When newspaperman and mayoral candidate Ricky Nelson finds himself the target of his crooked rivals, father-in-law Pat O'Brien gives a call to his old partners in the Texas Rangers, Walter Brennan, Edger Buchanan, and Chill Wills. The only problem is that they're all old as dirt and very rusty when it comes to their law-enforcement skills, making them a laughing stock, but not for long.
Although this has a great concept, it's a little too tongue-in-cheek and devoid of action most of the time. Then again, how much action can you expect from a group of elderly actors? Still, the climax is decent.
A great cast, also including Jack Elam, Andy Devine, and Gypsy Rose Lee (who died soon after), helps make this made-for-television movie way more entertaining than it otherwise would have been.
The next year brought a somewhat superior sequel, followed nineteen years later by a second, Once Upon A Texas Train, in which Elam replaced Buchanan.