Texas Cyclone

Texas Cyclone (1932)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Texas Grant (Tim McCoy) rides into a small town where he's immediately mistaken for a man named Rawlins who died years earlier. Pretty soon this mistake has people taking shots at his life so Texas must try and find out what happened to Rawlins.

Texas CYCLONE certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's a fairly entertaining "B" Western from the era when it seems like at least two of these were being released each week. This one here benefits from having a very familiar cast, which should keep film buffs glued to the screen.

The film is pretty much what you'd expect from a Western from this era. It clocks in at just a hour and features a rather routine story that leads to our hero being heroic and of course there are some nice shoot outs. The film benefits from McCoy's fine performance, although I must admit his constant "I must look like this fella Rawlins" got annoying. The supporting cast includes a young John Wayne and Walter Brennan as well as Vernon Dent who steals the show as the bartender.

B-Western starring Tim McCoy as a new guy in town who everyone mistakes for a heroic rancher who went missing years earlier and was presumed dead. Through a series of circumstances too silly to relate, McCoy decides to go along with the charade that he's this hero, and help out the man's wife (Shirley Grey) who has been struggling to keep her ranch going in the face of incessant cattle rustling by the minions of bad guy Wheeler Oakman. McCoy finds help in nice-guy ranch hand John Wayne and old coot sheriff Walter Brennan.

Tim McCoy was a major Western star in the late silent period, and continued on with B Westerns throughout the 1930's into the 40's. He was a real cowboy, adept horseman, and expert on Native American cultures and customs. He's perhaps not the strongest actor or the most intimidating screen presence, but he's genuine, and I liked him well enough. Wayne doesn't have a lot to do, but he's not bad, and you can see why he was a bit of a sex symbol during the early years of his career. Brennan, in one of his biggest roles to date, was only in his late 30's, but already playing a gray-haired old goof. As for the movie, it won't make anyone's top ten lists, but there are a lot worse in the world of quickie B Westerns.

This is one of our favorites and we watch it several times a moth. Tim's background in the military seems to have given him a leading man's bearing in his films. We love them all. Code of the Cactus, Six Gun Trail, The Fighting Renegade, just to name a few. In these particular three and others, Tim plays dual roles and they are loads of fun. As for Texas Cyclone, we love seeing John Wayne in one of Tim's movies. He did some movies before but he is so charming in this one. Watch closely and you see some of his trademark gestures and his signature laugh. Although Harry Carey taught John Wayne to walk his iconic walk in the future, he did just fine here. I don't want to forget to mention Tim's horse Pal. He often looks like he thinks he is in a parade dancing through the streets. A fantastic addition and partner to any film.

A classic, innocent western. Fun and, at times, funny. John Wayne as Steve is worth the whole 58 minutes. Tim McCoy over acts like nothing I've ever seen and the whole movie is simply enjoyable. Find it if you can.

I mostly agree with the other comments, that the main attraction of this film is the early days of John Wayne, and also, the beginnings of Western "talkies." The rating is dependent upon how indulgent you are, and if historical interest means little to you, then your rating will be lower than mine. The basic plot element of mistaken identity is absurd. Beyond this, all of the cowboys seem to have immaculate clothing and hats--none of them appears to have been spending regular time with the cattle. But the appearance of these cowboys probably has much to do with the beginnings of "Gower Gulch," that part of Gower Street in Hollywood which Harry Cohn acquired to serve as the home of Columbia Pictures. This is obviously a Columbia film, because at the start of the film you can hear the audio fanfare for the Columbia trademark. Cowboys and other hopeful extras for a western film would congregate on the street near Columbia, hoping to be hired by the studios based in that area. Often, having one's own costume and hat helped in being hired. The numerous cowboys regularly seen on Gower led to the location being nicknamed "Gower Gulch."