User reviews

Director Burt Kennedy took the same foursome of Texas Rangers from the Over The Hill Gang of 1969 and now has given them a new quest. Captain Richard Widmark is on the trail of Willie Nelson, an old war buddy from the Confederate Army and now a bank robber, who's back to his old tricks again. Only this time some young guns led by former teen bubble gum idol Shaun Cassidy have stolen the loot that Nelson and his gang had stolen from the gang in Del Rio.

Widmark and his cronies, Chuck Connors, Jack Elam, and Stuart Whitman turn out to have a lot more in common with the old outlaws, Nelson, Dub Taylor, Ken Curtis, Royal Dano, and Gene Evans than they think.

This group of old character actors were what made the movies so enjoyable back then. They had faces and identities you couldn't miss. We should all thank Burt Kennedy for assembling this whole crew for a last roundup.

As Willie Nelson says they may be old, but they are professionals and that's what counts when the chips are down.

There's a romantic subplot here. Widmark has always suspected his wife Angie Dickinson of having a yen for Nelson back in the day. That's a good deal of the reason he's pursuing Nelson with such vehemence.

It's a treat to see all these old timers again and the film is worth seeing just to see Jack Elam trade in his horse for a bicycle to keep up with the times.

After spending twenty years in prison, outlaw Willie Nelson gathers together his old gang, including brother Dub Taylor and Royal Dano, before returning to his old preoccupation with robbing a Texas train. Meanwhile retired Texas Ranger Richard Widmark gets his boys back together in order to capture them. They both end up tangling with a young gang, led by Shaun Cassidy.

A second, much belated sequel to the classic TV movie The Over The Hill Gang, this has Widmark, Chuck Conners, Jack Elam, and Stuart Whitman slipping into the roles previously held by Pat O'Brien, Walter Brennan, Edger Buchanan, and Chill Wills respectively, with Elam appearing as different characters in both films.

Well written, produced and directed by the great Burt Kennedy, this is reminiscent of his work on The War Wagon and The Train Robbers, all three being glib, fast-paced, and entertaining light-hearted western adventures, although this isn't as good as the other two.

Once Upon A Texas Train has a great cast of old-timers (mostly dead now), with nice cameos by Harry Carey Jr. and an especially frail-looking Hank Worden.

A pleasant, tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek western (with that Burt Kennedy touch) that gives up yet another adventure with some wonderful characters that were first introduced almost 20 years earlier. I speak of the ABC Movie-of-the-Week films "The Over-the-Hill Gang" and "The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again" (which was Fred Astaire's TV-film debut and ONLY western film--ever!) The character of Richard Widmark was earlier played by Pat O'Brien in the first film, with Chuck Connors taking over Walter Brennan's part and Jack Elam here "filling" in for Edgar Buchanan. Those earlier films (from 1969 & 1970 respectively) were light yet entertaining and this film does not fail in that genre. Some might argue that many of the actors are in their "golden years"--and that's to the viewer's advantage as you will soon realize that with age certainly comes style. Sit back, enjoy and find a smile creeping across your face as you discover that there ARE films out there that are made "like they used to be"!

When I watched this movie I had no idea it followed the exploits of the characters of "The Over-the-Hill Gang", so that was a pleasant surprise, since I liked those two old corny TV movies.

This entry has some pretty good dialogue, at least in the first half. Then, unfortunately, the movie bogs down and kind of drags toward a silly ending. But what the heck. Can't expect "Gone With the Wind", can we? There are a lot of errors in the movie; geographic, anachronisms, that sort of thing. But I doubt that anyone watches a movie like this expecting to find a realistic portrayal of the Old West. At the very least, it beats the heck out of watching "reality" TV.

Released to TV in 1988, "Once upon a Texas Train" is a Western about an aged outlaw who is paroled from prison after 20 years (Willie Nelson). After he brazenly robs a bank and reforms his old gang, his nemesis, a retired Texas Ranger (Richard Widmark), forms a posse to pursue them. But these two factions of withered men might have to join forces against a young gang of outlaws (led by Shaun Cassidy).

Writer/director Burt Kennedy was known for numerous Westerns, both theatrical and television, two of his best being "The War Wagon" (1967) and "The Train Robbers" (1973). This one isn't on that level because it was limited by a TV budget and included Willie Nelson, who's a charismatic guy but not the best actor. Nevertheless, it's a worthwhile Western featuring a can't-beat-it cast of Western stalwarts, like Chuck Connors, Stuart Whitman, Jack Elam and Angie Dickinson.

Also on the female front is the lovely Clare Carey, who was only 20 during shooting.

There's some effective comedy thrown in, mostly revolving around old age, not to mention a couple of laugh-out-loud jokes involving a bicycle. Lastly, you can't beat the superb Western locations of Arizona (Mescal, Old Tucson), Nevada (Ely) and California (Thousand Oaks).

The film runs 1 hour, 36 minutes and, while a standalone flick, was sort of the third movie in the "Over the Hill Gang" series, the first two being from 1969 and 1970 respectively.

GRADE: B-

Written and directed by Burt Kennedy, Once Upon a Texas Train stars Willie Nelson, Richard Widmark, Shaun Cassidy and Chuck Connors. Music is by Arthur Rubinstein and cinematography Ken Lamkin.

A TV movie that Western fans can enjoy more for nostalgia value than anything bordering must see entertainment. Plot essentially has aged criminals led by Nelson's John Henry Lee, being pursued by aged law enforcers led by Widmark's Captain Oren Hayes. The passing of time a persistent theme as Kennedy throws in fun and sparky dialogue, narrative twists to make characters unlikely allies, while action flits in and out to off set the threat of impending boredom.

Made with love no doubt, and with the likes of Jack Elam and Royal Dano joining the Western roll call cast list, it's a passable Oater for lovers of such. 5/10

I found this 1987 movie now out on DVD to be very charming. Especially endearing were the initial descriptions of the players, markedly different from reality due to the passing of 20 years. I thought Willie Nelson did a credible job. He may be a little out of his comfort zone but his wry observations of a long lived and full life ring true. Richard Widmark's appearance as the Captain was a good casting fit. The man in charge of his unit but unsure and jealous about his wife's feelings for Willie Nelson's character. Self deprecating supporting actors whose special skills have been quite dulled by age.

A bit like watching the Airplane movies and those of their genre and enjoying the appearances of those actors of an earlier generation. Beautiful cinematography and landscape. An enjoyable diversion for a couple of hours.

A TV movie with big screen actors coming towards the end of, for some of them, illustrious careers. Richard Widmark for one. Willie Nelson as lead due more to his Country music status rather than acting skills. The glorious Jack Elam always worth the price of admission and Chuck Connors. Shaun Cassidy showing a skill with a degree of cheek and bravado that he could only of inherited from his magnifcent actor father Jack Cassidy. Storyline and setting in Arizona went down the road toward the great film to come in the 1990s, Tombstone. I am certainly racking up a lot of daytime westerns during this lockdown of 2020!

When Willie Nelson gets arrested by sheriff Richard Widmark, he spends twenty years in jail. Upon his release, he immediately gathers his old gang together again and robs a bank. Dick feels particularly rotten, since he helped vouch for his character while on the parole board. It becomes a personal mission of his to follow and capture Willie again, so he sets about finding his old gang as well. This is such a cute sequence - one of many in this cute movie - where Chuck Connors, Stuart Whitman, Jack Elam, and Royal Dano get back up on their proverbial horses.

I just love seeing all these white-haired old-timers out in the Wild West again. Richard Widmark is an absolute cutie pie, and Stuart Whitman has a lot of fun pretending he's older than he is. Jack Elam, who made a career out of playing really bad villains, has the most adorable character by far. He's jovial and funny, and it's hard to believe he ever played a bad guy. I'm so happy for him!

I wish there were more backstage trivia on the production, since there were so many old timers put together again. I'm sure everyone had a blast during filming, and I'm also sure it warmed audiences' hearts to see a good old fashioned western again. Check out this tv western and get ready to laugh, smile, and have a great time. You'll also see Kevin McCarthy, Harry Carey Jr., Gene Evans, and Angie Dickinson.

As the saying goes some men just never grow up. Others do grow up, and regret it until their last day.

For an average TV movie, it's very much worth seeing, if for no other reason, but to see some of the greats of the past.

While the story and thought behind the movie is frankly delightful, the script somewhat let's it down.

To conclude, the original plan was a great idea. Only 10 minutes into the movie and you will forget how bad the script is, because you just can't help liking both the idea and the wonderful characters!. Not great but enjoyable!.

Was ok but I have seen way better. I did watch it all the way thru. But I would hesitate to recommend it. But there again if you have nothing better to do try it. James Welch 5/23/2022.

Okay, Willie Nelson has to be one of the worst actors that ever opened his mouth in front of a camera. Can you say "self-conscious"??? How about also "stilted" (as in his delivery), "awkward" (as in his gestures), and "stiff as a board" (as in his demeanor). There's nothing nostalgic here either, just a bunch of old actors (and Willie, who is NOT an actor) trying' to make a buck, as far as I can see. Then there's Shaun Cassidy, who looks like his mother, Shirley Jones, with a cowboy hat on. Can you say, "out of his league"? If he attended the Willie Nelson School of Acting, he might actually be better than he is here. You can get about 5 minutes out of watching this film, then even an infomercial looks like a better option. Fuggedaboutit!

This film starts off with John Henry Lee, (Willie Nelsen) trying to rob a train of its gold and he is caught by Capt. Owen Hayes, (Richard Widmark) who was an old friend of John Henry, but they had a difference of feelings over a woman named Maggie Hayes, (Angie Dickinson). John Henry is sent to prison for twenty-years and as soon as he gets out, he rounds up some of his old old time gang and is bound and determined to rob a bank and maybe another train. The film goes around and around in circles with old time actors like Nash Crawford, (Chuck Connors) and many more who all have their own story to tell, and sometimes it is very boring. The only person in this film that seemed to keep their looks was Angie Dickinson and she played a very brief role.

This film begins with an outlaw gang led by a cowboy named "John Henry Lee" (Willie Nelson) in the process of robbing a train when some Texas Rangers appear and arrest them on the spot. The scene then shifts to 20 years later with John Henry Lee finally being released from prison on good behavior. That very night he teams up with his brother "Charlie Lee" (Dub Taylor) and they rob a bank. Needless to say, this infuriates a former Texas Ranger named "Captain Owen Hayes" (Richard Widmark) who vouched for him at his parole hearing. So, intent on arresting him once again, Captain Hayes assembles his old colleagues and off they ride in the direction John Henry Lee is likely to go. For his part, John Henry Lee has already anticipated that this would happen, and he has also assembled his old crew as well. What neither of them count on, however, is another group of much younger bandits led by a man known simply as "Cotton" (Shaun Cassidy) who isn't impressed with either of the other two groups and intends on taking all of the stolen money for himself. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film borrowed heavily from the Western comedy "The Over-the- Hill Gang" which was released back in 1969. More specifically, all of the names of the characters from the Texas Rangers--and many of the same age-related issues affecting them--had been copied from that previous movie. Because of that, I'm not sure whether to call this film a sequel or a remake. In any case, I thought that this was still an enjoyable Western comedy due in large part to the casting of numerous actors who were no longer in their prime but had made a definite impact on the motion picture industry. I especially liked the performance of Jack Elam (as "Jason Fitch") who I thought was absolutely hilarious. Also of note is the fact that Jack Elam was also featured in the 1969 movie (but as another character) as well. Be that as it may, one particular problem was that, with so many good actors cast in this film, it was difficult for any of them to really stand out--other than Jack Elam, in my opinion. In any case, while this film was certainly not the best Western comedy every produced, I still enjoyed it for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.