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Rat Pack buddies Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin were prized for their ability to appear relaxed on camera, but in
4 for Texas they're nearly asleep. It must have looked good on paper: reuniting the crooners and teaming them with two international sex symbols in a jokey Western under the guidance of topnotch director Robert Aldrich (
Kiss Me Deadly). Ursula Andress, as a riverboat owner who hooks up with Dino, unleashes her bedroom purr to great effect, but formidable Anita Ekberg had a bad year in 1963 (she also got stuck in Bob Hope's immortal
Call Me Bwana). A tasty roster of character actors is wasted, although Charles Bronson and Victor Buono are amusing as unsavory citizens of 1870s Galveston. Even the Three Stooges, in their Curly Joe configuration, wander through. After a terrific opening sequence in the desert, establishing Frank and Dean's rivalry, this one quickly goes south.
--Robert Horton
Additional features
A bland eight-minute "behind the scenes" documentary (silent, with narration) gives a peek into the studio-bound shooting of
4 for Texas, but much better is a coming-attractions trailer featuring a half-dressed Ursula Andress inviting the audience to see the picture.
--Robert Horton