There is something feline - almost feminine - in the way Mr G.Cooper walks to his first - reel showdown with Wild Bill Hickock(a piece of theatre put on in order to get the law off his back) that bodes well for those who like slightly anarchic Westerns. When Mr Cooper is killed everybody in the cinema knows exactly what has gone on but it seems to fool those whom it was intended to fool,in direct contradiction to Barnum's proposition. In "Dallas" it seems that not everybody knows they are appearing in a slightly camp send - up of the big Technicolor horse operas that were Hollywood's early riposte to the television age. Miss R.Roman seems to take her role seriously,that's for certain. Mr L. Ericson plays his part as a dime store Liberace. This is the sort of film Mr A.Dwan would have delighted in. The dialogue is brilliantly anachronistic,confirming that a few tongues were in cheeks at the production office. Entertaining and amusing,"Dallas" would have been well worth my one and nine in 1950.
Review of Dallas
