Once Upon a Texas Train (1988) (TV)

Director:

Burt Kennedy

Writer:

Burt Kennedy (written by)

Release Date:

3 January 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Romance | Western

Plot:

Captain Hayes of the mighty law enforcement squad named the Texas Rangers reached the pinnacle of his career when he captured the notorious John Henry...

Plot Keywords:

Outlaw | Aging | Barroom Brawl | Target Shooting | Love

Cast

Willie Nelson	...	John Henry Lee
Richard Widmark	...	Captain Owen Hayes
Shaun Cassidy	...	Cotton
Chuck Connors	...	Nash Crawford
Ken Curtis	...	Kelly Sutton
Royal Dano	...	Nitro Jones
Jack Elam	...	Jason Fitch
Gene Evans	...	Fargo Parker
Kevin McCarthy	...	The Govenor
Dub Taylor	...	Charlie Lee
Stuart Whitman	...	George Asque
Angie Dickinson	...	Maggie Hayes
Jeb Stuart Adams	...	Billy Bates
Clare Carey	...	Meg Boley
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Herald Fitch (as Harry Carey)

Also Known As:

Texas Guns

Runtime:

USA:96 min | Germany:87 min (TV)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U | Iceland:L | Australia:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Mescal, Arizona, USA

Company:

Brigade Productions

Goofs:

Errors in geography: There is no saguaro cactus in, or anywhere near, Texas.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Captain Owen Hayes: Put the gun down John Henry.

Movie Connections:

Follows The Over-the-Hill Gang (1969) (TV)

An interesting film with a "history" to two earlier TV-films

A pleasant, tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek western (with that Burt Kennedy touch) that gives up yet another adventure with some wonderful characters that were first introduced almost 20 years earlier. I speak of the ABC Movie-of-the-Week films "The Over-the-Hill Gang" and "The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again" (which was Fred Astaire's TV-film debut and ONLY western film--ever!) The character of Richard Widmark was earlier played by Pat O'Brien in the first film, with Chuck Connors taking over Walter Brennan's part and Jack Elam here "filling" in for Edgar Buchanan. Those earlier films (from 1969 & 1970 respectively) were light yet entertaining and this film does not fail in that genre. Some might argue that many of the actors are in their "golden years"--and that's to the viewer's advantage as you will soon realize that with age certainly comes style. Sit back, enjoy and find a smile creeping across your face as you discover that there ARE films out there that are made "like they used to be"!