Synopsis
A gunhand named Lane is hired by a widow, Mrs. Lowe, to find gold stolen by her husband so that she may return it and start fresh.
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Cast
- John WayneLane
- Ann-MargretMrs. Lowe
- Rod TaylorGrady
- Ben JohnsonJesse
- Christopher GeorgeCalhoun
- Bobby VintonBen Young
- Ricardo MontalbanThe Pinkerton Man
- Jerry GatlinSam Turner
- Ralph VolkieTownsman (uncredited)
- Dennis FaltPursuing gunman (uncredited)
Recommendations
- 80
Variety
The Train Robbers is an above-average John Wayne actioner, written and directed by Burt Kennedy with suspense, comedy and humanism not usually found in the formula. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
Kennedy goes for silhouettes and, as I’ve mentioned, for the kind of carefully casual arrangements of figures we find in samurai films - the Japanese Western. The result is a movie that isolates the John Wayne mystique and surrounds it with the necessary simplicity and directness. - 75
Portland Oregonian
Kennedy fills this with Western cliches, character actors and sprawling action. [09 Mar 2001] - 70
The New York Times
As an exercise in pleasantness, The Train Robbers is an interesting addition to the late history of the traditional unpretentious Western. - 60
The Observer (UK)
Enjoyable traditional western. [26 Apr 2009, p.18] - 50
Time Out
The band ride after half a million's worth of stolen gold so they can turn it in for the 50,000 dollars reward; it's that sort of film. Loads of male camaraderie and big country theme music, plus Ann-Margret riding along as a box-office concession and to get the rest of the cast horny in a U Certificate sort of way. - 50
TV Guide Magazine
Released at a time when the western was undergoing some radical changes thanks to films by Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah, The Train Robbers harkens back to the old style westerns Wayne helped make famous. What's lacking is substance and style. - 50
Village Voice
Burt Kennedy wrote and directed the movie, which consists mostly of scenic rides on horseback, waiting for the outlaws to appear, and talking wisely while waiting. [22 Mar 1973, p.83]
