National Society of Film Critics

In For Kids of All Ages, members of the National Society of Film Critics celebrate the wonder of childhood in cinema. In this volume, original essays commissioned especially for this collection stand alongside classic reviews from prominent film critics like Jay Carr and Roger Ebert. Each of the seven sections in this collection takes on a particular aspect of children's cinema, from animated features to adaptations of beloved novels. The films discussed here range from the early 1890s to the present. The contributors draw on personal connections that make their insights more trenchant and compelling. The essays and reviews in For Kids of All Ages are not just a list of recommendations—though plenty are included—but an illuminating, often personal study of children's movies, children in movies, and the childish wonder that is the essence of film.

In 1913 Texas, Pike Bishop (William Holden), the leader of a gang of aging outlaws, is seeking retirement with one final score: the robbery of a railroad office containing a cache of silver. They are ambushed by Pike's former partner, Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan), and a posse of bounty hunters hired and deputized…