The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

Robert Mitchum is Flagg, the aging sheriff put out to pasture by a Mayor Wilker (Martin Balsum) in the town of Progress.

The mayor is more interested in being elected than listening to the warning about an impending train robbery.

Flagg is particularly worried because he’s heard an outlaw named McKay (George Kennedy) has been seen in these here parts.

And McKay was one of the toughest hombres around … well, some 20 years ago.

In truth, there is a group of outlaws with their sights set on money being shipped by train to finance a new bank in Progress.

But they’re led by Waco (David Carradine), not McKay. The old-timer is simply along because he knows the town. Even then, he finds himself booted from the gang.

Flagg takes him into custody. But when Waco’s gang guns down an old-timer named Grundy, they decide to join forces to foil those holdup plans.

And what better way to do that than to make sure the train bound for Progress doesn’t stop in Progress.

Robert Mitchum as Marshal Flagg, learning that trouble might be headed toward Progress in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

George Kennedy as notorious aging outlaw McKay, talking about a son he hasn’t seen in five years in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

Review:

Harmless fun if you’re in the mood for a comedy Western with lots of familiar faces. There’s a rousing train chase … yes, train chase … for a finale and lots of nostalgic talk about the good ol’ days before we get there.

Lovely Tina Louise and her bulging cleavage were a major part of the ad campaign for the film. In truth, she’s got a small role as a married woman who, for some reason, just can’t resist the mayor.

Douglas Fowley has a fun part as the crusty old-timer named Grundy, who has built a house but refuses to live in it because he can’t stand to be indoors.

And Marie Windsor, at age 49, plays a saloon gal named Polly. And you’ll spot the father-son team of John Carradine as a train guard and David Carradine as Waco, leader of the outlaws.

Martin Balsam as Mayor Wilker, ready to put Marshal Flagg out to pasture in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

David Carradine as Waco, an outlaw leader with his eyes on a shipment of money to finance a new bank in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

Directed by:
Burt Kennedy

Cast:
Robert Mitchum … Flagg
George Kennedy … McKay
David Carradine … Waco
Tina Louise … Carmel
Douglas Fowley … Grundy
Lois Nettleton … Mary
John D. Chandler … Deuce
Martin Balsam … Mayor Wilker
Marie Windsor … Polly
John Carradine … Ticker
Dick Peabody … Boyle
Jimmy Murphy … Buckshot
Bobby Riha … Billy

Runtime: 91 min.

Nice Title Song, repeated throughout film
“The Ballad of Marshal Flagg” sung by Glenn Yarbrough

Lois Nettleton as Mary, humored by Flagg’s attemtp to explain the ‘world’s oldest profession’ to her son in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

Tina Louise as Carmel, a married woman being plied with liquor by the mayor of Progess in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

Memorable lines:

Waco to McKay: “He’s a marshal like you’re Calamity Jane.”

Flagg, about a lie McKay just told: “What was that business about me being marshal of Purgatory?”
McKay: “Waco would have shot you right on the spot if he knew you were marshal of Progress.”
Flagg: “What’s that to you?”
McKay: “Nothing. I just don’t go for unnecessary killing.”

McKay: “Backshooting. Bushwhacking. That’s all the young one know these days. They ain’t got no pride. They ain’t got no honor. It just ain’t no fun anymore.”

McKay: “You got a privy out back.”
Flagg: “What do you mean out back? That name of this town in Progress. We got one right here in the house.”
McKay: “In the house?”

Robert Mitchum as Marshal Flagg, trying to convince the mayor to form a posse to hunt down McKay in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

Douglas Fowley as Grundy, the old-timer who alerts Marshal Flagg to McKay’s return to the region in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

Marie Windsor as saloon girl Polly, fending off the advances of one of Waco’s men in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

Howard, Marshal Flagg’s deputy and the man who replaces him when he’s retired in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

John D. Chandler as Deuce, the trouble maker among Waco’s gang in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

John Carradine as Ticker, a guard on the train, shocked to see his colleague tied and bound in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

Bobby Riha as Billy, asking Marshal Flagg why the saloon girls were chased out of Progess in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

Tina Louise as Carmel, enjoying the aftermath of romance with the mayor of Progress in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)

Robert Mitchum as Marshal Flagg and George Kennedy as McKay in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)