The Man from Galveston

John Chard

The Soiled Dove Plea. The Man from Galveston is directed by William Conrad and co-written by Dean Riesner and Michael Zagor. It stars Jeffrey Hunter, Preston Foster, James Coburn and Joanna Moore. Music is by David Buttolph and cinematography by Bert Glennon. Originally shot as the pilot for the TV series Temple Houston, this was ushered out onto the big screen as a double billing entity. What we get is a very competent piece of film making, if ultimately it never ignites into being something remotely thrilling. Set at the time of the circuit courts in 1800s Texas, it sees Hunter playing Timothy Higgins (Temple Lea Houston in reality). A cunningly bold lawyer who is not without the compunction to use his firearm should the need arise. Herein is the problem as such, the pic doesn't reach out to the gun play angle for entertaining purpose, instead it settles for sedate character play, propped up by the legal by-play as Higgins cements his standing as a man who is at the top of his craft. Studio bound but boosted by Glennon's crisp photography, as a production it's hard to find fault with, this is certainly no dud. But it sits firmly in the time waster department, not really grabbing the iron out of the fire to give a firecracker telling of the fascinating Temple Houston. But with that comes a major bonus, in that it begs you to read up on the real life Temple Houston (son of Sam Houston), well worth digging into, especially the outstanding Soiled Dove Plea of which this play is formed around. 5/10