Best movie ever!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

A year previously, the TV movie "The Over-the-Hill Gang" debuted. It must have been successful, as only a year later, a sequel was brought to the small screen. However, in this installment, the star of the original film, Pat O'Brien, is not in the film and instead a new over the hiller, Fred Astaire, is featured along with returning faded stars Chill Wills, Walter Brennan, Edgar Buchanan and Andy Devine (who in this one has switched sides and is now friends with these other oldsters).In this installment, the four friends have left O'Brien and his town behind and learn that another old friend, the Baltimore Kid (Astaire) has been killed. However, while they are in a saloon drinking and remembering the man, they see him in the bar--an old drunk. They decide to sober him up and help him regain his self-respect. Then, when he's offered a job of sheriff, the gang work behind the scenes to help him out of jam after jam--and they try to keep the Baltimore Kid from knowing they are doing this. Eventually, however, he does learn and must rise to the occasion to prove himself once and for all.All in all, apart from another chance to see these olders and a new oldster (Astaire), the film is relatively dull and uninteresting. My feeling is that it would appeal mostly to their fans--others should probably avoid it due to a rather limp script.

this sequel to the original movie was a bit better,i thought.the story was more interesting,and there were more funny moments.there is less action than the first one,but that didn't make much difference to me.the same characters are back.(Nash Crawford)Walter Brennan,(Jason Fitch)Edgar Buchanan,Amos Polk(Andy Devine) and Gentleman George Agnew(Chill Wills)are all in good form here,but it is the addition of Fred Astaire which makes the movie.Astaire steals the show,in my opinion.like the first movie,this one is a lot of fun,and suitable for most family members,probably anyone 10 or older.for me,The Over the Hill Gang Rides Again is a 6.3/10

Fred Astaire's first forays into the Western genre, the TV medium and moustache-sporting came via this modest "old men's movie" about a trio of retired Texas Rangers who come together to help their old superior who has been wrongly jailed for robbery and murder. Walter Brennan, Chill Wills and Edgar Buchanan reprise their roles from the original THE OVER-THE-HILL GANG TV-movie made the previous year, while Astaire takes on the role of the troubled Baltimore Kid who might not be in jail or lynched (as newspaperman Andy Devine misinforms them upon their arrival) but has fallen on hard times and become the town drunk instead! The thing is that Astaire is unable to accept his growing old and his shooting abilities not being what they used to so, to build up his confidence once more, the trio convince him to accept the badge of town marshal with them as his deputies! However, Astaire deludes himself further into thinking that the roughnecks who come into town eventually leave it because of his notoriety (rather than through the helpful 'armed and invisible' presence of his friends) and even befriends a much younger saloon gal who turns out to be the girl of the robber behind the crime Astaire was supposed to have committed in the first place! The quintet of Hollywood veterans provide the only pleasure to be had from this meager production because whenever they are offscreen things get pretty dull indeed.

Low budget TV film reunites some veterans of Hollywood in a no surprise western parody. Houseman, Astaire, Buchanan and the great Walter Brennan seems to have fun doing that. So we have watching it, just for entertainment. They makes smiles at western cliches. It's the only western Astaire ever made. It's also your only chance - I think - to see him with a mustache!