaghetti touches, The Texican doesn't disappoint. The music is one of the better Ennio Morricone clones from the genre, here's the trailer with a sample of the main theme. The locations around Barcelona, Cataluna, Spain don't look too familiar, but it's clearly Spain and they look as good as some of the more mainstream westerns from the area. And of course, you've got to mention the supporting cast. Easily recognizable Aldo Sambrell has one of his bigger supporting parts as Gil Rio, Luke's right-hand man who tangles with Jess whenever they meet. Joining Sambrell as the evil henchmen are Antonio Molino Rojo and Juan Antonio Peral.

So really, nothing too special here, just an enjoyable spaghetti western with a good cast, good music and enough shooting to keep you involved. Definitely worth a watch for spaghetti western fans, and especially for fans of Audie Murphy even if it's just to see him in an atypical part.