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Writer's pictureStephen Burckhardt

Monday Movie Madness: The Over The Hill Gang



Hello Posse!


I hope you all had a great Father's Day yesterday and got to spend some time with your loved ones. With my father living so far away, I was not able to be with him but I had breakfast delivered to the house for him and mom and got to chat with him on video.


I am very thankful to the people at DoorDash in Wichita. They make it possible for me to send food to my folks on special occasions and they have been great about making the deliveries contactless since both folks are high risk. The delivery people have even given mom and dad personal messages for me when they deliver the food. If you want to have a meal delivered, give them a try. (I am not bing paid for that endorsement, just my sincere feelings.)


But for now . . . on with the movie!


Today's flick is another made for TV movie put out by ABC in 1969, The Over the Hill Gang. This western comedy centers around a band of aging Texas Rangers and stars Walter Brennan (I love his work), Pat O'Brien, Gypsy Rose Lee, Chill Wills, Edgar Buchanan (love his work too!), Andy Devine, Kris Nelson, Ricky Nelson, and Jack Elam.


Texas Ranger, Oren Hayes (O'Brien), visits his daughter and finds that her husband is campaigning to oust the town's "tinhorn" mayor. Unfortunately, the mayor is backed by corrupt officials, the local sheriff and judge. Hayes sends word to his a former Texas Ranger friends who join forces to support the young man's campaign and fight corruption in the town.


When this movie premiered in October of 1969, it was the top rated program that week. This was quite an achievement, as a made for TV movie had never earned that status before. The success of this movie led to a sequel, The Over the Hill Gang Rides Again, which I will feature next week. These movies were used as pilots for a proposed TV series but ABC eventually passed on the proposal. They did spawn a semi-remake in 1988 titled Once Upon a Texas Train featuring country music legend, Willie Nelson, as the leader of an outlaw gang. I will feature this movie in a later blog.


Don't forget to check out my Facebook page (<-- click here) for today's movie snack recipe, Taste of Home's Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. I always look forward to the holidays when I bake a pumpkin to make pumpkin bread and pies. I always keep the seeds to roast and snack on. If you have never tried this, you are in for a treat.


Don't forget to share this blog with your friends and groups and share the love of western movies! Now, go get your snacks and settle in, it's movie time!


Full Movie on YouTube


Just a note: I will be switching my blogs around next week. Since more people have time to watch movies on the weekends, I was thinking of making Friday's "Friday Flicks" or "Friday Feature Films" and making Monday's "Manic Monday" or just k, Kris Nelson,Ricky Nelson, and e jokes then to help people start their week of with a laugh, or at least a smile. Feel free to let me know what you think. I love feedback!


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