The Over-the-Hill Gang (1969)

this is a pretty decent western with some good comic moments.it features many famous names of the genre,such as Walter Brennan,Jack Elam,Edgar Buchanan,Gypsy Lee Rose,Pat O'Brien and Ricky Nelson.all had previously been in earlier westerns and here were in the twilight of their careers.i won't give away the plot,but the title certainly fits the movie and the characters.the actors themselves aren't over the hill,even though their characters may be.in fact,they all put in good performances,though Jack Elam was the best of the bunch,in my mind.one thing about the movie i should mention is that it actually felt more like a TV episode than a movie.the version i watched was only 70 minutes.still,it is an entertaining diversion.for me,The Over the Hill Gang is a 6/10

Review: Overall, I felt this was a decent way to spend 70+ minutes. I couldn't find a rating for this movie, but think it would probably by PG based on current standards. There was no profanity, no sexual innuendos, and the only violence came at the beginning when Jeff was roughed up by the Deputies and then again during the shoot out at the end. Even within these violent scenes, there was no blood and no one died; again, compared to today's standards, they were very tame.One minor complaint for my modern ears is that I sometimes had difficulty understanding what the characters were saying. Their old, wild-west accents didn't work too well with my modern, Florida ears.Bruce gives this movie 2 out of 5 stars. He says it was reasonable entertainment for the cost of 1/20th of $5 that we paid for the set. In the end though, this movie is rather forgettable and I agree with Bruce. It was definitely worth the $0.25 we paid to have the privilege of owning this movie.

Hi, Everyone, The title credits list William Smith as "Amos." If William Smith is in this at all, he is one of the bad guys who comes into the movie very late. Each of the new villains is introduced by the mayor who is the chief bad guy. Not one of the outlaws is called "Amos." In one scene, the mayor refers to the Judge (Andy Devine) as "Amos." I think they might have planned to use William Smith in a major way in this movie and maybe he was not available right away. They might have used him as a bad guy at the end, but I am not sure if that is William Smith or someone who bears a resemblance to him. If it is William Smith he does not have a speaking part.My DVD might be missing some scenes because the length is supposed to be 75 minutes but it is actually just over 70 minutes.Anyway, the movie was a good idea that was well cast and poorly executed. It is not a comedy movie and it is not a drama, but somewhere in between. This could have been as funny as Laurel and Hardy or The Three Stooges or it could have been a Western as good as Ride The High Country (which also featured Buchanan). It is just another good idea that was sculpted into a meaningless glob of celluloid that will be on display in the Museum of Hollywood's Attempted Classics.Tom Willett

"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).