The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
| The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again | |
|---|---|
| 185px | |
| Written by | Richard Carr |
| Directed by | George McCowan |
| Starring | Walter Brennan Fred Astaire Edgar Buchanan Andy Devine Chill Wills Lana Wood |
| Music by | David Raksin |
| Country of origin | US |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Shelley Hull |
| Cinematography | Fleet Southcott |
| Editor(s) | Richard W. Farrell |
| Running time | 75 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Thomas-Spelling Productions |
| Distributor | ABC |
| Release | |
| Original release | November 17, 1970 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Over-the-Hill Gang |
| External links | |
| [{{#property:P856}} Website] | |
The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again starring Walter Brennan and Fred Astaire is a 1970 ABC Movie of the Week sequel to the Western comedy The Over-the-Hill Gang. The supporting cast includes Edgar Buchanan, Andy Devine, Chill Wills, Lana Wood, and Burt Mustin (all of whom, except Wood, were in The Over-the-Hill Gang). Like the 1969 original, the sequel involves aging Texas Rangers and was written by Richard Carr and directed by George McCowan. Pat O'Brien 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. Richard Widmark played O'Brien's character in a quasi-remake two decades later in Once Upon a Texas Train, in which the Over-the-Hill Gang, with an entirely new cast including Stuart Whitman, played supporting roles to Willie Nelson's train robber.
This was the final film of Brennan, three-time winner of the Academy Award.
Cast
- Walter Brennan as Nash Crawford
- Fred Astaire as The Baltimore Kid
- Edgar Buchanan as Jason Fitch
- Andy Devine as Amos Polk
- Chill Wills as Gentleman George Asque
- Paul Richards as Sam Braham
- Lana Wood as Katie Flavin
- Parley Baer as Waco Mayor
- Walter Burkeas Mac aka Tom (Waco Stableman)
- Lillian Bronson as Mrs. Louise Murphy
- Jonathan Hole as Parson
- Burt Mustin as Best Man
- Don Wilbanks as Bar X Cowboy
- Pepper Martin as Drifter
- Eddie Quillan 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 ten 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.
The two exit the saloon. Nash gives George a telegram which says they should go to Waco because former partner The Baltimore Kid (Astaire) is in trouble. It is signed "Friend."
Jason Fitch (Buchanan) is getting married to Louise Murphy (Bronson). George and Nash interrupt the ceremony to take Jason with them to Waco and they convince him by shouting the Ranger code "Brazos!" Jason promises Louise he will return and leaves with his friends.
In Waco, they find out "Friend" was Amos Polk, a former outlaw, now a newspaper man. Polk takes them to the Baltimore Kid's grave. It's unclear why Polk called them, but he shows them the Kid's wallet, in which is a note Kid leaves to his comrades when he dies. The four go to the saloon, where they meet a drunk who looks very familiar to the Baltimore Kid. They take him to the newspaper office, where he claims to have been a Texas Ranger once. The group is now sure he is the Baltimore Kid.
The Kid puts on some elegant clothes and gets a new gun. His gravestone is removed. The Kid becomes the Waco city marshal and the old Rangers his deputies.
Now it's clear that the bandit who killed the previous marshal and his deputies is a fake. The gang of Sam Braham returns to Waco to kill the real Baltimore Kid. A gunfight in the streets of Waco results and the Rangers win against the outlaws, but the Kid is shot dead. Citizens of Waco bury the Kid again. The old Rangers leave, but, at the end of the town, the Baltimore Kid is waiting, very much alive. All of them go with Jason Fitch, who has to get married.
