Powderkeg

Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole attempt to save a train full of passengers held hostage. This is a very intense action film, full of action and even some comedy. This film acted as the pilot for the short lived 1970 series The Bearcats. This film seems to be a kind of 2 man A- Team. Great performances by Taylor, and Fernando Lamas is excellent as the bandit.

A bandit takes a train with 73 passengers hostage in order to save his brother to be hanged, the only possible solution is to hire two brave adventurers who will do the impossible to accomplish their task. One more problem is at stake when a mexican lady (Paluzzi) decides to take revenge on the two bandit brothers. Taylor is excellent and Luciana Paluzzi beautiful as ever.Taylor & Paluzzi teamed before in 1967`s western

Just watched it again and still love it. I was 13 when I first saw this movie and it grabbed me from the opening sequence. The musical score, the Bearcat car, Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole...and the impossible job. Very much in the vain of "Guns of Navarone" except in the Mexican desert--an impossible job but a small group of men, specialists, might pull it off. The characters are strong and fun to be with. This movie introduced me to Rod Taylor and I have been a fan ever since. The sad thing is this movie has drifted off the radar screen. It never shows up on old movie channels. I fear it will fade away. It's too bad, because it is a really solid movie and well worth the time. The style is definitely 70s and so is the script, with its double ententes and sexual innuendos. One bit of trivia, the actress who played Juanita Sierra-Perez is Luciana Paluzzi, she played the femme fatale in the James Bond classic "Thunderball."

Whacked-out bandito Fernando Llamas holds a train load of passengers hostage and moving in circles, while he ransoms them for the release of his brother, who's in jail awaiting hanging. The railroad calls on smooth soldiers-of-fortune Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole to rescue the hostages and neutralize their captors.

This exciting made-for-television movie/series pilot is way ahead of it's time, anticipating shows and movies like "The A Team", The Delta Force, and even Speed. Why the resulting series "The Bearcats" failed and was forgotten, remains a mystery.

Here, Llamas appears to be having a hell of a time, playing his role with relish. His amusing, over-the-top performance is probably the best thing about this this, although Taylor seems to be enjoying himself greatly as well.

Things seem a little stretched out, but the climax is definitely worth sticking around for.

POWDERKEG is a made-for-television movie that acted as the pilot episode of the short-lived western TV series BEARCATS! This show paired a grizzled and middle-aged Rod Taylor with a young and muscular Dennis Cole as a couple of adventurers in the American west in the early days of the 20th century. This episode sees them being sent to take care of a Mexican gunslinger who's taken a train full of hostages and is threatening to execute them if his demands aren't met. It sounds fun, but it really isn't; the planning of the mission takes forever and there are endlessly long-winded dialogue scenes between the villains which drag the pace down interminably; I found it almost unwatchable at times.