The Fabulous Texan
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Edward Ludwig
William ["wild Bill"] Elliott
John Carroll
Catherine Mcleod
Albert Dekker
Andy Devine
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After the Civil War, Lt. John Wesley Barker and his friend, Jim McWade, return to their hometown of Millsborough, Texas. Although Jim is unaware of it, Wes is in love with Jim's fiancée, Alice Sharp. When Wes visits Alice at her father's drugstore, townspeople Elihu and Utopia Mills tell him that the state police are ordering everyone to turn in their guns. Just then, Capt. Jessup of the state police enters and tells Wes that his father, Rev. Barker, has been writing rabble-rousing sermons encouraging rebellion. Wes visits his father and asks him to leave town, but Rev. Barker is dedicated to his flock. Later, at his father's church, Alice tells Wes and his cousins, the four Clayton brothers, that Barker has been shot and killed by the state police, in an apparent accident. Meanwhile, at the state police headquarters, Jessup orders his men to enforce the curfew in town. At the blacksmith's, Wes and his cousins shoot and kill Jessup in retaliation for Rev. Barker's death, and one of the Claytons, Shep, is hurt. Later, two state policemen visit Alice at her home, and when Wes decides to hide in the dark, Alice admits she loves him. Meanwhile, Jim visits Gen. Gibson Hart, telling him that Wes will surrender if he can be assured of a fair trial, and Wes agrees to surrender. The whole town turns out in support of Wes, and fearing violence, the adjutant general rides into town with more police and declares a state of martial law. Hours later, Alice tells the jailed Wes that Jim is assembling the jury for his trial, but when Gen. Hart reneges on his promise of a trial, Jim releases Wes and his cousins, and they escape with several officers and Gen. Hart as their hostages. Sometime later, Wes and his cousins rob a stage guarded by state police. When Wes is later attacked by police and the townspeople riot, the police react by burning houses and wagons and killing innocent citizens. One of their victims is Andy Renfro, whose wife had delivered a baby only moments before. Although the town is in a state of anarchy, President Grant will not commit troops. During the chaos, Jim meets Alice at Halfway Springs and she tells him she loves Wes. While Jim is sworn in as United States Marshal by Gen. Sheridan, Wes and his gang rob the First National Bank. Now that he is truly a criminal, the townspeople form a vigilante group led by Wade Clayton, Wes's uncle. As Wes and his men prepare to leave for Mexico, they are ambushed by the vigilantes. Wade shoots and kills his brother Shep, and Wes is shot in the arm. When he learns from Josie Allen that Gen. Hart plans to kill Jim, Wes goes to warn him. When Hart shoots, Wes dies when he is hit by a bullet meant for Jim, but returns fire before he dies, killing Hart. Many years later, Alice and her grandson admire the monument erected to Jim's memory, but she reminds him that Jim was not the only one who sacrificed for Texas.
Director
Edward Ludwig
Cast
William ["wild Bill"] Elliott
John Carroll
Catherine Mcleod
Albert Dekker
Andy Devine
Patricia Knight
Ruth Donnelly
Johnny Sands
Harry Davenport
Robert H. Barrat
Douglass Dumbrille
Reed Hadley
Roy Barcroft
Russell Simpson
James Brown
Jim Davis
George Beban
John Miles
Robert Coleman
Tommy Kelly
Frank Ferguson
Glenn Strange
Ivan Parry
Craig Reynolds
Harry Woods
Richard Foote
Ethan Laidlaw
William Forrest
George H. Lloyd
John Hamilton
Selmer Jackson
Harry V. Cheshire
Stanley Andrews
George Eldredge
Olin Howlin
Crane Whitley
Jack Ingram
Ray Teal
Helen Brown
Regina Wallace
Douglas Wood
Wade Crosby
Russell Hicks
Harland Tucker
Pat Flaherty
Ralph Dunn
Eddie Acuff
Dick Elliott
Robert E. Neff
Karl Hackett
Gregory Marshall
Jerry Jerome
Pat Combs
Pierce Lyden
Ted Mapes
Mickey Simpson
Franklyn Farnum
Watson Downs
Charles Morton
Craig Lawrence
Allen Mathews
Zeke Holland
Bob Anderson
Don Brown
Jimmy Crane
Paul Dunn
Billy Gray
Timmie Hawkins
Sarah Selby
Pierre Watkin
Tristram Coffin
Kenneth Macdonald
Edythe Elliott
Paul Scardon
Tom Chatterton
Ed Cassidy
Al Ferguson
Ethyl May Halls
Howard Mitchell
Nolan Leary
Al Kunde
Frank Austin
Crew
Anthony Collins
Earl Crain Sr.
Col. Homer Garrison Jr.
Edmund Grainger
Peggy Gray
Lawrence Hazard
Reggie Lanning
Hal Long
Lee Lukather
Howard Lydecker
Theodore Lydecker
Bob Mark
John Mccarthy Jr.
Horace Mccoy
George Milo
Adele Palmer
James Sullivan
Richard L. Van Enger
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to the Daily Variety review of this film, the term "fabulous Texan" was "applied generally to those Texans in the period after the Civil War who fought efforts of the corrupt State Police to set up a dynasty of terror." Although an February 18, 1945 New York Times news item stated that the film is based on the real-life exploits of Sam Bass (1851-1878), the picture bears little resemblance to his life. For more information about Bass, please see the entry above for the 1949 Universal picture Calamity Jane and Sam Bass. A re-edited version of The Fabulous Texan was released on April 28, 1953 under the title The Texas Uprising.
