Authentic Two Guys From Texas

Deep in the mighty big heart of Two Guys from Texas is a 15-gallon Technicolor hatful of Western spoofery and song, starring ace cowpokes and song-and-dance men Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson. Stranded by car trouble on a dude ranch, struggling entertainers Steve (Morgan) and Danny (Carson) give finding their inner Texans their best shot. That’s harder for Danny, whose zoophobia (fear of animals) trips him up in romance and requires some makeshift psychiatry (courtesy of Dr. Fred Clark) to set him straight. (He also gets tips from the one-and-only Bugs Bunny, guest-starring in a Friz Freleng-directed animated dream sequence.) Meanwhile, ladies man Steve has eyes for the lovely ranch owner (Dorothy Malone), jostling for her affections with the blowhard local sheriff (Forrest Tucker). Thanks to a posse of top talents, a smart script by future Billy Wilder collaborator I.A.L. Diamond and Allen Boretz (Room Service), and seven breezy songs by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn, you’ll toss your Stetson high in rootin tootin cheer.