Once Upon A Texas Train Review

MPAA Rating: PG
Released: 1988

Once Upon A Texas Train was a tongue-in-cheek western adventure featuring aging yet lively stars such as Willie Nelson, Jack Elam and Gene Evans. The movie was originally made-for-TV and is structured in the same irreverent manner as the original "golden age" westerns rather than the more violent and dark spaghetti westerns that came into popularity during the 60's.

John Henry Lee (Willie Nelson) and his gang were notorious bank robbers that successfully remained one step ahead of the law… that is, until one fateful day when they attempted to carry out a dream: rob a goods-laden Texas train. As they plunder the train, Captain Oren Hayes (Richard Widmark) and his gang of Texas Rangers ambush and capture the cunning criminals.

Twenty years pass and John Henry Lee is released from prison on probation, largely because the prison system no longer views the aging robber as a threat. Wrong they are, for the first thing Lee does is gather his old gang together to pull off some more daring bank robberies. Of course while the spirit is willing, the flesh is weaker – their initial escapades are successful, but the elderly robbers have to coax their old bones into cooperating.

Meanwhile when retired Captain Hayes discovers that Lee has been released on probation he is furious. Just as Lee called his old gang together, Hayes puts out a call to his old posse to gather together once more and bring Lee's gang to justice a second time. The crusty retired lawmen rise to the call and set out once more after Lee and his gang.

But the ex-Texas Rangers is not the only gang hot on Lee's trail. A young outlaw named Cotton (Shaun Cassidy) is hungry for one of Lee's hidden stashes, and after stalking the elderly bank robbers for some time he and his gang finally pounces upon them and captures them. Lee is presented a choice: lead Cotton to his stash or die by the gun.

Eventually the three gangs collide. Friendships are tested and rekindled, allegiances are switched and guns start blazing.

Since I am a fan of the spaghetti western genre, I was left less impressed with Once Upon A Texas Train as I might have been had I preferred tongue-in-cheek westerns. The movie was definitely pleasant, and the aging collection of stars (many of which built careers in western movies) was impressive and spot-on. Performances were strong across the board.

The cinematography is impressive when you consider this film was made for television: the landscapes are captured nicely and the scenes are shot competently. Despite the accomplished production values and the all-star cast, unfortunately Once Upon A Texas Train still felt like a made-for-TV movie at times. It was so sanitized and harmless that for all practical purposes there was no real difference between Lee's robbers and Hayes' rangers. (Although to be fair, the sanitized nature was more indicative of golden age westerns rather than television productions.)

Since I am a fan of many of the stars and I enjoy westerns from time to time, I did find some entertainment to be had in Once Upon A Texas Train. Still, I felt that Once Upon A Texas Train was slightly above average at best: a film that western fans will enjoy, but other folks will probably not mind taking a pass on.

Movie rating: 6 stars

If you enjoyed Once Upon A Texas Train you may also find the following films to be of interest:

• The Shadow Riders
• The Long Riders
• The Quick and the Dead

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Other Resources:

• Once Upon A Texas Train IMDb Page

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