The 'Classical Age' of the Old West, as portrayed in movies, was approximately the quarter-century following the end of the American Civil War. The general consensus among film-makers is that after 1890, and certainly after 1900, the Wild West gradually became the Tame West, more peaceful and law-abiding but also less interesting than it had been previously. John Wayne in "The Shootist" (set in 1901) and William Holden and his companions in "The Wild Bunch" (set in 1913/14) are portrayed as ageing Wild West heroes who know that they have outlived their time.
"The Good Guys and the Bad Guys", made in the same year as "The Wild Bunch", is another post-1900 Western with a similar theme. To judge from the cars and the fashions we see, the action probably takes place around 1910. The hero is Marshal Jim Flagg, a veteran lawman honoured for having brought peace and order to the once-lawless town of Progress. Flagg gets wind of a rumour that a once-notorious bandit named John McKay, long believed to be dead, is in fact still alive and planning a raid on the train bringing a large sum of money to the town's bank. Unfortunately, when Flagg tries to warn the townspeople he is not believed, and is "retired" from his duties by the Mayor, who thinks him unduly alarmist. Of course, Flagg is proved right, and sets off to thwart the villains. In this he has an unlikely ally- McKay himself, whom he captures in a skirmish. Although McKay is a villain he has his own code of honour, and has been offended by the cowardly, dishonourable way in which his subordinate Waco shot an elderly man in the back.
The film can be seen as a comic version of "Firecreek", which came out the previous year. That film, like "The Shootist" and "The Wild Bunch", is a serious drama rather than a comedy, but it also features an ageing lawman and an ageing bandit leader who no longer has complete authority over his younger gang members. "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys", by contrast, is a mixture of comedy and action-adventure, although it does have occasional serious moments, like the shooting of the old man. The comic elements largely arise from the satirical treatment of Martin Balsam's conniving, self-serving Mayor and from the fact that the chief bad guy now finds himself on the same side as the good guys.
Burt Kennedy was a director who specialised in Westerns; indeed, he tried to keep the flag flying on behalf of the genre throughout its lean years of the late seventies and eighties, although most of his films from that period were made for television rather than the cinema. His Westerns often incorporated a mixture of comic and serious elements; another example is the 1971 Raquel Welch vehicle "Hannie Caulder" which would be a standard revenge drama were it not for the fact that the villains are too ridiculous to take altogether seriously.
One criticism I would have is that the two lead actors were perhaps too young; Robert Mitchum was 52 when the film was made, and looked younger, and George Kennedy only 44, which means that neither is quite convincing as an ageing man whose time has been and gone. James Stewart and Henry Fonda were both in their early sixties when they made "Firecreek", and "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys" might have worked better if actors of a similar age had been found. Also, Glenn Yarborough's title song gets pretty annoying at times. Those criticisms apart, however, this is overall a watchable, if lightweight, comedy/adventure film. 6/10
"The Good Guys and the Bad Guys", made in the same year as "The Wild Bunch", is another post-1900 Western with a similar theme. To judge from the cars and the fashions we see, the action probably takes place around 1910. The hero is Marshal Jim Flagg, a veteran lawman honoured for having brought peace and order to the once-lawless town of Progress. Flagg gets wind of a rumour that a once-notorious bandit named John McKay, long believed to be dead, is in fact still alive and planning a raid on the train bringing a large sum of money to the town's bank. Unfortunately, when Flagg tries to warn the townspeople he is not believed, and is "retired" from his duties by the Mayor, who thinks him unduly alarmist. Of course, Flagg is proved right, and sets off to thwart the villains. In this he has an unlikely ally- McKay himself, whom he captures in a skirmish. Although McKay is a villain he has his own code of honour, and has been offended by the cowardly, dishonourable way in which his subordinate Waco shot an elderly man in the back.
The film can be seen as a comic version of "Firecreek", which came out the previous year. That film, like "The Shootist" and "The Wild Bunch", is a serious drama rather than a comedy, but it also features an ageing lawman and an ageing bandit leader who no longer has complete authority over his younger gang members. "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys", by contrast, is a mixture of comedy and action-adventure, although it does have occasional serious moments, like the shooting of the old man. The comic elements largely arise from the satirical treatment of Martin Balsam's conniving, self-serving Mayor and from the fact that the chief bad guy now finds himself on the same side as the good guys.
Burt Kennedy was a director who specialised in Westerns; indeed, he tried to keep the flag flying on behalf of the genre throughout its lean years of the late seventies and eighties, although most of his films from that period were made for television rather than the cinema. His Westerns often incorporated a mixture of comic and serious elements; another example is the 1971 Raquel Welch vehicle "Hannie Caulder" which would be a standard revenge drama were it not for the fact that the villains are too ridiculous to take altogether seriously.
One criticism I would have is that the two lead actors were perhaps too young; Robert Mitchum was 52 when the film was made, and looked younger, and George Kennedy only 44, which means that neither is quite convincing as an ageing man whose time has been and gone. James Stewart and Henry Fonda were both in their early sixties when they made "Firecreek", and "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys" might have worked better if actors of a similar age had been found. Also, Glenn Yarborough's title song gets pretty annoying at times. Those criticisms apart, however, this is overall a watchable, if lightweight, comedy/adventure film. 6/10