The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again

The first Over-The-Hill-Gang movie proved so popular on television that a sequel was practically demanded from producers Walter Brennan, Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas. Probably only the age of the protagonists kept this from becoming a regular series. Maybe if Walter Brennan, Edgar Buchanan, and Chill Wills had been ten years younger it might very well have become a weekly series.

After settling things in Nevada for Pat O'Brien in the first movie the other three retired Texas Rangers go back to their settled lives and then they receive another summons. It's from Andy Devine who was a crooked judge in the first movie, but who now is a newspaper editor in Waco. An old friend of their's, the Baltimore Kid has been accused of a stagecoach robbery and murder. When Brennan, Wills, and Buchanan, arrive in Waco they hear the Baltimore Kid has been lynched for those crimes.

But that can't be when they spot the Baltimore Kid in a saloon looking three sheets to the wind. The Kid is played by Fred Astaire who finally got a western to his credits. He dances nary a step, but he staggers a lot.

The old Rangers sober him up the way Robert Mitchum was in El Dorado and Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou and clear the blot upon his reputation. So much so that the town offers to make him marshal. After that they have to stay around and back him up so he doesn't get himself killed. And that gang that did the robbery is still around.

Brennan, Wills, Devine, and Buchanan settle back comfortably in their parts. So does Lillian Bronson who Buchanan was about to get married to when the second summons comes. Parley Baer plays the unctuous mayor of the town and Lana Wood plays a femme fatale saloon girl with quite a scheme of her own.

If you liked the first Over-The-Hill Gang movie, no reason you won't like The Over-The-Hill Gang Rides Again.

The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again is not much better, nor much worse than its predecessor. Rather, it's more of a so-so movie.

The production value, cast, and sets are pretty good. I also like how this movie moved at a faster pace than the original. That being said, it sadly lacks in both humor and runtime (being 75 minutes long, it almost feels like an overly long TV episode).

All in all, The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again is a good movie for families and middle-aged Western fans to see. Its second act is a bit disappointing, but its third act makes up for it, I am glad to say. This movie isn't Oscar worthy, but it has a nostalgic appeal that I'm sure many will love.

this sequel to the original movie was a bit better,i thought.the story was more interesting,and there were more funny moments.there is less action than the first one,but that didn't make much difference to me.the same characters are back.(Nash Crawford)Walter Brennan,(Jason Fitch)Edgar Buchanan,Amos Polk(Andy Devine) and Gentleman George Agnew(Chill Wills)are all in good form here,but it is the addition of Fred Astaire which makes the movie.Astaire steals the show,in my opinion.like the first movie,this one is a lot of fun,and suitable for most family members,probably anyone 10 or older.for me,The Over the Hill Gang Rides Again is a 6.3/10

Former Texas Rangers Walter Brennan, Edger Buchanan, and Chill Wills get back together in order to help their old comrade Fred Astaire, who's apparently landed in jail. Arriving, they find Astaire dead - dead drunk that is and the jailed impostor lynched. The gang decides to stick around to keep Astaire sober and out of trouble, as he gets hired on as the new town marshal.

Marginally better than the first film, this still seems a little too much like a long episode of a television series. Still, the cast of veteran actors and old western stars are entertaining, especially Astaire in his first and only western.

Eighteen years later, a new group of aging stars stepped into Brennan, Buchanan, and Wills' shoes for a second, much belated sequel, Once Upon A Texas Train.

We watched this back-to-back with The Over the Hill Gang ... both available on Amazon Prime. We missed Pat O'Brien from the first movie, and I'd still like to know what kept him from being in this one ... unless the budget just wasn't large enough to carry both him and Fred Astaire.

I'll have to be honest. Fred didn't add much to this picture. Although he was a good actor, they gave him very little to work with here. All the juicy lines and action fell to Walter Brennan and Chill Wills, with a bit of "can't see well" humor falling to Edward Buchannan.

And, there wasn't really an overarching story line like the original. Still, it was fun to watch the old favorites gather, and we're glad we saw it.