Aces 'N' Eights (TV 2008)

Already taking a gamble settling in the uncharted west, the peaceful settlers of a town destined for railroad greatness suddenly find themselves being ruthlessly gunned down. With no law ... See full summary »

Director:

Craig R. Baxley

Writers:

Ronald M. Cohen, Dennis Shryack

Stars:

Casper Van Dien, Bruce Boxleitner, Ernest Borgnine

Cast

Credited cast:
Casper Van Dien	...	Luke Rivers
Bruce Boxleitner	...	D.C. Cracker
Ernest Borgnine	...	Thurmond Prescott
Jeff Kober	...	Tate
Jack Noseworthy	...	Jess Riley
William Atherton	...	Howard
Jake Thomas	...	Noah
Rodney Scott	...	Monty
Deirdre Quinn	...	Jo Tanner
Victoria Chalaya	...	Cracker's Woman
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gregory J. Barnett	...	Homesteader #3
Jeffrey G. Barnett	...	Homesteader #4
Michael H. Barnett	...	Teenage Son
Judi Barton	...	Homesteader
Melissa Bickerton	...	Homesteader Wife #3

Storyline

Already taking a gamble settling in the uncharted west, the peaceful settlers of a town destined for railroad greatness suddenly find themselves being ruthlessly gunned down. With no law and order to be found, justice falls onto the shoulders of an elderly rancher and an accomplished, but retired, gunslinger.

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Plot Keywords:

rancher | railroad | shot to death | cowboy and outlaw | showdown | 

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Taglines:

A Dead Man's Hand

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

A vadnyugat végnapjai

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alpine Medien Productions, Grand Army Entertainment, Larry Levinson Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Aces and Eights is known as the "Dead man's hand". It was purportedly the hand held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was shot in the back of the head at the table.

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Goofs

(at around 42 mins) Modern buildings and a truck in the background for the duration of the scene.

User Reviews

Technically Well Made But Overly Familiar

Local railroad boss William Atherton sends hired killers Jeff Kober and Bruce Boxleitner to get rid of pesky landowners like Ernest Borgnine, who refuse to sell out. Complicating things for Atherton is progressive thinking railroad executive Jack Noseworthy and Borgnine's hired hand Casper Van Dien.

A competent cast of familiar character actors try hard, but this is pretty much done in by the extreme familiarity of the material (see Once Upon A Time In The West) and the fact that the script focuses on too many characters at once, resulting in a lot of half-formed characterizations, sort of like a television series highlight reel.

As usual with director Craig R. Baxley, it's well made and the action scenes are expertly handled. However, Baxley (as well as most modern filmmakers) seems to have left out the nuances that made many of the older westerns true classics.

One thing I could never understand about these type of westerns is the railroad's desire to to take the whole ranch in order to lay a single five-foot wide track. Didn't those wackos ever hear of an easement?