Thunder Over Texas Explained

Thunder Over Texas
Director:Edgar G. Ulmer
Producer:Arthur Alexander
Max Alexander
Starring:See below
Cinematography:Harry Forbes
Editing:George M. Merrick
Studio:M & A Alexander Productions Inc.
Distributor:Beacon Pictures
Runtime:61 minutes
Country:United States
Language:English

Thunder Over Texas is a 1934 American populist contemporary Western film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer under the alias Joen Warner (the name of Ulmer's previous wife)[1] and produced by two nephews of Universal Pictures head Carl Laemmle, Arthur and Max Alexander's Poverty Row Beacon Productions. The film's story was written by Shirley Ulmer under the name of Sherle Castle. Shirley was then married to Max Alexander but would soon leave Max to marry Edgar with the result that Lammele blacklisted Ulmer from Hollywood.[2] The film was shot in Kernville, California.

Thunder Over Texas was the first of several Westerns produced by the Alexanders starring Guinn "Big Boy" Williams.[3]

Plot

The film opens with an apparent bank robbery terminated when the driver of the alleged getaway car is fatally shot by a sniper. Inside the car is the late driver's daughter, Tiny Norton who is adopted by rancher Ted Wright and his Three Stooges type ranch hands, Tom, Dick and Harry, the "Three Radio Nuts" who spend their time impersonating radio stars. The robbery and assassination of Tiny's father was orchestrated by a cruel and corrupt banker in cahoots with a crooked sheriff.

Cast

Quotes

"I'll get you for this!" - Sheriff Collier
"Don't let anything stop you but fear" - Ted Wright

Notes and References

  1. p, 231 Weaver, Tom Shirley Ulmer Interview in I Was a Monster Movie Maker: Conversations with 22 SF and Horror Filmmakers McFarland, 16 Jun 2001
  2. pp. 77-78 Isenberg, Noah Edgar G. Ulmer: A Filmmaker at the Margins Univ of California Press, 9 Jan. 2014
  3. p. 55 Pitts, Michael R. Poverty Row Studios, 1929-1940: An Illustrated History of 55 Independent Film Companies, with a Filmography for Each McFarland, 1 Jan. 2005