Westerns were on the way out when The Good Guys and The Bad Guys came out in 1969. This didn't stop director Burt Kennedy from going ahead with a project that mixed comedy with the typical western action-adventure. It's supposed to be set 20 years after the James gang terrorized the Midwest, around the turn of the century. The fictional western town of Progress is replete with a plethora of automobiles-really too many for 1900, not to mention that some of those cars look like they're more from 1920 than twenty years earlier. You might accuse me of quibbling a bit, but I really do appreciate films that aim for some concrete verisimilitude. Besides, the cars do play a big factor in the plot, as we shall see in a moment. Even worse is the casting. Here the stars, Robert Mitchum (who plays the protagonist, the supposed over-the-hill Deputy Jim Flagg) and his arch-rival, outlaw "Big" John McKay (George Kennedy), are way too young for the parts. Mitchum was 52 when the film was made and Kennedy, 44; and they expect us to believe that these two would be considered cows ready to be put out to pasture? The theme, of course, is reverence for the elderly; those who have grown older still are worthy of our respect. At film's end, Flagg and McKay join forces to foil a train robbery, pitted against some realistic bad guys led by Waco (David Carradine). Much of the alleged comedy stems from the machinations of the mealy-mouthed Mayor Wilker (Martin Balsam), who promptly sends Flagg into retirement after disbelieving his warnings about the reappearance of McKay and younger confederates. Yes, we get it that Wilker is duplicitous but he's simply not funny. That includes his interactions with Carmel (Tina Louise of "Gilligan's Island" fame), the errant "married woman" with whom he's having an affair. Louise has a wasted part, with little to do but look stupid as she fawns over him. Equally disappointing is the banter between Flagg and McKay. The running joke is that Flagg intends to turn McKay into the authorities no matter what. He keeps his promise after they thwart the big train caper, reassuring McKay that he'll get off lightly due to his assistance in stopping the bad guys (McKay hardly protests against Flagg's specious promise!). In essence, these two supposed tough guys really are infused with "hearts of gold"-especially McKay, who hardly seems like much of an outlaw at all (rather a big teddy bear!). Midway through the bad guys shake the town up after one of them shoots an old codger, introduced early on as a friend of the Marshal. The showpiece is the final scene where Flagg and McKay climb on board a steaming locomotive and prevent it from stopping in a town where Waco and his bad guys plan to relieve it of all the cash on board. While Mitchum and Kennedy manage to entertain as they appear to climb on top of a moving train and shoot it out with conductors (curiously good shots with pistols), the fate of the train itself (falling off a bridge under repair), is laughable (due to the obvious miniature props employed). Even more silly are the townspeople in their new-fangled "Horseless carriages," chasing after the outlaws, who could have easily picked any of them off with a good shot or two. The final shootout with the bad guys is wholly predictable, including the Marshal and his rival basically riding off into the sunset. Mitchum and Kennedy still are somewhat entertaining despite the weak material. This is not the not worst western that was ever made, but so lightweight that you'll probably forget about it after a day or two, after it promptly recedes from your memory.

The Good Guys and the Bad Guys is directed by Burt Kennedy and written by Dennis Shryack. It stars Robert Mitchum, George Kennedy, Martin Balsam, David Carradine, Tina Louise, Lois Nettleton and Douglas Fowley. A Panavision/Technicolor production, music is by William Lava and cinematography by Harry Stradling Jr.The town of Progress and Marshal Jim Flagg (Mitchum) learns that old foe John McKay (Kennedy) is about and robbery is soon to follow. However, Jim has difficulty convincing Mayor Wilker (Balsam) that any thing is up, the Mayor apparently more concerned with bed hopping and feathering his own political nest. So when Wilker prematurely retires Jim, sticking one of his lap-dogs into the role of Marshal, Jim sets about doing his own investigation. Pretty soon both Jim and John, one time enemies on either side of the law, find that both of them are out of time with an ever changing West.Amiable. Burt Kennedy's film doesn't have the best of reputations, seemingly the blend of comedy and drama not teasing out much interest from the Western enthusiasts. It's true enough to say that the main theme, that of the changing West and two men finding themselves relics of the time, is ultimately playing second fiddle to the frivolity, while the finale tips over into over zealous slapstick farcery, yet Kennedy and Shryack imbue the picture with a genuine love of the genre. The director lets the pairing of Mitchum and Kennedy unfurl naturally, whilst also giving Balsam license to have a great time, thus all key performers are ever watchable. Scenic delights await within as Chama and Silverton provide location oomph, and the action quotient is in good supply.Disposable for sure, but fun while it's on. 6.5/10

There really isn't much new to "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys" to distinguish it from dozens of other westerns. In other words, it's made up of a lot of very, very familiar story elements--story elements that were used better in previous films. You get a lot of films like "High Noon" and "Rio Lobo"--where it's just a lone sheriff or a sheriff and a friend trying to fend off an evil gang. The only big difference is that the film is supposed to be a comedy....though most of it really isn't all that funny. The only reason you might want to see this is Robert Mitchum (who is watchable in anything), but he's certainly done better westerns.The film begins with the Marshall (Mitchum) telling the Mayor (Martin Balsam) that a gang of bandits is coming to town to rob them. However, the Mayor doesn't seem the least bit concerned--after all, it's the 20th century and the age of train robbers is in the distant past. In fact, to shut up the Marshall, they decide to retire him in a big surprise ceremony. But the now ex-Marshall isn't about to just disappear and he intends to stop the bad guys anyway. The problem is that there are just too many. Can Gary Cooper...I mean, John Wayne...no, I mean Robert Mitchum, stop them? Sorry about the confusion--as I said, it sure had a VERY familiar plot and I've seen these folks (and many others) in similar films.Now I am NOT saying that this is a bad film. But it's definitely recycled and the humor is anything but funny. As for the main stars, Mitchum and George Kennedy, they try their best and aren't bad--it's just ashamed they weren't given more with which to work. A time-passer and nothing more. Oh, and by the way, the music is pretty god-awful--and sounded more like something you might have heard a decade earlier and sounded very out of place for 1969.

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.