zardoz-13 Director Burt Kennedy's "The Good Guys & the Bad Guys" lacks the inspired hilarity of his early outing with James Garner in "Support Your Local Sheriff." Mind you, this glossy, lavishly-produced twentieth century spoof of horse operas boasts its share of moments, but the storyline does an inferior job of blending comedy with drama. More often than not, the drama overshadows the comedy. The theme of this outdoors yarn is age versus youth.Traditionally, westerns espouse conservative values, and one value is respect for your elders. When should somebody be put out to pasture because they are past their prime and no longer useful to society? In Don Siegel's superlative western "Death of a Gunfighter," Richard Widmark played a town-taming lawman who refused to quit his job long after the dust had settled and the townspeople took it upon themselves to finish him off. In "The Good Guys & the Bad Guys," Robert Mitchum plays Marshal James Flagg of Progress. When our hero discovers a plot afoot to rob the town bank of a bundle of money, he alerts smarmy Mayor Randolph Wilker (Martin Balsam of "The Anderson Tapes") that a notorious outlaw, 'Big' John McKay (George Kennedy of "Bandolero!"), is in the territory to rob the Progress Bank.Initially, Mayor Wilker doesn't know who McKay is until Flagg loses credibility in the mayor's eyes and reveals McKay was an infamous bank robber back in the days of Jesse James. Indeed, everybody thought McKay had been dead for years. Moreover, the fact that Flagg found out about McKay from an old hermit in the hills, Grundy (Douglas Fowley of "Bandido"), weakens his case. Flagg insists the mayor assemble a posse immediately, but the mayor dismisses Flagg's paranoia. Nevertheless, Flagg wants to round-up a posse and ride these varmints down. Wilker is thinking about his next election and doesn't want anything to jeopardize his chances, especially hysteria about a bank robber who is reportedly dead. If Flagg's outcry turned out to be a false alarm, Wilker fears he will lose face and the next election. Consequently, Wilker hosts a retirement party for Flagg, takes his badge, and commemorates his many years of duty with a gold watch.Despite the advice of his pretty landlord (Lois Nettleton), Flagg sets out to capture McKay. He sneaks up on McKay's camp, scatters their horses, and gets the drop on McKay long enough to collapse under the weight of a gun barrel slammed against his noggin. When he awakens, Flagg learns McKay isn't the head of his old gang anymore. Instead, Waco (David Carradine of "Kill Bill") has assumed dominance of the gang. Waco and the boys recover their horses, and he leaves McKay with Flagg. McKay still wants to accompany his old gang, but Waco tells him to kill Flagg. The gang ride off, and McKay considers killing Flagg long enough for Grundy—who Flagg had tried to dissuade from following him—sneaks up and disarms McKay. When he brings in McKay, Flagg catches the ambitious but concupiscent Wilker humping a beautiful married woman, Mrs. Carmel Flannagan (Tina Louise of "Gilligan's Island") because her husband neglects her. Of course, Wilker is taken completely by surprise at Flagg's sudden appearance. Eventually, Flagg convinces the mayor about the predicament they are in, but not before one of Waco's ruffians, Deuce (John Davis Chandler of "The Outlaw Josey Wales") shoots Grundy in the back in the street. Waco defuses the crisis by helping the idiot who replaced Flagg, Deputy Marshal Howard Boyle (Dick Peabody of "Combat!" where he played 'Little John'), to escort Deuce to jail. They lock Boyle up and wait for the train to arrive.Now that Mayor Wilker believes Flagg hasn't cried 'wolf,' he tries to figure out a way to keep Waco and his hellions from robbing the bank and destroying his opportunity for re-election. Initially, he wants to accompany Flagg and McKay who plan to board the train and force it to bypass Progress. The running gag at this point is Wilker took away Flagg's badge and he has a difficult time proving he is the local custodian of justice. It happened the first time that he met McKay and got captured by Waco's men and the lack of a badge comes back to haunt him when McKay and he board the train, only to find to conductor with guns aimed at them. Desperately, Flagg explains the situation, but the conductors, one of whom is John Carradine of "The Grapes of Wrath," imprison them in the privy. Naturally, our heroes escape, take over the train, and run it through Progress without stopping at the depot. Waco and his bunch light out after the train while Mayor Wilker finally does assemble a posse."The Good Guys & the Bad Guys" is one of those modern-day, turn-of-the-century westerns with automobile, motorcycles, and indoor toilets. Unfortunately, the script is neither agile nor antic enough, and none of the characters is memorable. Martin Balsam is good as the Mayor, but he plays him as an object of scorn. Robert Mitchum acts as if he were in a comedy, while George Kennedy just acts. Moments of sentimentality—the scenes with Lois Nettleton—fall flat because there is no chemistry between her and Flagg.The period recreation is admirable and the production values, especially Harry Stradling's widescreen cinematography, are up to snuff. The miniatures in the train crash are none-too-convincing, but the scenery is fabulous. There is no equivalent to the finger-in-the-gun barrel from Kennedy's earlier and more successful "Support Your Local Sheriff." Ultimately, "The Good Guys & the Bad Guys" is just fair to middling, though the title ballad of Marshal Flagg sung by Glen Yarbrough is terrific.

Mee431 For those who like western's, this one has it all. For those who don't, the same applies.The ageing Marshal teams up with the ageing bandit to oust the bad young guys, hopelessly out-numbered of course. Naturally with age comes experience and the bad guys are defeated as the (ex) Marshal (played brilliantly by Mitchum) walks into a hail of pistol fire flanked by his new(ish) best friend (Big John Makay- aka George Kennedy)and dispenses justice with both barrels. The likable old drunk is shot in the back by one of the bad guys, the whores aren't shown as harlots, the mayor gets it anywhere he can and the new Marshal is stupid. Hardly surprising.Oh, and of course, there's a love interest for the Marshal- and a cute little blonde boy who looks to Mitchum as a substitute father. There's an almost hilarious train sequence and a train chase with a difference. For those women who find westerns aren't really their thing but are made to watch them by boyfriends, this one has a big plus: Robert Mitchum, for all that he is playing a character who is supposed to be past it looks pretty fine. Likable enough, but don't take it too seriously- its not meant to be.

Marlburian It's an enjoyable film despite being a curious mix, with the generally humorous tone being jolted by the vicious killing of the "grizzled old coot", a stock Western character here played by Douglas Fowley in a far less irritating manner than Walter Brennan or George "Gabby" Hayes. Likewise the finale with its Keystones-Cops style chase ends with a vicious gunfight.Talking of grizzled characters, the film makes great play of its two main protagonists 'being over the hill', but neither Robert Mitchum nor George Kennedy look past it, even if stinting do stand in for them during the rougher scenes; the former was in his early fifties, the latter in his mid-forties when the film was made. Usually Hollywood casts the other way, with middle-aged actors fighting and loving in roles of people at least ten years younger. The elegiac sentiment of men having to cope with modernisation and younger rivals has been better conveyed by Richard Widmark and supporting cast in "Once upon a Texas Train", Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott in "Ride the High Country" and John Wayne in "The Shootist".Martin Balsam does very well as the rascally, ambitious mayor and there's a fine old Western train to gladden the heart of any rail enthusiast. It's even transporting a gleaming new fire engine, but I couldn't work out how Kennedy got it to emit an instant high-pressure gush of water to repel his assailants.It's good to see John Carradine in a light-hearted role, but as the gang leader his son David is upstaged by the vicious killer played by John Davis Chandler.

bkoganbing Burt Kennedy during the late 1960s seemed to take over the western genre with a cluster of good comedic films using some of Hollywood's best. but aging male stars. The Good Guys and the Bad Guys is a prime example of his work which never disappoints.Robert Mitchum as an aging and then ex-Marshal and George Kennedy,an outlaw adversary of Mitchum's from the old days join forces to outwit and capture a gang of young punks that the aging Kennedy has been riding with. Since they're on the screen for most of the story together, the chemistry has to be perfect with them for the picture to work and it is.Some Hollywood veterans also round out the cast. Marie Windsor for once is a good girl as a saloon owner with a heart of gold. Douglas Fowley plays a grizzled old timer in the best Gabby Hayes tradition. They stand out as does David Carradine as the leader of the young outlaws.However in the scenes he's in, Martin Balsam as the town mayor steals the film. He had to be the model that Mel Brooks used for Harvey Korman's portrayal of Hedley Lamarr in Blazing Saddles.And in the best 50s western tradition we have Glenn Yarborough singing intermittently The Ballad of Marshal Flagg in the great tradition of Frankie Laine. Personally though Yarborough does a good job, I think they should have utilized Robert Mitchum for that also.The then Governor of New Mexico, David Cargo, makes a bit appearance at the end of the film as a reporter. Cargo, tried very hard to get the Hollywood Studios to use New Mexico for filming. I suppose this bit was one of the perks of office.It's rollicking good entertainment, Burt Kennedy at his best.