The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again

• Directed by Vincent McEveety
• June 27, 1979

A pair of inept holdup men going straight arrive in the boom town of Junction City but end up getting cheated out of their money by two bank robbers while ending up suspected of the robbery by the local lawman who develops a personal vendetta toward the pair.

Though a sequel to the classic The Apple Dumpling Gang only one actor besides the stars returns and that’s in a whole different part. Unlike the last one Conway and Knotts are important to the story. Without their actions the ending would not have happened. It’s not that they are actual heroes, but rather they are bumblers who are just trying to do the right thing. They decided to leave the farm they found themselves on at the end of the last movie in order to make a name for themselves though this time legitimately. The comedy comes from no matter how hard they try they find themselves in some situation that implicates them as criminals.

If you paid attention the first time around, Conway and Knotts characters were called the ‘Hashknife Outfit’ with the ‘Apple Dumpling Gang’ monicker belonging to the kids of the story. They officially become the Apple Dumpling Gang when Conway’s character uses it as a fake name rather than their true outfit name. Silly but effective though most viewers just assume that was their name from the start.

Much of what occurs starts out as simple mistakes that balloon comedically until there is chaos such as the accidental destruction of Fort Concho and getting themselves viewed as dangerous outlaws. It is a fine line to walk for the any characters to be mistaken as a threat to those in the story and the viewer understanding they are harmless. I doubt few screen pairings other than Tim Conway as Amos Tucker and Don Knotts as Theodore Ogelvie could have done it as well.

Don Knotts and Tim Conway were great physical comedic performers. With looks on their faces and actions of their bodies they could make something that was just okay very funny. In particular Don Knotts was the Leslie Nielsen before there was a Leslie Nielsen with his rubbery and expressive face. Conway had an ability to take something simple and go absolutely ridiculous with it to the point it was certainly hilarious. 

Rearing its head once our duo gets to Fort Concho is the main plot of the story. There are a series of mysterious military supply attacks blamed on the local Native Americans. All the answers about who is really behind it are pretty obvious. Then again this is a comedy movie meant to entertain the whole family. And it does just that quite easily. You are here to see how Amos and Theodore’s bumbling plays into it all.

Tim Matheson plays a private at the fort named Jeff Reed who turns out to be an undercover army intelligence officer looking into the raids. Along the way he inexplicably gets a love interest in the form of Millie Gaskill (Elyssa Davalos) who is initially set to marry Lt. Jim Ravencroft (Robert Pine) who is the actual villain. I just have no idea how Reed and Millie fall in love, but after they meet and he kidnaps her and she escapes they’re in love. No joke! Apparently forced captivity is a bit of a kink for her. 

Kenneth Mars, who was in the classic horror homage Young Frankenstein, shows up as Marshal Woolly Bill Hitchcock who is broken mentally by the comedic ineptitude of Amos and Theodore. He goes comedically crazy. Mars was a great character actor and could do drama as well as comedy with equal skill. His Wild Bill knock off is appropriately comedic without seeming too stupid to ever have even conned some people into getting his reputation let alone earning it in some way. 

The villains of this story, headed up by the great Jack Elam as Big Mac operate out of a prison in a Hogan’s Heroes-esque style by conducting the attacks and returning to said prison. It is just goofy and silly with an internal logic that does not necessarily follow reality. It is a genuinely funny film that all can enjoy. Not edgy but funny. The movie is a bit formulaic but not necessarily lazy.

While not particularly original, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again is a hilarious sequel that makes Conway and Knotts the focus of the film. It tells a fun story that will satisfy kids and adults alike. If you liked the first one, this is certainly for you!