Grade: C-
Synopsis: Believing he’s killed his friend, a lawman (John Wayne) turns recluse, only to later become involved with his friend’s daughter, and the true killers.
Texas Terror is somewhat of a novelty among John Wayne’s Lone Star westerns, for two reasons.
The first is mainstay George “Gabby” Hayes’ role. Where he usually plays a crotchety sidekick to the Duke’s hero, here he plays more of a cool-headed mentor to Duke’s character. It’s a nice change of pace and proof that Hayes was more than a one-note performer.
The second, and more significant is that the climax features Wayne in a car chase! While this may not seem like that big a deal, it’s odd enough to have cars in a western, but even odder considering you can probably count the number of John Wayne films with car-chases on your hand. Now granted, this isn’t a true car chase as Wayne isn’t chasing another car, but still, it’s just plain weird seeing the Duke speed off in pursuit.
That said, Texas Terror is still a Lone Star production and suffers from the usual low budget, stilted acting, and weak leading lady, but for fans of the genre it’s definitely worth a look.
