Richard Farnsworth is Bill Miner, a gentleman bandit, a man who’s been jailed for 30 years after staging 26 successful stagecoach holdups.
Now he’s being released from prison in 1901, into a world he barely recognizes.
But he knows this. He isn’t cut out to be an oyster picker. He isn’t cut out to be a miner.
He’s a bandit, as he somewhat bashfully tells as inventor on a train ride home.
And if there are no more stagecoaches to rob … well, there are trains.
Rounding up a gang of worthy fellow bandits proves difficult. Finding love after prison isn’t; Miner falls for Kate Flynn (Jackie Burroughs), a woman of fine breeding living in the West on a lark.
By that time, Miner is hiding out in Kamloops, British Columbia, pretending to be a mining engineer named George Anderson.
By the law, both in the U.S. and Canada, isn’t about to give up on its search for The Grey Fox.
Review:
Splendid little film with a fine performance by Farnsworth as a real-life gentleman bandit who was credited with originating the phrase: “Hands up!”
That said, his real-life ending wasn’t quite as romantic as the closing screenshot in this Canadian-made film would leave one to believe.
Timothy Webber is Sgt. Fernie, the Canadian police officer who grows fond of Miner; Gary Reineke is Pinkerton Detective Seavy, the man determined to put him behind bars again. And Wayne Robson plays Shorty Dunn, the slightly dim-witted man he trains to become his partner.
Farnsworth’s career was as fascinating as the character he portrays in this film. He was a stuntman for 30 years — appearing in “Gunga Din” and “Gone with the Wind” in 1939 — before turning to acting and gaining acclaim — and an Academy Award nomination — for his performance in “Comes a Horseman” (1979).
He committed suicide at age 80 while battling prostrate cancer.
Directed by:
Phillip Borsos
Cast:
Richard Farnsworth … Bill Miner
Jackie Burroughs … Kate Flynn
Ken Pogue … Jack Budd
Wayne Robson … Shorty Dunn
Timothy Webber … Sgt. Fernie
Gary Reineke … Detective Seavy
David Peterson … Louis Colquhoun
Don MacKay … Al Sims
Samantha Langevin … Jenny
Tom Heaton … Tom
Stephen E. Miller … Danny Young
Runtime: 90 min.
Memorable lines:
Bill Miner: “To a man my age, the future don’t mean too much. Unless you’re maybe thinking about next week.”
Former inmate: “I figure we’ll do some holdups. That’s your line, right?”
Bill Miner: “No. I just rob stagecoaches.”
Former inmate, laughing: “You try to find one, nowadays? Besides, stagecoaches, stores, banks. It’s all the same.”
Bill: “No it’s not the same. A professional also specializes.”
Former inmate: “Well, yours is gone, just like the buffalo.”
Bill Miner: “You’re not worth killing. But if you come at me again, I’ll put a window through your head, so help me.”
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