The Train Robbers

Starring: John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor, Ben Johnson, Christopher George, Bobby Vinton, Jerry Gatlin, Ricardo Montalban
Directed by: Burt Kennedy
Rating: PG
Genre: Western
1973

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A gunfighter (John Wayne) is hired by a widow (Ann-Margret) to find $500,000 in gold stolen by her late husband in a train robbery. She wants to return the money to the railroad to set an example for her son. They set out with the widow in tow, but the group faces off against a much larger band of outlaws who want the money for themselves.

Review:

Tim: The Train Robbers is not one of Wayne's best, but this is still a solid movie. The film features some good performances, an interesting story, some character development, and some exciting action scenes. While this movie doesn't really set itself apart from other Westerns, it certainly does enough to be considered an entertaining movie.

The movie features some good performances by John Wayne and Ann-Margret. They work well together, and seem to get along pretty well. Wayne is at his charismatic, tough guy best. It is a little sad seeing him in the twilight of his career (he would only make 5 movies after this before his death), but he still has it. Margret adds some much needed softness to the film, and has a pretty funny scene in which she's very drunk. I didn't love her in this film, but she does enough to make it work.

The movie unfolds pretty much as you expect- lots of horse riding, some gun fights, a few explosions, etc. The movie also devotes time to develop the characters, which doesn't always happen in Westerns. We have a number of scenes of various people talking, remembering old times, and reflecting on their current state. These quiet moments were interesting, and really gave the characters needed depth. I appreciated these moments, and I felt like they made the action sequences more powerful because we cared more about the characters.

The movie is pretty beautiful to watch- the cinematography is oftentimes outstanding. The blue skies, red dirt, rock formations, rivers, and small towns all come to life on screen. The score was very well done. The music occasionally becomes too obvious, but I thought it did a good job of added extra depth to the film.

The movie also has an unexpected twist near the end, which makes the movie a bit unique in terms of your average Western movie. Some people might not like it, but I thought it was pretty mind blowing, and came out of nowhere. You don't expect a Western to make you rethink the whole film, but that does happen here. For some reason, though, this movie isn't regarded as very good by many critics. That surprised me a bit. The film is not a classic, but it is a serviceable, entertaining film. I agree that the movie is a bit too close in many ways to the dozens and dozens of other Westerns out there. It doesn't do anything particularly revolutionary. I will also point out that I thought it was stupid how Wayne spent most of the film not actually doing anything- instead, just barking orders for other people to do things for him. That was weird. Despite all this, I thought it was a bit underrated by many critics and viewers.

John Wayne has made some amazing films, and while this one doesn't belong among his best, it's still a good movie. The story was interesting and different, the characters were memorable, and the action scenes were exciting. This is a good, enjoyable, entertaining film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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