Rollick' Western Comedy

Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin star in this rather silly Western comedy from director Robert Aldrich.

Sinatra and Martin meet at film's opening, with each trying to con the other out of $100,000. A grudging mutual respect is begun, but in the end Martin takes the loot and heads out.

Where he heads is Galveston, a wide open city that's full of opportunities for a seemingly amoral individual like Martin. But he discovers that the town's biggest mover and shaker is - Sinatra.

The two go back and forth, Sinatra trying to get his money back and Martin trying to come up with an interesting scheme. They're both being played for suckers by rich but chicken-livered banker Victor Buono, however, who's aided in his quest to get it all for himself by a vicious gunslinger (Charles Bronson).

Then there are the women. Anita Ekberg plays Sinatra's love interest, while a very sexy Ursula Andress turns up with the perfect moneymaking scheme for Martin - thereby snagging his affections as well.

It's all pretty silly, but it still adds up to an enjoyable, sexy romp in the old West and you can tell the stars had a good time shooting the flick.

Some weird asides: an onscreen voice "appears" a couple of times during the movie, letting you know what's going on - as if you're too stupid to figure out this obvious farce even before the cast does. And the Three Stooges make a slapstick appearance that actually brings the movie to a complete stop. Not as in they're showstoppers; they drag the film's action to a halt just so they can do their schtick. Too bad.

The DVD is pretty good, though it doesn't have a lot of extras. The anamorphic widescreen picture (16x9 TV compatible) is bright and sharp, and the colors are very good. The picture isn't as good as in that other Rat Pack flick "Ocean's 11," but it's still darn good. Audio is Dolby Digital mono, directed to the center channels, and the quality is as good as necessary for this feature.

Extras include short behind the scenes documentary that's more a promotional ditty than an actual information piece (not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that), and while the box lists "cast/filmmaker profiles," what you really get is an abridged filmogrphies for some of the cast and the director.

Other than that, there's the usual trailer, chapter stops, and subtitles.

4 For Texas is lightweight, but quite enjoyable.

4 For Texas, from Warner Home Video
115 min. anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1), Dolby Digital mono
Starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Anita Ekberg, Ursula Andress, Victor Buono, Charles Bronson
Written by Teddi Sherman and Robert Aldrich
Produced and Directed by Robert Aldrich.

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