Parents' Guide to Last Train to Fortune

Thanks to a brilliant McDowell, passionate messages about reading and education, and the movie's overall amiable, jovial tone, this Western is likely to win viewers over right from the start. Last Train to Fortune begins with a squeaky weathervane, the screech of a hawk, and a close-up of a pocket-watch—but the latch is broken, and it won't snap closed. By the time the camera cuts to McDowell, with his round spectacles, tweed suit, and city slicker hat, we're in. The movie has a long history: It was written by Michele Rifkin (director Adam Rifkin's mother) sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s, originally intended for English filmmaker Lindsay Anderson (whose movies If... and O Lucky Man! helped make McDowell a star) and stars Bill Paxton and McDowell. But Anderson died in 1994 and the production was canceled. Years later, it was picked up again, with Rifkin's son Adam directing, but then Paxton died in 2017. Finally, when Paxton's son James was old enough, they tried again, and the third time's the charm.

Rifkin achieves a fine, sunny, wide-open-space look and breezy pace for the movie—and even if some of the action is a little cluttered and not all of the jokes land, it's likely to remain in most viewers' good graces. The younger Paxton does a fine job with what was to be his father's role, bringing a wiry, cocksure quality to the character, as well as a hidden kindness. And McDowell, who's often associated with rebellious, mischievous, or outright villainous roles, is at his very best and most lovable as Cecil. His passionate dialogue about reading and learning is a welcome balm in an era of anti-intellectualism and book-banning. Last Train to Fortune is a great movie, and it could be a good genre entry point for folks who've never seen a Western.