Return of the Texan

Return Of The Texan stars Dale Robertson a young widower returning with his two young sons and his grandfather Walter Brennan to the small town in Texas they came from. The property is a small and rundown farm that's going to need a lot of work.

Which comes in the form of a job of building a fence for his next door neighbor Richard Boone. Boone was once white trash like Robertson but he was fortunate enough to marry the boss's daughter and then inherit half the ranch with his sister-in-law Joanne Dru. As Dru tells Robertson the last thing Boone wants to be reminded of is his humble origins and he doesn't want Robertson courting Dru. He much prefer she marry nice respectable doctor Robert Horton.

Robertson who can be quite garrulous at times is somber and subdued and very much in a shell in this role. But the real star of this film is Brennan. He's at his most cantankerous and at the same time quite sublime. His final scene with his two grandsons is one of the eloquent and yet simple scenes he ever did in his long career.

This easy B film from 20th Century Fox holds up well as good family entertainment.