Under a Texas Moon

Don Carlos, a charming, roguish Mexican adventurer—part troubadour, part outlaw—wanders freely across Texas accompanied by his two loyal, guitar-strumming companions, Pedro and Philipe. Living by wit, seduction, and improvisation rather than any honest trade, Don Carlos delights in romance and danger alike, presenting himself as an irresistible cavalier to every woman he meets.

Their travels bring them to the Lazy Y Ranch, where Don Carlos quickly captures the attention of the beautiful sisters Dolores and Raquella, courting both simultaneously with playful devotion and promises of eternal love. At the ranch, foreman Jed Parker and owner Gus Aldrich are desperate: a mysterious bandit has been stealing cattle across the region with complete impunity. Recognizing Don Carlos’s boldness, Parker offers him a substantial reward to recover the stolen cattle and capture the thief. Don Carlos accepts—naming a high price—then gallantly bids farewell to the ranch and the sisters, promising a swift return.

However, true to his nature, Don Carlos is immediately distracted from his mission. Along the road, he encounters a beautiful young woman bathing in a stream. When a threatening “Bad Man” appears, Don Carlos intervenes, even gambling for her safety and winning. Yet, having satisfied his sense of gallantry—and his curiosity—he quickly loses interest and continues on his way, much to the exasperation of Pedro and Philipe, who urge him to focus on the task at hand.

Soon after, Don Carlos stops at a Mexican inn, where the innkeeper, José Romero, noticing his wealth, attempts to poison him with drugged wine. Ever alert, Don Carlos turns the tables, forcing the innkeeper to drink the poisoned wine himself. The man collapses as if dead. His daughter, Lolita Romero, furious and grief-stricken, vows revenge and calls upon her brother Antonio, a bullfighter, to hunt Don Carlos down. Unperturbed, Don Carlos flirts even with the enraged Lolita Romero before making his escape, adding yet another enemy to his growing list.

Continuing his journey, Don Carlos arrives at the hacienda of Don Roberto, an old acquaintance who once cheated him. There he encounters Roberto’s daughter, Lolita Roberto, who confides in him that she is being forced to marry the brutal and unwanted Pancho Gonzalez. Sympathetic—and predictably amorous—Don Carlos consoles her, even stealing kisses, and briefly considers intervening more directly. However, upon learning her name and sensing further complications, he hastily departs before becoming entangled in yet another dangerous situation.

Eventually remembering his mission, Don Carlos sets out in earnest to locate the cattle thief. He succeeds in finding the stolen herd and drives it back toward the Lazy Y Ranch, though he notably makes no effort to apprehend the culprit.

Back at the ranch, tensions rise as Dolores and Raquella quarrel over Don Carlos’s affections, each convinced she holds his heart. Meanwhile, all the men Don Carlos has crossed—the Bad Man, Antonio, and Pancho Gonzalez—converge on the ranch seeking vengeance.

Don Carlos arrives triumphantly with the recovered cattle, greeted with celebration by Parker, Aldrich, and the assembled ranchers. When he demands his full reward, Parker refuses to pay it all, pointing out that Don Carlos has failed to capture the thief. With characteristic audacity, Don Carlos declares that the thief is present among them and offers to reveal his identity—once he is paid.

After receiving the money, Don Carlos suddenly draws his guns, joined by Pedro and Philipe, and coolly announces that he himself is the thief. With effortless bravado, he holds the entire group at gunpoint, herds them into a storage room (or cooler), and locks them inside before making his escape.

Dolores and Raquella, believing themselves chosen, each rush off to prepare to elope with him—but Don Carlos departs before either can return, abandoning them both without remorse.

Riding away, he encounters Lolita Romero, who has pursued him in search of revenge. Yet when she finally confronts him, her anger falters in the face of his charm. Overcome by his charisma, she drops her weapon, and her desire replaces her fury. This time, however, something changes in Don Carlos: rather than simply conquering and moving on, he is genuinely affected by Lolita Romero’s passion and spirit.

In a rare moment of sincerity, Don Carlos sweeps her onto his horse and rides off with her toward Mexico—leaving behind his trail of broken promises, humiliated rivals, and amused legend—perhaps, for the first time, embracing something resembling real attachment.

The film survives as a single nitrate Technicolor print, copied by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

New York Latinos led by Gonzalo González protested the film, characterizing it as "anti-Mexican" mainly because Frank Fay portrayed Mexicans as being liars and womanizers. Police brutalized the picketers, killing González. The murder sparked a pan-Latino protest, in which the Latino civil rights activist Luisa Moreno participated. She later told Bert Corona that the experience "motivated her to work on behalf of unifying the Spanish-speaking communities."^[2]

• List of early color feature films