The Train Robbers (1973)

Directed by: Burt Kennedy | 92 minutes | western | Actors: John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor, Ben Johnson, Christopher George, Bobby Vinton, Jerry Gatlin, Ricardo Montalban

Hollywood legend John Wayne stars in this old-fashioned western, which is especially notable for the cinematography of William H. Clothier (two-time Oscar nominee). The images are really beautiful and the transfer to DVD was done very nicely by Warner Brothers. The colors are sharp and bright and the image is immaculate. Since the visual splendor is the big trump card of ‘The Train Robbers’, it makes a lot of difference that the film also looks so good on DVD.

Director Burt Kennedy’s choice to portray the story – for which he himself provided the screenplay – was a happy one. The vastness of the “West” (it was filmed in Mexico), with the vast plains, the prairies and the merciless deserts, is wonderfully portrayed. The whole country seems to be extinct and there are plenty of dangers to face. On the one hand, nature through wide rivers, sandstorms and nighttime thunderstorms. On the other hand, the large group of nameless villains who are after the good guys. The latter group consists of six “good guys” and one lady.

The premise of Kennedy’s screenplay seems to have little meaning and is full of (apparent) improbabilities. Unfortunately, no effort has been made to create recognizable villains, led by a villain, who could counterbalance the imperturbable hero, Lane (John Wayne). Still, Kennedy has incorporated a few quirks into the plot. For example, who is the mysterious man (played by Ricardo Montalban), who lonely rides after both the heroes and the villains? Some questions are only answered at the end and then it turns out that the viewer is secretly a bit fooled with the assumption that the content of the film is meager.

The film is based on Wayne’s interaction with the widow Mrs. Lowe (Ann-Margaret) and his friends Jesse (Ben Johnson) and Grady (Rod Taylor). Ann-Margaret gives “The Duke” good counterplay, although she unfortunately disappoints in a scene in which she plays a kind of drunkenness, which only occurs in Hollywood movies. Beneath all the jokes, one-liners, and raw camaraderie between Wayne, Johnson, and Taylor is a deep state of nostalgia. The three realize that they are getting older and their best days are behind them. Throughout the film, there are numerous moments of just talking and musing about the past and what lies ahead for them the next day.

Although ‘The Train Robbers’ expresses a clear longing for the more traditional westerns as they were no longer made at the time, with tough heroes and a “thick wood one saws planks” moral, the film cannot be called a standard western either, like they were made by the bunch in the 1950s. It is precisely the sporadic action, the long, silent moments and of course the endless emptiness around the protagonists that make the film very different. All the more difficult to enjoy if you have certain expectations. Anyone expecting an old-fashioned western will soon get bored with the philosophical chatter around the campfire. Anyone expecting a western with a cynical anti-hero and more violence (such as from Clint Eastwood or Sam Peckinpah) will soon be annoyed by the integrity and honesty of Wayne and his friends. A remarkable film overall, well worth watching, if only because of the fantastically filmed landscapes.