The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again

• Directed by George McCowan
• November 17, 1970
• ABC

A retired Texas Ranger gets together his former outfit to fight crime in his hometown. Not really. It’s really just to help a buddy get his confidence back.

The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again is a sequel to The Over-the-Hill Gang with much of the cast returning though Fred Astaire essentially takes over for Pat O’Brien as the gentleman of the quartet. Even Andy Devine makes a return as Amos Polk but as a good guy this time around. Like in any family friendly adventure of the time bygones are bygones and everybody just moves on as if nothing happened.

I always found that a little weird. Such a plot bit feels lazy. It as if the people behind this were trying to establish a solid link between the first film and this film. Three of the returning stars should be more than enough.

The possible lynching of their former compatriot, The Baltimore Kid, brings the gang back together again at the behest of Amos Polk. That was a case of stolen identity with the real Baltimore Kid (Fred Astaire) turning out to be a local drunk that easily sobers up after a new outfit and a shave.

The story is the returning cast members propping up The Kid without him knowing. He’s lost his confidence and is a raging alcoholic or was until that shower and shave. Walter Brennan as Nash Crawford, Edgar Buchanan as Jason Fitch, and Chill Wills as Gentleman George Asque do a lot less on the screen than Fred Astaire as the Baltimore Kid does. While Astaire was talented so were the others making this a bit of a waste of talent. Plus they were the titular gang.

The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again is cute and entertaining but borders on the unbelievable making it a touch hard to get through. How long can a group of elderly and overweight men sneak around without being noticed? How unobservant is The Baltimore Kid to not see them? He is supposed to be this great gunfighter and doesn’t notice somebody just to the side?

The acting is okay. Fred Astaire puts on the old gentleman act, but he is not a tough gunfighter type. He can play con artist (see Battlestar Galactica) or charmer (see The Towering Inferno for both). Maybe the writing wasn’t good enough for him. The Baltimore Kid didn’t really get a redemption. He just got a second chance and it felt totally unearned.

Admittedly this is a comedy but cleaning up a town should feel a little more dangerous or maybe a little more exciting. Maybe go for some laughs or go for some action. This didn’t go hard for either. There was plenty from the 70s that was genuinely funny or genuinely exciting by modern standards.

The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again is a good idea not done as well as it could’ve been. It certainly had potential and it was nice to see Fred Astaire and the other character actors on screen. Not sure if I would recommend seeking it out. Forty years ago a kid might watch it but not so today.