Texas Across the River (1966)

Texas Across the River is the kind of Western that rides in with a straight face and then quietly pulls the rug out from under every frontier cliché, delivering laughs with a surprising elegance. It’s a playful, dry-witted spoof where courtly manners collide with dusty Texas chaos, and the comedy lands because the cast commits—Alain Delon’s fish-out-of-water nobility and Dean Martin’s laid-back swagger make a wonderfully mismatched duo. The vibe is light, breezy, and knowingly absurd, mixing sharp banter with just enough slapstick to keep the saddle from getting too stiff. If you like your Westerns reverent and gritty, this may feel too mischievous, but if you want an entertaining, well-structured romp that pokes fun while still delivering old-fashioned fun, it’s an easy recommendation.

Texas Across the River is clearly trying to be a light, slapstick Western spoof with a fish-out-of-water aristocrat bouncing through Texas clichés, and you can feel the cast leaning into the silliness. The problem is the comedy often lands with a thud: the gags are corny, the pacing can feel plodding, and a lot of the humor has aged in a way that reads more tired than clever. It also has a slightly rough, made-on-autopilot feel in the writing and execution, so if you’re expecting a sharp parody or a genuinely great Western comedy, this probably won’t get you there. Still, if you’re in the mood for an easygoing, old-fashioned studio romp and can enjoy it as harmless background fun rather than a laugh-out-loud classic, it has its moments.