TWO GUYS FROM TEXAS (1948)
Article 5440 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-1-2017
Directed by David Butler
Featuring Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Dorothy Malone
Country: USA
What it is: Musical

Two song-and-dance men get stranded on a dude ranch in Texas when their car is stolen. When their car turns up after a robbery, they are arrested. Can they clear themselves?

This unmitigated musical piece of fluff is what it is; it’s probably good enough for people partial to the form, but it’s the antithesis of the type of movie that I envisioned when I started this whole project. I’ve heard it described as something of a “Road” movie, and though I can see the argument, I still think that Morgan and Carson are no Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, and no self-respecting “Road” movie would leave us stranded at the same location for as long as this one does. As for the fantastic content, I suppose I could argue that Carson’s extreme fear of animals is an example of madness, making this a marginal horror movie, but that won’t wash. I could also argue that Carson is most likely a robot, which I base on the sound effects that play anytime he encounters an animal during the first half of the movie, but you’ll see through that. No, the real reason I covered this movie is that it features an animated sequence featuring anthropomorphic lambs and a talking rabbit; specifically, this is the feature-film debut of Bugs Bunny. I do find it ironic, though, that Carson conquers his fear of animals when confronted with a kitten, which remains the only animal during the course of the movie that legitimately tries to attack him.