''Once Upon a Texas Train'' (also known as ''Texas Guns'') is a 1988 American comedy
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 ...
television film, directed by
Burt Kennedy
Burton Raphael Kennedy (September 3, 1922 – February 15, 2001) was an American screenwriter and director known mainly for directing Westerns. Budd Boetticher called him "the best Western writer ever."
Biography
Kennedy was born in 1922 i ...
and starring
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'' (197 ...
and
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) ...
.
Plot
The movie opens with a train robbery in Texas, but a group of
Texas Rangers is waiting for the robbers, and stop them. Twenty years later, the head of the outlaw gang, John Henry Lee, is paroled on good behavior, but the same day he gets out, his brother Charlie Lee and he rob a bank of $20,000 in gold. We are introduced to his "gang", all of whom are well past their prime.
Captain Oren Hayes, the Texas Ranger who arrested John and ensured his parole, goes after him once more, knowing that he will try to pull off the same robbery he bungled 20 years before. As John gathers his ''old'' gang to help him, Hayes does the same. Meanwhile, a group of young outlaws led by Cotton has their own plans for the gold the elderly outlaws have.
Cast
*
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'' (197 ...
as John Henry Lee
*
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) ...
as Captain Oren Hayes
*
Shaun Cassidy
Shaun Paul Cassidy (born September 27, 1958) is an American singer, actor, writer, and producer. He has created and/or produced a number of television series including '' American Gothic'', '' Roar'' and ''Invasion''. Cassidy currently serves as ...
as Cotton (leader of the young outlaws)
*
Chuck Connors
Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...
as Nash Crawford
*
Ken Curtis
Ken Curtis (born Curtis Wain Gates; July 2, 1916 – April 28, 1991) was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the CBS western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Although he appeared on ''Gunsmoke'' earlie ...
as Kelly Sutton (John Henry's gang)
*
Royal Dano
Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 - May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic Li ...
as Nitro Jones (John Henry's gang)
*
Jack Elam
William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villainou ...
as Jason Fitch
*
Gene Evans
Eugene Barton Evans (July 11, 1922 – April 1, 1998) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television series, television films, and feature films between 1947 and 1989.
Background
Evans was born in Holbrook, Arizona and raised i ...
as Fargo Parker (John Henry's gang)
*
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Rep ...
as the Governor
*
Dub Taylor
Walter Clarence "Dub" Taylor Jr. (February 26, 1907 – October 3, 1994),Dub Taylor, 87, Actor in Westerns, The New York Times, October 5, 1994, Section B, Page 12 was an American character actor who from the 1940s into the 1990s worked extens ...
as Charlie Lee (John Henry Lee's brother)
*
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 ...
as George Asque
*
Angie Dickinson
Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...
as Maggie Hayes
*
Jeb Stuart Adams
Jeb is a masculine given name or nickname. It can be derived from the initials "J. E. B.", or from "Jebediah". It may refer to:
People Given name
* Jeb Bardon (born 1973), American politician
*Jeb Bishop (born 1962), American musician
*Jeb Corliss ...
as Billy Bates (young outlaw)
* David Michael O'Neill as John Young (young outlaw)
* John Calkins as John Brown (young outlaw)
*
Red West
Robert Gene "Red" West (March 8, 1936 – July 18, 2017) was an American actor, film stuntman and songwriter. He was known for being a close confidant and bodyguard for rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. Upon his firing, West wrote the contro ...
as Bates Boley
*
Clare Carey
Clare Carey (born June 11, 1967) is an American film and television actress best known for her roles as Kelly Fox in ''Coach'' (1989-1995) and Mary Bailey in ''Jericho'' (2006-2008), and her film role in ''Savannah Sunrise'' (2016).
Backgroun ...
as Meg Boley
*
Don Collier
Donald Mounger Collier (October 17, 1928 – September 13, 2021) was an American actor best known for Western films and NBC television shows such as ''The High Chaparral'', ''Bonanza,'' ''Gunsmoke'', and ''Outlaws'' as Marshal Will Foreman.
E ...
as the Warden
*
Dennis Fimple
Dennis Clarke Fimple (November 11, 1940 – August 23, 2002) was an American actor.
Biography
Fimple was born in Ventura, California, the son of Dolly and Elmer Fimple. He graduated from Taft Union High School in 1958 and received a teaching c ...
as the Telegrapher
*
Harry Carey, Jr.
Henry George Carey Jr. (May 16, 1921 – December 27, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films, including several John Ford Westerns, as well as numerous television series.
Early life
Carey was born on a ranch near ...
as Herald Fitch (billed as Harry Carey)
*
Hank Worden
Hank Worden (born Norton Earl Worden; July 23, 1901 – December 6, 1992) was an American cowboy-turned-character actor who appeared in many Westerns, including many John Ford films such as ''The Searchers'' and the TV series ''The Lone Ra ...
as the Old Man (in the rest home)
Production
Filming locations included Arizona's
Old Tucson Studios
Old Tucson (formerly Old Tucson Studios) is an American movie studio and theme park just west of Tucson, Arizona, adjacent to the Tucson Mountains and close to the western portion of Saguaro National Park. Built in 1939 for the movie ''Arizona'' ...
, and
Mescal, Arizona
Mescal is a Census-designated place located in Cochise County, Arizona, United States.
Mescal was originally a populated place, at a rail station on the Southern Pacific Railroad at an elevation of 4,085 feet. The modern community lies to the ...
. Scenes involving Willie Nelson were filmed inside a saloon in Mescal on September 21, 1987.
Locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
Number 40, located at the
Nevada Northern Railway Museum
The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located in Ely, Nevada and operated by a historic foundation dedicated to the preservation of the Nevada Northern Railway.
Museum activities include restoration and o ...
in
Ely, Nevada
Ely (, ) is the largest city and county seat of White Pine County, Nevada, United States. Ely was founded as a stagecoach station along the Pony Express and Central Overland Route. In 1906 copper was discovered. Ely's mining boom came later than ...
, was used as the film's train.
Director
Burt Kennedy
Burton Raphael Kennedy (September 3, 1922 – February 15, 2001) was an American screenwriter and director known mainly for directing Westerns. Budd Boetticher called him "the best Western writer ever."
Biography
Kennedy was born in 1922 i ...
used several aging Western stars from years past as the group of aged Rangers, as well as the outlaw gang: former ''
Rifleman
A rifleman is an infantry soldier armed with a rifling, rifled long gun. Although the rifleman role had its origin with 16th century hand cannoneers and 17th century musketeers, the term originated in the 18th century with the introduction o ...
'' actor
Chuck Connors
Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...
as Nash Crawford, past ''
Cimarron Strip
''Cimarron Strip'' is an American Western television series starring Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown. The series was produced by the creators of ''Gunsmoke'', and aired on CBS from September 1967 to March 1968. Reruns of the original show we ...
'' marshal
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 ...
as Gentleman George Asque, and former ''
Dakotas
The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econom ...
'' deputy
Jack Elam
William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villainou ...
as Jason Fitch making up the retired rangers. John Henry Lee's aged gang consisted of former ''
Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...
'' deputy Festus Hagen (
Ken Curtis
Ken Curtis (born Curtis Wain Gates; July 2, 1916 – April 28, 1991) was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the CBS western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Although he appeared on ''Gunsmoke'' earlie ...
) as Kelly Sutton and Western character actors
Royal Dano
Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 - May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic Li ...
as Nitro Jones,
Gene Evans
Eugene Barton Evans (July 11, 1922 – April 1, 1998) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television series, television films, and feature films between 1947 and 1989.
Background
Evans was born in Holbrook, Arizona and raised i ...
as Fargo Parker, and
Dub Taylor
Walter Clarence "Dub" Taylor Jr. (February 26, 1907 – October 3, 1994),Dub Taylor, 87, Actor in Westerns, The New York Times, October 5, 1994, Section B, Page 12 was an American character actor who from the 1940s into the 1990s worked extens ...
as John Henry's brother Charlie Lee.
Angie Dickinson
Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...
had also appeared in several Western films and shows. Another veteran actor,
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Rep ...
, made an appearance as the Governor.
The Texas Rangers characters originally appeared almost 20 years before in the unsold television pilot and TV-movie broadcast in 1969 on ABC, ''
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 ...
'', which was followed by ''
The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again
''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, ...
'' (the sequel did not feature the Captain Oren Hayes character) 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 ...
as Nash Crawford,
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 ...
as Captain Oren Hayes,
Chill Wills
Theodore Childress "Chill" Wills (July 18, 1902 – December 15, 1978) was an American actor and a singer in the Avalon Boys quartet.
Early life
Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas, on July 18, 1902.
Career
He was a performer from early chi ...
as Gentleman George Asque, and
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 ...
as Jason Fitch. Elam had the distinction of appearing as the crooked sheriff in the first ''Over-The-Hill'' film and then assuming the role once played by Buchanan two decades later in ''Texas Train''. One difference between this film and ''The Over-the-Hill Gang'' is that first movie portrayed the Rangers as too old to hold their own while ''Texas Train'' showed they could still hold their own against younger competition.
Release
''Once Upon a Texas Train'' premiered as a
CBS Sunday Movie
The ''CBS Sunday Movie'' (also known at various times as the ''CBS Sunday Night Movie'') is the umbrella title for a made-for-TV and feature film showcase series carried by CBS until the end of the 2005–2006 television season, when it was repl ...
on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
on January 3, 1988. The film was the sixth most-watched television program for the week ending January 3, and was also the third-most watched television film of the 1987-88 television season, with 21.2 million viewers.
Reception
Terry Atkinson of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' wrote that Kennedy "didn't seem to have quite thought out his promising, then faltering, tale.
€¦But until things go ''really'' awry toward the end, Kennedy provides 'Train' with plenty of the same gently satirical humor and authentic big-sky feeling he gave his fine 1969 feature 'Support Your Local Sheriff!' His smoothly professional direction is full of fine touches, enhanced by Ken Lamkin's photography and Warner Leighton's editing."
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Once Upon A Texas Train
1988 television films
1988 Western (genre) films
Western (genre) television films
American television films
Films directed by Burt Kennedy
Films scored by Arthur B. Rubinstein
Films set in Texas
Films shot in Arizona
Films shot in Nevada