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.

The top supporting actors of mid-20th century Westerns return in this TV movie sequel, "The Over the Hill Gang Rides Again." Walter Brennan, Edgar Buchanan and Chill Wills head for Waco, Texas, from their respective towns of retirement. An old friend and comrade from their Texas Ranger days is in trouble. "A friend" sent Sgt. Nash Crawford (Brennan) a note, telling him that The Baltimore Kid is in trouble.

Well, Nash rounds up Jason Fitch (Buchanan) and Gentleman George Agnew (Chill Wills) so that the former Texas Rangers can go to the rescue of one of their former comrades. It turns out that the "friend" who sent the note is Amos Polk (Andy Devine). He had been on the wrong side of the law in the first film, but turned a new leaf in that film, and now was a newspaper publisher in Waco.

The new guy in the cast of old-timers is a very familiar face to movie buffs, but someone no one would imagine being in a Western. Fred Astaire plays The Baltimore Kid in the only Western film he ever made. And, his role is very funny and much better than the other top role that Pat O'Brien had in the first film. It may be irreverent to call Astaire a "hoofer" for a career as perhaps the greatest male dancer in the history of Hollywood. But, one thinks that the agile Astaire wouldn't mind in this case, and would even get a kick out of it, where he stars in a film with so many four-legged hoofers.

The plot of this film has a little intrigue and is more interesting than the first film. And, it has a nice little twist at the end. Here are a couple favorite lines from this film.

The Baltimore Kid, "Well, I used to be able to hit the head of a nail at about 50 feet. Now I'd shoot my foot off."

Nash Crawford, after The Kid is sober and cleaned up, "Let's face it. We got a one-day reformed drunk wearin' new clothes."

After getting a message stating that an old colleague by the name of "The Baltimore Kid" (Fred Astaire) was about to be executed in Waco, Texas for bank robbery, a former Texas Ranger named "Nash Crawford" (Walter Brennan) decides to ride out there to see what he can do. Joining him are some of his fellow Texas Ranger comrades "Jason Fitch" (Edgar Buchanan) and "Gentleman George" (Chill Wills) who also hope to testify as character witnesses. To their surprise, once they get to Waco, they are told by an old acquaintance named "Amos Polk" (Andy Devine) that The Baltimore Kid had just been lynched a couple of days earlier and his grave is on the outside of town. Needless to say, they are quite saddened by this news and, to help ease their sorrow, they decide to head over to the local saloon to commiserate with one another. While there, they each happen to see an extremely intoxicated man who looks exactly like their long-lost comrade. And it's then that they realize that the bank robber who was lynched was an imposter and that their friend is alive and well. The only problem, however, is that the gang who robbed the bank think that Amos Polk knows where the money is and that, to get their hands on it, they to kill the former Texas Rangers in the process. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an adequate sequel to the previous film with both Walter Brennan and Chill Wills putting in solid performances overall. Admittedly, although some of the scenes were rather light-hearted, the comedy itself wasn't very sharp or unique. Even so, it managed to pass the time well enough, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

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.