Billy the Kid (1930)

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

Walter Noble Burns (book)
Wanda Tuchock (continuity)

Release Date:

18 October 1930 (USA)

Genre:

History | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Cattle-thief, outlaw, 2-gun man, Don Juan - was this the youth who ruled the lawless west with a flame-tipped gun and iron courage?

Plot:

In this version of the Billy the Kid legend, Billy, after shooting down land baron William Donovan's henchmen for killing Billy's boss...

Plot Keywords:

Legend | Billy The Kid | Escape | Sheriff | Killing

Cast

Johnny Mack Brown	...	William H. 'Billy the Kid' Bonney (as John Mack Brown)
Wallace Beery	...	Deputy Sheriff Pat Garrett
Kay Johnson	...	Claire Randall
Karl Dane	...	Swenson
Wyndham Standing	...	John W. 'Jack' Tunston
Russell Simpson	...	Angus McSween
Blanche Friderici	...	Mrs. McSween (as Blanche Frederici)
Roscoe Ates	...	Old Stuff (as Rosco Ates)
Warner Richmond	...	Bob Ballinger (as Warner P. Richmond)
James A. Marcus	...	Colonel William P. Donovan (as James Marcus)
Nelson McDowell	...	Track Hatfield
Jack Carlyle	...	Mr. Dick Brewer
John Beck	...	Butterworth
Chris-Pin Martin	...	Don Esteban Santiago (as Chris Martin)
Marguerita Padula	...	Nicky 'Pinky' Whoosiz

Also Known As:

The Highwayman Rides (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

98 min | USA:95 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Gallup, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The pistols carried by Johnny Mack Brown were the actual pistols that belonged to the real Billy the Kid. They were loaned to the studio for the picture by William S. Hart, who had them in his private collection.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Billy the Kid (1941)

Soundtrack:

Turkey in the Straw

One Strange Cowboy Flick

By the time King Vidor directed this "Billy the Kid," he already had 36 movies under his belt (most of them silent), so it's weird that the movie seems so arbitrarily thrown together. Brutality and tenderness each try to crowd the other out. Somebody dies, and minutes later everyone's smiling again. I think the Western/Cowboy genre was still developing in Hollywood at the time (even after all those silent Westerns), and the addition of sound just threw another monkey wrench into the works. Nevertheless, you can tick off all the Western conventions and clichés as the film unfolds; they're all there. But it's like they're on steroids or something -- you never know when they're going to take on a life of their own. They just don't add up. I'm tempted to give this movie an "8" rating just for its consummate strangeness, but I think a "6" is probably a fairer assessment.