I've seen a lot of westerns and just discovered this gripping film packed with everything one would expect from the genre of a excellent western. We follow Tod Lohman ( Don Murray ) an innocent cowpoke trying to escape being hunted like a animal by the ruthless land baron, Hunter Boyd ( R. G. Armstrong ) who will not except the fact that his son died by accident and is bent on killing Tod for a crime he did not commit. Boyd is accompanied by his not so swift son Tom and his loyal ranch hands. I cannot give a synopsis for this film, as it would spoil it for the reader if they are able to have a chance to view this underrated western gem. I will say it is a story filled with an excellent cast which includes Dennis Hopper in the role of Tom Boyd, the clumsy son, Chills Wills with the beautiful Diane Varsi playing his daughter Juanita and eventual love interest of Don Murray who gives a superb performance playing the hunted Tod Lohman. Add in other great character actors and magnificent cinematography along with a perfectly paced story line, packed full of riveting action and you have an above average man on the run western film. I was lucky to come across this little known film and highly urge the reader to seek this one out if you are a fan of films made during the heyday of Hollywood's western ride.

It is very hard to define when somebody is a good person, and Tod Lohman (Don Murray) in this western is certainly one. He does not kill Tom Boyd (Dennis Hopper) when in the reverse situation Tom Boyd would have killed him and he also does not kill a horse which would incriminate him, but on the contrary, feeling sorry for the horse, takes him along. Three people who are strangers to him are willing to help him even though this would put them in trouble. At a certain moment R.G.Armstrong (Hunter Boyd) asks the priest: Why are people so willing to help this man who they hardly know? And the priest answers him that this is a matter of the heart. And this excellent western takes us on the journey of a man hunted because he unwillingly was responsible for the death of someone who wanted to kill him. His survival is against all odds, but then if it would be just odds, life would be very predictable… William K. Everson one of the great authorities in Westerns considers this film the best western from 1950 to 1962, between "Wagon Master" and "Ride the High Country". "But in "From Hell to Texas" he (Hathaway) seems to have combined the sentiment and austerity of Hart and the slickness and spectacle of Ford" (A Pictorial History of the Western Film, page 221). Great action scenes, great cinematography, great Henry Hathaway... great film.

This western has all the elements that make it highly watchable. It is fast paced and full of action, has interesting characters you care about and romance but not too much and good plotting. The casting is excellent especially with Murray in the lead and one has to wonder why it is sitting on a shelf somewhere while lesser films are on video and TV and shown repeatedly. The unavailability of this film and other good films make me wonder what the selection process involves and who makes the decisions that govern what we ultimately view. There are not many votes for "From Hell To Texas" but in my opinion that is because many have never had the chance to view it in the first place. On the other hand many mediocre films have many votes probably because they are available rather than of quality. I can think of at least half a dozen films that fall in the same category. There should be some better method of resurrecting films like "From Hell To Texas" so that generations behind me can at least have the opportunity to know that a film like this even exists.

This is a very decent film. For some reason, it doesn't seem to be available on videotape and I think it's a shame given how much stuff out there doesn't deserve to be on VHS.I didn't think it was neither great nor terrible, rather average in my opinion but with a nice continuity and good editing. Some of it was a bit cliché but as I said, it remains decent and enjoyable.7 / 10