Kris Kristofferson is Hugh Allison and Scott Bairstow is the younger Son Holland, two men languishing in a Louisiana prison.
Whippings and brutality are an everyday occurrence there as the prisoners work on a chain gang under the watchful eye of the brutal Landry brothers.
One day, they see a chance to escape while on a work detail and take it. Allison kills Alcide Landry in the process.
Knowing his brother Emile will be on their trail, the escapees head toward Texas where Sam Houston is looking for men to fight the Mexicans under Santa Anna. In fact, he’s offering free land to those who volunteer to fight.
During a stop at a Chochtaw village, the two companions gain a third, a Tawanka Indian captive named Sana.
She’s a spirited gal who belts Allison with a piece of firewood when he tries to take advantage of her. But she soon develops a relationship with Holland.
Ah, but she’ll need to be left behind when the real fighting begins. And Allison and Holland soon have something to fight for other than free land.
Some of their friends, including Jim Bowie, have died at the Alamo. And Emile Landry, the man who has put a bounty on their heads, has joined up with Santa Anna.
Kris Kristofferson as Hugh Allison, ready to fight for Texas and his own freedom in Two for Texas (1998)
Scott Bairstow as Son Holland, scouting Santa Anna’s army for Sam Houston in Two for Texas (1998)
Review:
A TNT original movie that deserves credit for trying to tell an original story rather than simply rehashing the Texas Revolution’s climatic battle of San Jacinto.
Unfortunately, it comes off as two politically correct at times. Kris Krostofferson’s character tells young Holland that the whites are the real savages. And Sana certainly cures Holland’s hatred of Indians.
Meanwhile, our two heroes wind up in the middle of the action so often, it strains the film’s credibility. Upon hearing the Alamo is in trouble, they gallop off to the rescue of Jim Bowie and company.
They arrive too late, of course. But they do discover Susannah Dickinson and help her back to safety. And they recover Bowie’s namesake knife.
Upon returning to Houston’s forces, are they scolded for abandoning their posts? Nope. Instead, they’re two of three men Houston selects to scout for Santa Anna’s army.
Irene Bedard brightens up the proceedings as the pretty captive who saves Allison’s life during a river crossing, then proves deadly in a pinch when the traveling party encounters three bounty hunters.
Prior to this film, Bairstow had played Newt Call in the Lonesome Dove TV series. He’d later land a recurring role in Party of Five. He’s made just one film appearance since a 2004 guilty plea after being accused of a relationship with a minor.
Irene Bedard as Sana, the Tawanka captive who changes Holland’s thinking about Indians in Two for Texas (1998)
Tom Skerritt as Sam Houston, listening to Son Holland explain why he want to join up to fight in Two for Texas (1998)
Directed by:
Rod Hardy
Cast:
Kris Kristofferson … Hugh Allison
Scott Bairstow … Son Holland
Irene Bedard … Sana
Tom Skerritt … Sam Houston
Peter Coyote … Jim Bowie
Victor Rivers … Emile Landry
Tom Schuster … Alcide Landry
Rodney A. Grant … Iron Jacket
Marco Rodriguez … Gen. Santa Anna
Karey Green … Susannah Dickinson
Richard Andrew Jones … Deaf Smith
Richard Nance … Pike
Lonnie Rodriguez … Sergeant Major
Julia Cesar Deillo … Lt. Herrera
Woody Watson … Lt. Burnett
Carlos Compean … Capt. Trejo
Alex Morris … Rex
James Terry McIlvain … Trusty Luke
Runtime: 96 min.
Victor Rivers as Emile Landry, the prison warden who puts a price on the heads of Allison and Holland after his brother’s death in Two for Texas (1998)
Tom Schuster as Alcide Landry, cruel overseer at a Lousiana prison in Two for Texas (1998)
Memorable lines:
Son Holland, during the escape attempt: “Did you have to kill him?”
Hugh Allison: “Don’t be stupid, boy.”
Son Holland, when Allison suggests visiting the Chocktaw Indians: “I ain’t eatin’ with no savages. Don’t want nothin’ to do with ’em.”
Hugh Allison: “Listen, there ain’t nothin’ more savage than a white man.”
Hugh Allison, watching Sana scalp a white thief she just stabbed to death: “Reckon I got off easy when she went up alongside my head with that firewood.”
Jim Bowie to Hugh Allison: “You got a good recollector for having your head stove in as much as it was.”
Hugh Allison, surveying the death and destruction at the Alamo: “I figured I’d have to be dead before I seen hell.”
Rodney A. Grant as Iron Jacket, the Chocktaw chief Allison and Holland trade with in Two for Texas (1998)
Peter Coyote as Jim Bowie, getting reacquainted with old friend Hugh Allison in Two for Texas (1998)
Richard Andrew Jones as Deaf Smith, one of Sam Houston’s most trusted scouts in Two for Texas (1998)
Marco Rodriguez as Gen. Santa Anna, determined to wipe out all resistance to his rule in Two for Texas (1998)
Karey Green as Susannah Dickinson, still reeling from what happened at the Alamo in Two for Texas (1998)
Irene Bedford as Sana and Robert Bairstow as Son Holland, forced to part, at least temporarily in Two for Texas (1998)
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