Great cast, good Western

Posted by Jim Mayor on May 19th 2023

The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969) is one of the good Westerns; no doubt, due more to the fine cast rather than the plot. The plot is essentially some bad guys coming to the small town and to rob the bank. No big deal here. But, in addition to the bad guys are some good guys. Surprisingly, the aging Marshall Jim Flagg is none other than Robert Mitchum. Now you don’t see him in many relatively funny movies, and in this one he still sort of plays it straight. His nemesis is the also aging “bad guy” Big John McKay endearingly played by George Kennedy. The cast also included Martin Balsam as the stereotypical politician Mayor Wilker; both David Carradine as baddie, Waco, and his father, John, as a train conductor; Dick Peabody, as the bumbling new Marshall Boyle; and recognizable character actor John Davis Chandler as Deuce. And the ladies weren’t left out. There was Tina Louise, Lois Nettleton, Marie Windsor, and another recognizable character actor Kathleen Freeman. Not to discount the other great acting, I think the scene-stealer was the grizzled sourdough, Grundy, played by Douglas Fowley. The movie’s era is the very early 20th Century so there are horses as well as an abundance of horseless carriages to spice it up.