The Train Robbers
The Train Robbers is a 1973 American Western film written and directed by Burt Kennedy and starring John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor, Ben Johnson, and Ricardo Montalbán. Filming took place in Sierra de Órganos National Park in the town of Sombrerete, Mexico.[citation needed] Two brief scenes take place in the square that was used for the final shootout in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
| The Train Robbers | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Burt Kennedy |
| Written by | Burt Kennedy |
| Produced by | Michael Wayne |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | William H. Clothier |
| Edited by | Frank Santillo |
| Music by | Dominic Frontiere |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2.6 million (US)[2] 354,121 admissions (France)[3] |
Plot edit
After the death of her husband, Mrs. Lowe wants to tell the railroad where to find $500,000 in gold her late husband Matt stole during a train robbery, and she wants to clear the family name for her son. Instead Lane convinces her to retrieve the gold so she can collect the $50,000 reward offered by the railroad for its return. Lane gathers some old friends to assist him in retrieving the gold for a share of the reward. However, the other original train robbers have gathered a gang and will try to get the gold at any cost. As they all journey into Mexico in search of the hidden gold, they are followed closely by an unnamed Pinkerton agent who is working for Wells Fargo.
After a series of adventures and battles, they return to Texas with the gold where there is one final battle. The next day, Lane and his men put Mrs. Lowe on a train to return the gold and tell her she can keep the reward for herself and her son. As they are walking past the end of the train, they meet the Pinkerton agent who tells them, as the train is pulling out, that Matt Lowe never was married and that Mrs. Lowe is really a prostitute named Lilly who fooled them into helping her get the gold for herself. Lane then leads his gang to rob the train as the film ends.
Cast edit
- John Wayne as Lane
- Ann-Margret as Lilly Lowe
- Rod Taylor as Grady
- Ben Johnson as Jesse
- Christopher George as Calhoun
- Bobby Vinton as Ben Young
- Jerry Gatlin as Sam Turner
- Ricardo Montalbán as The Pinkerton man
Reception edit
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four and called it "fairly good, in a quiet and workmanlike sort of way, although there's a plot twist at the end that ruins things unnecessarily. But what’s best about it, what makes it worth seeing, is Kennedy’s visual approach to the subject of John Wayne."[4] Roger Greenspun of The New York Times wrote "I don't think that tone and attitude are quite enough to sustain a movie, or that an air of good feeling can take the place of meaningful dramatic action. But as an exercise in pleasantness, 'The Train Robbers' is an interesting addition to the late history of the traditional unpretentious Western."[5] Arthur D. Murphy of Variety called it "an above-average John Wayne actioner, written and directed by Burt Kennedy with suspense, comedy and humanism not usually found in the formula."[6] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three stars out of four and declared that John Wayne's "legend not only lives in 'The Train Robbers,' it gleams."[7] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote "In the light of the current—and largely admirable—cycle of revisionist westerns that lay waste to those cherished myths of the frontier, it's downright reassuring to watch an amiable, traditional-style John Wayne adventure...There's a neat balance between action and comedy, and Wayne himself is in top form."[8]
The film holds a score of 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 6 reviews.[9]
Quentin Tarantino later called it "so light it's barely a movie, but that doesn’t mean it’s not amusing."[10]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "The Train Robbers - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ Stephen Vagg, Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood, Bear Manor Media 2010 p 172.
- ^ 1973 French box office at Box Office Story
- ^ Ebert, Roger (February 22, 1973). "The Train Robbers". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ Greenspun, Roger (February 8, 1973). "Screen: 'Train Robbers'". The New York Times. 36.
- ^ Murphy, Arthur D. (January 31, 1973). "Film Reviews: The Train Robbers". Variety. 18.
- ^ Siskel, Gene (February 22, 1973). "John Wayne at his mythical best". Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 6.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (February 7, 1973). "Wayne as Wayne in 'Train'". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 10.
- ^ "The Train Robbers". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ Tarantino, Quentin (December 24, 2019). . New Beverly Cinema. Archived from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
External links edit
- The Train Robbers at IMDb
- The Train Robbers at AllMovie
- The Train Robbers at the TCM Movie Database
- The Train Robbers at the American Film Institute Catalog
- The Train Robbers at Box Office Mojo
- The Train Robbers at Rotten Tomatoes