The Train Robbers is a 1973 Western Technicolor film written and directed by Burt Kennedy and starring John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor, Ben Johnson and Ricardo Montalban. Filming took place in Sierra de Órganos National Park in the town of Sombrerete, Mexico. Two brief scenes take place in the square that was used for the final shootout in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Plot

After the death of her husband, Mrs. Lowe wants to tell the railroad where to find the half-million U.S. dollars in gold her late husband, Matt, stole during a train robbery, and clear the family name for her son. Instead Lane convinces her to retrieve the gold so she can collect the $50,000 reward offered by the railroad for its return. Lane lines up some old friends to assist him in retrieving the gold for a share of the reward. But the other original train robbers have gathered a gang and will try to get the gold at any cost. As they all journey into Mexico in search of the hidden gold they are followed closely by an unnamed Pinkerton agent who is working for Wells Fargo.

After a series of adventures and battles they return to Texas with the gold where there is one final battle. The next day Lane and his men put Mrs. Lowe on a train to return the gold and tell her she can keep the reward for herself and her son. As they are walking past the end of the train they meet the Pinkerton Agent who tells them, as the train is pulling out, that Matt Lowe was never married and that Mrs. Lowe is really a prostitute named Lilly who fooled them into helping her get the gold for herself. Lane then leads his gang to rob the train as the film ends.

Cast

• John Wayne as Lane
• Ann-Margret as Lilly Lowe
• Rod Taylor as Grady
• Ben Johnson as Jesse
• Christopher George as Calhoun
• Bobby Vinton as Ben Young
• Jerry Gatlin as Sam Turner
• Ricardo Montalban as The Pinkerton man

Reception

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four and called it fairly good, in a quiet and workmanlike sort of way, although there s a plot twist at the end that ruins things unnecessarily. But what’s best about it, what makes it worth seeing, is Kennedy’s visual approach to the subject of John Wayne. Roger Greenspun of The New York Times wrote, I don t think that tone and attitude are quite enough to sustain a movie, or that an air of good feeling can take the place of meaningful dramatic action. But as an exercise in pleasantness, The Train Robbers is an interesting addition to the late history of the traditional unpretentious Western. Arthur D. Murphy of Variety called it an above-average John Wayne actioner, written and directed by Burt Kennedy with suspense, comedy and humanism not usually found in the formula. Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three stars out of four and declared that John Wayne s legend not only lives in The Train Robbers, it gleams. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, In the light of the current—and largely admirable—cycle of revisionist westerns that lay waste to those cherished myths of the frontier, it s downright reassuring to watch an amiable, traditional-style John Wayne adventure . . . There s a neat balance between action and comedy, and Wayne himself is in top form.

The film holds a score of 33% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 6 reviews.

Quentin Tarantino later called it so light it s barely a movie, but that doesn’t mean it’s not amusing.

Year	1973
ReleaseDate	1973-02-07
RuntimeMins	92
RuntimeStr	1h 32min
Plot	A gunhand named Lane is hired by a widow, Mrs. Lowe, to find gold stolen by her husband so that she may return it and start fresh.
Directors	Burt Kennedy
Writers	Burt Kennedy
Stars	John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor
Produced by	John Wayne,Michael Wayne
Music by	Dominic Frontiere
Cinematography by	William H. Clothier
Film Editing by	Frank Santillo
Art Direction by	Alfred Sweeney
Set Decoration by	Ray Moyer
Makeup Department	Joe DiBella,Dave Grayson,George Masters
Production Management	Nate H. Edwards
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Fred R. Simpson,Cliff Lyons,Joe Nayfack
Art Department	Jerry Graham,Robert Tanenbaum
Sound Department	Charlie Albrecht,John Ferguson,Dan Wallin
Special Effects by	Howard Jensen,Paul Stewart
Visual Effects by	Albert Whitlock
Stunts	Cliff Lyons,Denny Arnold,Jim Burk,Louie Elias,Glory Fioramonti,Jerry Gatlin,Chuck Hayward,Terry Leonard,Chuck Roberson,Dean Smith
Camera and Electrical Department	Dave Sutton,Ray De La Motte,Joseph R. Garner,William Kenney,Edward Morey III,George Gordon Nogle,James F. Reber,Paul A. Schori Sr.,Bill Tharp,James V. Vajana
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Luster Bayless,Neva Rames
Location Management	Edward Arnold
Music Department	Dan Wallin
Script and Continuity Department	Marshall J. Wolins
Transportation Department	George Alden,James Antúnez,Frank Austin,Edward Baken,George Coleman,Bob Edwards,Bob Goodrich,Russell McEntyre,Arne E. Pohjola,Rex Schroetter,Pat Walke
Additional Crew	Wayne Fitzgerald,Emma Allen,Jack Casey,Lamar Criss,Wayne Cutlip, Chema Hernandez,Billy Jones,Gordon G. Jones,Thomas John Kane,Bill Kegans,Grace Nagata,Corky Randall,Alpha Steinman,Ralph Volkie
Genres	Action, Comedy, Romance
Companies	Batjac Productions
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	Passed
ImDbRating	6.4
ImDbRatingVotes	6035
MetacriticRating	64
Keywords	tucson arizona,buxom,chihuahua mexico,chihuahua,mexico