''The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again'' starring

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

and

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

is a 1970 ''

ABC Movie of the Week ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

'' sequel to the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

The Over-the-Hill Gang ''The Over-the-Hill Gang'' is a 1969 American made-for-television Western comedy film about a group of aging Texas Rangers, starring Walter Brennan and Pat O'Brien. Chill Wills, Edgar Buchanan, Andy Devine, and Jack Elam play supporting rol ...

''. The supporting cast includes

Edgar Buchanan William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the ''Petticoat Junction'', ''Green Acres'', and ''The ...

Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature fil ...

, Chill Wills,

Lana Wood Lana Wood (born Svetlana Lisa Gurdin; March 1, 1946) is an American actress and producer. She made her film debut in ''The Searchers'' as a child actress and later achieved notability for playing Sandy Webber on the TV series '' Peyton Place'' a ...

, and Burt Mustin (all of whom, except Wood, were in ''The Over-the-Hill Gang''). Like the 1969 original, the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

involves a group of aging Texas Rangers and was written by Richard Carr and directed by

George McCowan George McCowan (June 27, 1927 – November 1, 1995) was a Canadian film and television director in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. McCowan began his career working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He worked as an actor and director fo ...

Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien may refer to: Politicians * Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons *Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament Others *Pat O'Br ...

had played the second lead in the first film, but his character was left out of the sequel and he was effectively replaced by Astaire, who was not in the original film.

Richard Widmark Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, ''Kiss of Death'' (1947) ...

played O'Brien's character in a quasi- remake two decades later entitled ''

Once Upon a Texas Train ''Once Upon a Texas Train'' (also known as ''Texas Guns'') is a 1988 American comedy Western television film, directed by Burt Kennedy and starring Willie Nelson and Richard Widmark. Plot The movie opens with a train robbery in Texas, but a gr ...

'', in which the Over-the-Hill Gang, with an entirely new cast including

Stuart Whitman Stuart Maxwell Whitman (February 1, 1928 – March 16, 2020) was an American actor, known for his lengthy career in film and television. Whitman was born in San Francisco and raised in New York until the age of 12, when his family relocated to ...

, played supporting roles to

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

's train robber. This was the final film for three-time winner

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winner

Cast

as Nash Crawford *

as the Baltimore Kid *

as Jason Fitch *

as Amos Polk * Chill Wills as Gentleman George Asque * Paul Richards as Sam Braham *

as Katie Flavin *

Parley Baer Parley Edward Baer (August 5, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Cheste ...

as Waco Mayor *

Walter Burke Walter Lawrence Burke (August 25, 1908 – August 4, 1984) was an American character actor of stage, film, and television whose career in entertainment spanned over a half century. Although he was a native of New York, Burke's Irish ances ...

as Mac a.k.a. Tom (Waco Stableman) * Lillian Bronson as Mrs. Louise Murphy *

Jonathan Hole Jonathan Hole (August 13, 1904 – February 11, 1998) was an American actor whose entertainment career covered five genres over 50 years. From his early days on the vaudeville stage and in legitimate theater, through radio, television and featu ...

as Parson * Burt Mustin as Best Man * Don Wilbanks as Bar X Cowboy *

Pepper Martin Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin (February 29, 1904 – March 5, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressive baserunning ab ...

as Drifter *

Eddie Quillan Edward Quillan (March 31, 1907 – July 19, 1990) was an American film actor and singer whose career began as a child on the vaudeville stages and silent film and continued through the age of television in the 1980s. Vaudeville and silent fi ...

as Silver Dollar Bartender (uncredited)

Plot

Old and retired Sergeant Nash Crawford (Brennan), formerly of the Texas Rangers, enters a saloon where his former partner, Gentleman George Asque (Wills), plays poker with a man and beats him 10 times in a row. The man calls George a cheater and prepares to draw his gun, but Nash saves his comrade by calling him "Wyatt," making the stranger mistakenly assume he is

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which l ...

. The two exit the saloon. Nash gives George a telegram which says that they should go to

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

because former partner the renowned Baltimore Kid (Astaire) is in trouble. It is signed "Friend." Jason Fitch (Buchanan) is marrying Louise Murphy (Bronson). George and Nash appear on the eve of the wedding to take Jason with them to Waco; they convince him to come by shouting the Ranger code " Brazos!" Jason promises Louise that he will return and leaves with his friends. In Waco, they find out that "Friend" was Amos Polk, a former outlaw, now a newspaper man. Polk takes them to the Baltimore Kid's crudely marked grave, telling them the Kid had been critically wounded after a deadly robbery at the Wells Fargo office and was then lynched by the townspeople. At first it is unclear why Polk called them, but when he shows them the Kid's wallet, they read a note that the Kid wrote, summoning his comrades when he dies. The four sad friends go to the saloon to commiserate, where they meet a drunk who looks very much like the Baltimore Kid, and is indeed him. They take him back to the newspaper office, and convince Polk to publish that the real Baltimore Kid is alive and well and not an armed robber. The comrades clean up the Kid and provide him with some new some clothes and a new gun. His gravestone is removed, and he becomes the Waco city marshal; the old Rangers are now his deputies. Now it is clear to everyone that the bandit who killed the previous marshal and his deputies was only posing as the Kid. The actual gang returns to Waco to retrieve their hidden Wells Fargo contraband and to kill the real Baltimore Kid. A gunfight in the streets of Waco ensues and the Rangers win against the outlaws, but the Kid is shot dead. The citizens of Waco bury the Kid again, this time with honors. The old Rangers leave, but, at the end of the town, the Baltimore Kid is waiting, very much alive, now able to lead a life of peace and quiet. All of them go with Jason Fitch, who still has his wedding to attend.

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "very pallid and silly"."NBC May Hasten Film Programming" Smith, Cecil. ''Los Angeles Times'' 23 Nov. 1970: pg. 23.

References

External links

* *
WFMO.EU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again, The American sequel films ABC Movie of the Week 1970 television films 1970 films Films produced by Aaron Spelling Films scored by David Raksin American Western (genre) comedy films Television sequel films United States Marshals Service in fiction Films directed by George McCowan 1970s American films