For a short time in the early ’80s, Tulsa and the surrounding areas were turned into a small bit of Hollywood, thanks to author S.E. Hinton and flicks based on her books like The Outsiders and Rumble Fish—both directed by Francis Ford Coppola—filmed there to great acclaim.
The one film that, to me, seems to be woefully forgotten, is also my favorite of them all: 1982’s Tex, surprisingly released by Walt Disney. Directed by Tim Hunter—something of a rural punk due to movies like Over the Edge and River’s Edge—this Hinton-adaptation starred Matt Dillion as high-schooler Tex, a mixed-up kid in Bixby, Oklahoma.
Living on a small farm with his hard-working brother while their irresponsible father travels the rodeo circuit, Tex is basically still a kid, prone to throwing tantrums when he doesn’t get his way. And, for about an hour and a half, we follow him as he gets into one self-earned scrape after another, from laughable moments like setting caps in the typewriters, to far more adult territory, such as drinking and sex.