Tex Takes a Holiday: A Dusty, Forgettable Trail

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you're a completist for 1930s horse operas or really, really miss the feeling of a scratchy projector screen. It’s a very specific kind of comfort food for people who find Bucking the Truth too complex.

If you're looking for snappy dialogue or, you know, a plot that makes sense, keep walking. You'll probably hate the way the scenes just sort of end without any real payoff.

The vibe is mostly dirt

There's a lot of staring off into the distance in this movie. Characters do a lot of walking into frame, saying three lines that sound like they were written on a napkin, and then leaving.

At one point, Tex—played with that stiff, jaw-clenching intensity that defines the era—just wanders through a canyon for what feels like a week. It’s quiet. Maybe a bit too quiet. You start to wonder if the boom operator just took a nap.

Odd little moments

• The spurs make the exact same clink-clink sound every single time someone takes a step. It’s almost hypnotic.
• George Chesebro looks like he’s trying to remember his lines while he’s actively being punched. It’s kind of endearing.
• The horses seem to have more charisma than half the supporting cast. They just stand there looking bored, which is honestly a mood.

It’s not quite as charming as Cyclone Smith's Partner, but it has that same dusty desperation. You can tell they were just trying to get the sun to hit the actors at the right angle before everything turned into silhouettes.

The "Mystery"

The whole framed-for-a-crime thing? It’s basically just an excuse to get Tex to ride a horse into a new town. There’s no real detective work here.

People just shout accusations at each other until someone pulls a gun. Then they run away. It’s very simple, very repetitive, and kind of lovely in its own brain-dead way.

Sometimes you don't need a meditation on the human condition. Sometimes you just need a guy in a cowboy hat yelling at a wall. 🌵