The Over-the-Hill Gang

"The Over the Hill Gang" is a comedy Western movie made for TV that features five old time actors whose careers were mostly known for the Westerns they were in. Much of the time, their roles were at least partly comical. They have nearly 1,000 movie and TV show credits between them.

The most prominent of the bunch is Walter Brennan who won three Academy Awards as best supporting actor. Those were all in the 1930s, and only one was for a Western. But Westerns would dominate his career form then on. Perhaps the most familiar of the bunch to American movie fans who grew up since the mid-20th century is Andy Devine, with his very distinctive voice. He's not one of the former rangers, but is a good-hearted stooge of a judge whom the crooked mayor appointed. Edgar Buchanan and Chill Wills are the second and third members of the Over the Hill Gang in this film. Rounding out the list of old-time actors is Jack Elam, who often played bad man roles, many of them comical. Here he is the mayor's self-appointed sheriff.

At the helm of the retired rangers is Pat O'Brien, who adds 150 film and TV credits to the list. Although known mostly for drama and crime films, O'Brien did appear in a Western or two. Here he is the former captain of the Texas Rangers. He calls his former officers - the over the hill gang, back into volunteer action to help stop the crooked mayor from getting re-elected. O'Brien is Capt. Oren Hayes and his son-in-law is running against the mayor.

All of the characters are good. When they find out that they aren't quite as fast or sharp as they were in their prime, they resort to their wits and clever schemes of the past to win the day. O'Brien doesn't quite seem to fit in, but Jack Elam shows a wonderful flair for comedy. Here are a couple of lines from this film.

Mayor Lundy, "But he starts to smear you with the truth - he is deadly."

Nash Crawford, "No ranger retires perpendicular."

I do love both of the Over-The-Hill Gang movies mainly because you will never get a chance to see so many scene stealing character actors in one film no matter how hard you look. All these familiar faces, familiar in mostly westerns. I'm betting these guys didn't appear together for the most part before now because it was impossible to have had that much ham in any one film.

Yet comedy director Jean Yarbrough took a chance. So did Walter Brennan who co-produced this along with Danny Thomas and Aaron Spelling. I guess Brennan was not afraid to show his acting chops against some of his fellow best scene stealers.

Pat O'Brien is a former Texas Ranger captain who is retired and visiting his daughter and son-in-law, Kris and Ricky Nelson. Ricky is the editor of the town newspaper who's running for mayor against crooked Edward Andrews the incumbent. Andrews has sheriff Jack Elam and judge Andy Devine in his pocket and pretty well runs things in that Nevada town. After the sheriff and a few thug deputies beat up Ricky, O'Brien summons some of his most trusted former Rangers to action.

The problem is that neither O'Brien nor his former company members have seen much action recently. The other Rangers are Brennan, Chill Wills, and Edgar Buchanan.

Looking at the cast of this film, it's got to be one of the oldest aggregate casts ever assembled. And all of these guys stole more scenes from more stars than any other group you could put together.

Gypsy Rose Lee is even on hand as a saloon owner and rival of Andrews who wants to see him put out of business because he gives honest folks like herself a bad name.

This is a film to be treasured and savored by lovers of westerns and those who just love great character actors.

"The Over the Hill Gang" is interesting if only for its cast of veteran performers. Unfortunately they were saddled with a "B" movie script that doesn't know whether it should be serious or funny. It appears that some scenes were cut out in order to fit the film into a 90 minute TV time slot.

The story has former Texas Ranger Captain Oren Hayes (Pat O'Brien) arriving in town to visit his daughter Hannah (Kristen Nelson) and her husband Jeff (Rick Nelson). He finds Jeff embroiled in a mayorality race with corrupt town boss Nard Lundy (Edward Andrews). When the baddies rough them up, Hayes decides to call on his old Ranger buddies Nash Crawford (Walter Brennan), George Agnew (Chill Wills) and Jason Fitch (Edgar Buchanan) for help. When they arrive they soon realize that their old skills have eroded with age and then decide to fight the bad guys with their wits rather than with force.

Assisting Andrews in his evil deeds are Andy Devine as Judge Polk, Jack Elam as the Sheriff and Myron Healey and Bruce Glover as deputies. Gypsy Rose Lee is also along as a once famous entertainer. Burt Mustin and Billy Benedict appear in minor roles.

It was great to see all of these veteran performers in one film. Most were at or near the end of their careers at the time. It was also interesting to see Rick and Kristen Nelson who in spite of their youth were also at the end of their movie careers. Too bad they couldn't have had better material to work with.

Followed by "The Over The Hill Gang Rides Again" (1970).

A cast of grizzled veterans make this film a joy to watch, if you can get over the script, which falls weak in the midst of skillful actors. Still, 'The Over The Hill Gang' was well-casted by virtue of the fact that virtually all the stars were veterans of Westerns, and played their roles admirably.

This movie is your typical victory for old folks. A band of retired Texas Rangers (the Law Enforcement Rangers, not the baseball team) are called into action by their old boss, Captain Oren Hayes (Pat O'Brien) after dubious town officials rough up his son (Ricky Nelson) and trash his newspaper business. When these three Rangers arrive in town to save the day, slow and well past their prime, they team up against a more powerful and energetic foe. Despite being out-numbered and out-hustled, TOTHG proves that (at least on TV) brains can win over brawn any time, and is always a crowd pleaser. If anything, it is a good family movie that teaches the values of courage in the face of adversity, and that good can overcome evil, no matter how young that evil is.

If you'll notice, you will see some great individual performances. Chill Wills plays a boozing, poker-cheating Texan better than anyone. His facial expressions and his Texas drawl are a delight. Without a doubt, Edgar Buchannon had to be the best semi-blind man with a gun in Hollywood history. Andy Devine, playing a 'bad guy,' didn't even need a good script to be funny. Devine could read the Gettysburg Address and make even the most cantankerous cuss chuckle. And what else can you say about Walter Brennan? Like Chill Wills, Brennan is synonymous with Westerns, and proved that even when he played a straight-man, his part of the script didn't allow him to be so much funny as it did to make you feel good because he was just one of those 'good guys.' Still, it was Gypsy Rose Lee, playing a 'has been' show girl, who turned in the best acting performance.

At the conclusion, the three Texas Rangers, who had not seen each other for many years until their reunion, split up and guided their mounts in different directions for the ride back home. Not knowing when they would 'ride again,' I must admit to shedding a tear or two as those three friends rode into the sunset. The soulful harmonica music completed the emotional scene.

'The Over The Hill Gang' is a fun movie to watch. You won't find Oscar winning performances or dazzling special effects. But you'll feel good when it is over. And that's what it is all about, right?

There aren't any surprises, but it's great to have Brennan, Wills, Andy Devine, Buchanon, etc go around the track one more time. Familiar character actors-Bert Mustin, R. Karnes and Harry Swogart(played a bartender on Big Valley, Bonanza, etc 48 times) just add to the nostalgia. Ditto Jack Elam too. Odd to see Rick Nelson in such a bland role, though.

**1/2 outta ****, for the nostalgia.