Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven (1948))

'Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven' is another example of Diana Lynn making the best out of another B picture, though this is in fact better then I expected and based on a best selling novel, 1943's 'Eddie and the Archangel Mike' by Barry Benefield (1877-1971). Upon inheriting $6,000 from his grandfather (roughly $70,000 in today's money) Eddie Tayloe (Guy Madison) leaves his thankless job on the Fort Worth desk of the Dallas News, to move to New York and write his play. On the way north Eddie picks up Perry Dunkin (Lynn), she fixes his car for him, but becomes convinced that he is in fact a bank robber on the lamb. 

The two make it to New York and have misadventures together, including adopting an aging pick pocket (Florence Bates, maybe the best thing in the movie) as their mother, our leads having taken to representing themselves as brother and sister. Eventually the two acknowledge their feelings for each other and move back to Texas to start a ranch. 

Lead Guy Madison had no acting experience prior to being sighted  by David O. Selznick's 'head of talent' Henry Wilson in 1944. Madison was on leave from the navy at the time and Wilson signed him based purely on his looks. He is today best remembered, if remembered at all, for playing Wild Bill Hickok for seven seasons (1951-1958) on 'The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok', and as the husband of actress Gail Russell. He was slightly better then I expected him to be.

Supporting players include Lionel Stander as a talkative bellhop, James Dunn as sympathetic bar keep Mike, and wicked witch Margaret Hamilton as one of Lynn's three spinster land ladies.

The film is directed by William Castle, who at this point in his career was directing a whole lot of B pictures for the studios, though he would go on to be an independent low budget horror master and gimmick king, before optioning the rights to a little book called 'Rosemary's Baby', the rest is history. 

Charming and low key. A mechanical horse parlor is a major plot point. The film is poorly edited with a rushed conclusion. Though boasts fun period location shots from Dallas and Brooklyn. **