High Noon II: The Return of Will Kane (1980)

Lee Majors returns to Hadleyville as Will Kane, driving the same buggy he and his wife left town in after his showdown with the Miller gang.

The former marshal and his wife are in town to take ownership of a prize string of horses, at a cost of $1,500. It isn’t long before three no-goods attempt to steal the horses.

Then an even less good lawman (Pernell Roberts as J.D. Ward) shows up to take the three men into custody, and winds up shooting up the string of horses in the process.

Kane soon realizes the man Ward is after (David Carradine as Ben Irons) couldn’t possibly have committed the murder he’s wanted for because he was in prison at the time.

Ward should know that, too, having worked at the same prison.

So Kane finds himself trying to save the man’s life in a journey that leads back to Hadleyville, where the good folks in town will get a second chance to stand behind their now-legendary ex-marshal.

Review:

Why in the world did we need a sequel to the classic, especially 30 years later with post-“Six Million Dollar Man” Lee Majors in the Gary Cooper role?

Majors can’t carry the film, and there’s isn’t nearly as much tension as the original in this made-for-TV movie.

The lone bright spot is the inspired performance of Pernell Roberts in a part that’s going to remind you of Gene Hackman in “The Hunting Party.”

And what’s up with the theme music, lifted straight from a Spaghetti Western?

Except for the scene in which a single shot from a pistol sends one of Ward’s men flying backwards and part way down a flight of steps, there isn’t anything as stylish as a Spaghetti Western in this movie.

Directed by:
Jerry Jameson

Cast:
Lee Majors … Will Kane
David Carradine … Ben Irons
J.A. Preston … Alonzo
Michael Pataki … Darold
Katherine Cannon … Amy Kane
Pernell Roberts … Marshal Ward
M. Emmet Walsh … Harold Patton
Frank Campanella …. Dr. Losey
Tracy Walter … Harlan Tyler
Britt Leach … Virgil
Charlie Benton … Emmett
Sanford Gibbons … Frank Stam

Runtime: 96 min.

Memorable lines:

Will Kane: “I’ve got a court order subpoena for Ben Irons to appear on a civil matter. I’m going to try to see that he does.”
Marshal Ward: “You got a court order, huh? Well, I’ve got a 44-Henry here that says I get first dibs on him. Now why don’t you take your court order and put it in your outhouse where it’ll do some good.”

Marshal Ward, holding up his badge: “The only law you got is this piece of tin worth about two bits.” He drops it on the judge’s desk. “Nothing you’ve got nothing.”

Marshal Ward: “There’s a whole mile of nerve between holding a warrant and serving it.”