Once Upon A Texas Train (1988)

A somewhat insubstantial made-for-TV movie about an ageing bandit (Willie Nelson) who tries to engineer one last shoot out with his Sheriff adversary and sometime love rival (Richard Widmark). Some of it’s supposed to be light comedy – and while it isn’t that funny it doesn’t really matter since the comedy is fairly incidental to the plot.

The plot—although straightforward—isn’t without its weaknesses. The motivations of the main characters don’t bear too much scrutiny (I certainly can’t work out why they do what they do). There cast of supporting characters is really large and it just means there’s a whole bunch of people involved that you struggle to keep track of and whose presence doesn’t add too much to the film. They’re mostly played by classic Western character actors (e.g. Chuck Connors, Jack Elam, Stuart Whitman, Harry Carey Jr, Hank Worden) and you can see why the producers were keen to have these actors involved but it’s stretched a little thin.

Willie Nelson—although not really an actor—doesn’t do a terrible job, although in my mind he shown up whenever Richard Widmark is involved (who is always a joy to watch). My main feeling from watching this was that it’s a shame Widmark didn’t do any more significant Westerns in his later career.

There’s nothing wrong with it—it’s generally pleasant to watch—but it is essentially forgettable fluff and probably doesn’t justify the number of words I’ve spend criticising it.