Review: The Man From Galveston

Set in 1800s Texas, Jeffrey Hunter plays a horse-riding attorney who represents old flame (Joanna Moore) who is on a murder charge. James Coburn plays Hunter’s somewhat friendly legal opponent, the town marshal. Kevin Hagen plays the defendant’s husband, whilst Ed Nelson turns up as a decidedly sinister, intimidating figure.

 

Directed by actor William Conrad (best known for being one half of TV’s “Jake and the Fatman”), this 1963 B-western was originally designed as a TV pilot, hence the less than 60 minute running time. Apparently it was repurposed into another show with a different lead character. Scripted by Dean Riesner (“Play Misty for Me”, “Dirty Harry”) and Michael Zagor (a TV veteran), I was initially unsure whether it would be fair to review this as a feature film since that’s not really what it is. However, it was released that way at the end of the day, and it turns out I managed to get some interest out of it at least.

 

It’s kind of an interesting idea, showing what lawyers were like in this period of the U.S. out west, riding horses and carrying guns. I’ve seen a few westerns that have had courtroom scenes of course, but this was the first courtroom drama western I’ve seen. There’s nothing particularly cinematic about it, but from a curio perspective I found it to be a rewarding experience. I was interested in how the different roles of law enforcement worked in the old west, even if the central plot wasn’t anything riveting. It’s your standard TV legal drama plot simply set in an old west period setting.

 

Jeffrey Hunter is solid enough in the lead, but James Coburn and slimy Ed Nelson steal their every scene. As the deputy marshal, Coburn essentially plays Kevin Bacon to Hunter’s Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men”. Although he doesn’t sound remotely Texan, British character actor Arthur Malet has a fun role as a court bailiff of sorts. Karl Swenson does solid work as the sheriff as well.

 

I can definitely recommend this one but it’s to a niche audience. For me, I enjoyed it enough that if they made this as a series with Hunter and Coburn in it every week I’d have watched it.

 

Rating: B-

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