Once Upon a Texas Train (1988)

An outlaw and a Texas Ranger Captain have a life-long personal feud, but twenty years later, with old-age settling in, they must put their differences aside in order to face the latest Texas problem, the youngest generation of outlaws.

Director:

Burt Kennedy

Writer:

Burt Kennedy

Stars:

Willie Nelson, Richard Widmark, Shaun Cassidy

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Jeb Stuart Adams	...	Billy Bates
Clare Carey	...	Meg Boley
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Herald Fitch (as Harry Carey)

Storyline

Captain Hayes of the Texas Rangers reached the pinnacle of his career when he captured the notorious John Henry, an outlaw cowboy, and put him behind bars. Twenty years later, upon his release, Henry is older, but unrepentant. Within six hours after leaving his jail cell, he evens the score with Hayes by holding up the Bank of Texas for twenty thousand dollars in gold. Hayes, in his fury, gets himself out of retirement to take up the chase once more.

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Plot Keywords:

texas | outlaw | texas ranger | bank | cowboy | 

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Taglines:

Some men took money ... Some men took lives ... These men took both.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 January 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Texas Guns

Filming Locations:

Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Robert Papazian Productions,Brigade Productions,Rastar Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the locations and names in this movie are related to Willie Nelson. He is from the Waco, Texas area, from where the train comes, and the Brazos is a large river that flows through Waco.

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Follows The Over-the-Hill Gang (1969)

User Reviews

Third Ride For The Over The Hill Gang

After spending twenty years in prison, outlaw Willie Nelson gathers together his old gang, including brother Dub Taylor and Royal Dano, before returning to his old preoccupation with robbing a Texas train. Meanwhile retired Texas Ranger Richard Widmark gets his boys back together in order to capture them. They both end up tangling with a young gang, led by Shaun Cassidy.

A second, much belated sequel to the classic TV movie The Over The Hill Gang, this has Widmark, Chuck Conners, Jack Elam, and Stuart Whitman slipping into the roles previously held by Pat O'Brien, Walter Brennan, Edger Buchanan, and Chill Wills respectively, with Elam appearing as different characters in both films.

Well written, produced and directed by the great Burt Kennedy, this is reminiscent of his work on The War Wagon and The Train Robbers, all three being glib, fast-paced, and entertaining light-hearted western adventures, although this isn't as good as the other two.

Once Upon A Texas Train has a great cast of old-timers (mostly dead now), with nice cameos by Harry Carey Jr. and an especially frail-looking Hank Worden.