4 For Texas
Robert Aldrich, US 1963; Drehbuch: Teddi Sherman, Robert Aldrich; Kamera: Ernest Laszlo; Schnitt: Michael Luciano; Musik: Nelson Riddle; Darsteller*innen: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Anita Ekberg, Ursula Andress, Charles Bronson, Richard Jaeckel. 35mm, Farbe, 115 min. EnglischWith OCEAN’S ELEVEN (1960), Aldrich’s mentor Lewis Milestone had launched the Rat Pack film craze, and Aldrich jumped on the bandwagon with this Western comedy. Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin play cowboys who foil a stagecoach robbery only to try to steal the loot from one another. Soon they find themselves back in the sights of the bandit (Charles Bronson)… Although conceived as a Western satire, the genre stays just a backdrop in 4 FOR TEXAS: with its crude mix of child-friendly slapstick (including a guest appearance by the Three Stooges), sex comedy (with European star actresses Ursula Andress and Anita Ekberg) and Rat Pack inside jokes, the film failed to find an audience and is a rare example of an Aldrich film without any deeper meaning. Instead, it ofers light hearted entertainment featuring the largest cast of Aldrich regulars in his entire career—and is screening in a rare Technicolor print. The experience of making the film was soured for Aldrich because Sinatra didn’t share his work ethic and only showed up intermittently: “I thought 4 FOR TEXAS could be a ‘fun’ picture, a kind of high-style comedy. Mr. Sinatra and I didn’t get along […] You can’t do this sort of thing with your left hand, you have to work very hard at it.” (C.H.)
Einführung von Christoph Huber am 28.10.2026
Courtesy Harvard Film Archive
Screening dates:
Mi 28.10.2026 10:45
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