At the urging of a former colleague named Red, a retired gunman named Tommy Hill (played by none other than Tommy Hill) agrees to pull one more job in hopes of saving his ranch from foreclosure.
Red knows of a no-good who is holed up with a fortune in dirty money. And he figures it should be easy pickings if Tommy and buddies Will (Bill Wise) and Gunter (Michael Hankin) ride along.
Well, getting the money proves easier than keeping it.
That’s because it was initially stolen from a vicious town boss named Jake who has an equally vicious lawman named Bear upholding the law for him.
Next thing you know, Red is dead and Tommy, Will and Gunter are in prison … until Bear can get around to dispatching of them.
Enter Violet, an aging saloon gal and Jake’s sometimes lover. She’s in the doghouse because Jake has stolen a new “mount” — a pretty and very young thing named Rose.
Violet was caught trying to help Rose escape before she could be “soiled” by the much older man.
Next thing you know, Violet and the Tommy Hill gang are on the run with Bear and a posse on their trail, Jake swearing vengeance and Rose still under his thumb.
You’ll be surprised when you start watching this, because the DVD cover gives no hint that the stars of the film will have gray hair. Yep, this is a tale of old gunfighters, coming out of retirement.
Now, it’s far from classic. The acting is hardly top shelf. The film might have benefitted from more focus on the plight of young Rose, the girl kidnapped by the evil and perverted Jake to be his new lover.
Violet’s motivations — not to mention her attraction to the penniless, hard-drinking Tommy — don’t always make sense. And one scene, where our heroes and the saloon gal ride out of town during a jail break at a leisurely gate as shots ring out behind them, is groan-worthy.
But the film also doesn’t take itself very seriously. There are broad strokes of humor, like when Gunter is trying to explain the writings of Henry David Thoreau to Will. And when Will awakes with a rattlesnake on his leg and a rumbling in his belly because he’s been eating nothing but beans.
Bottom line: When it comes to 21st Century Westerns, you can do a lot worse. And watch films with far less likeable characters.
Directed by:
Scott Perry
Cast:
Tommy Hill … Tommy Hill
Michael Hankin … Gunter
Bill Wise … Will
Sue Rock … Violet
Robert Graham … Jake
Marlene Peralez … Rose
Garrett Graham … Travis
Eric Perry … Bear
Tom Adkins … Red
Runtime: 91 min.
Memorable lines:
Gunter: “Texas is beautiful in the moonlight, heh?”
Will: “You looking at the same damn moonlight I’m looking at?”
Jake, after an informant has asked for a reward: “Take care of him, Bear.”
Bear: “Happy to.”
Jake, a few minutes later, finding the informant dead by Bear’s feet: “What the hell?”
Bear: “What? I took care of him.”
Jake: “That isn’t what I meant.”
Bear: “Well, that’s what you said. What do you want me to do with him? And be clear.”
Bear, referring to saloon girl Violet: “Want I should kill her, too?”
Jake: “Why not? Time for a fresh mount.”