Movie Review: The Lucky Texan

I am an unapologetic fan of western movies - of course only the ones in which the conflict is between White people and I totally abhor those films in which Native Americans are portrayed as wild, cruel and uncultured people. Anyway when one thinks of western movies the first name that comes up is undoubtedly John Wayne. I have watched several of his movies including Big Jake, The Red River, among others.

The Lucky Texan is a movie that deals with the gold rush and how unscrupulous businessmen tried to usurp property of gullible individuals in the recent past in the United States. The protagonists in this movie are Jerry Mason effectively played by John Wayne and Jake Benson (George Gabby Hayes) who are partners in the gold mining operation. They have been able to keep their mining site a secret from everyone in the town. They want to extract as much gold as possible before they stake a claim on the mine so the area remains a secret.

Then there are two businessmen in the town who also have an eye on Jake Benson's ranch and are interested in knowing where the gold strike has happened. Meanwhile Jake's grand daughter comes to live with him from New York and life begins to get complicated. The businessmen follow Jake and try to kill him and steal his gold and then use some fraudulent documents to claim the ranch. Things take an ugly turn from here on but the end is funny court scene which has to be watched.

This movie is not one of the best of John Wayne's but it is definitely one that cemented his acting career. He is at his formative years as an actor and definitely has an appealing screen presence. It is available free to watch on Youtube, go ahead and enjoy it.