Billy the Kid (1941)

Billy Bonney is a hot-headed gunslinger who narrowly skirts a life of crime by being befriended and hired by a peaceful rancher, Eric Keating. When Keating is killed, Billy seeks revenge on... See full summary »

Director:

David Miller

Writers:

Walter Noble Burns (book), Howard Emmett Rogers (story),

Stars:

Robert Taylor, Brian Donlevy, Ian Hunter

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Taylor	...	Billy Bonney
Brian Donlevy	...	Jim Sherwood
Ian Hunter	...	Eric Keating
Mary Howard	...	Edith Keating
Gene Lockhart	...	Dan Hickey
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	'Spike' Hudson
Henry O'Neill	...	Tim Ward
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Ed Bronson (blacksmith) (as Guinn Williams)
Cy Kendall	...	Cass McAndrews, Sheriff
Ted Adams	...	'Buz' Cobb
Frank Conlan	...	Judge Blake
Frank Puglia	...	Pedro Gonzales
Mitchell Lewis	...	Bart Hodges
Dick Curtis	...	Kirby Claxton
Grant Withers	...	Ed Shanahan

Storyline

Billy Bonney is a hot-headed gunslinger who narrowly skirts a life of crime by being befriended and hired by a peaceful rancher, Eric Keating. When Keating is killed, Billy seeks revenge on the men who killed him, even if it means opposing his friend, Marshal Jim Sherwood.

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Plot Keywords:

rancher | revenge | cowboy and outlaw | duel | rustler | 

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Taglines:

WANTED FOR MURDER WILLIAM BONNEY ALIAS "BILLY THE KID" (original ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

Billy, el Niño

Filming Locations:

Double U Guest Ranch - 8600 E. Rockcliff Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Maureen O'Sullivan was initially cast in the role of "Edith Keating" but left to be with her husband, director John Farrow, who was with the RCAF in Canada.

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Quotes

Billy: Don't he get a badge or something?
Eric Keating: Well, he didn't give me a badge for him. But... wait... there's a United States eagle on this dollar. That's all you need!

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of the Hollywood Western (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Viva La Vida"
Written by Ormond Ruthven (as Ormond B. Ruthven) and Albert Mannheimer
Played on guitar and Sung by Frank Puglia (uncredited) (dubbed by Mario Costa) (uncredited)
Reprised several times

User Reviews

Redemption Came Too Late

Of all the versions of the Billy the Kid saga this is one of the loosest ones with the facts. Even the names are completely changed in this film with only Robert Taylor retaining Billy's most known alias of William Bonney. Even Brian Donlevy does not get to play Pat Garrett, he's Jim Sherwood in this.

But this is the standard Billy the Kid story, a young outlaw who goes to work for a straight arrow rancher during a range war. Then later when the rancher, in this case Ian Hunter, is gunned down at that point the tragic end that Billy will come to is irreversibly set for him.

This was Robert Taylor's first western and it would be another eight years before he did another. After that westerns became pretty standard film fare for him. Taylor, like his good friend, Ronald Reagan, loved horses and probably if MGM hadn't made him a romantic heart throb, he would have loved to have been a cowboy actor. Like Reagan he certainly looked at home hosting Death Valley Days later on.

Jim Sherwood(Pat Garrett)is a different part for Brian Donlevy to play. Donlevy was at the high point of his career as a screen villain and being a good guy for him is almost a case of an alternate universe. But being the professional he was, Donlevy carries off the portrayal in fine style.

Ian Hunter is just fine as the English gentleman rancher who tries to set Taylor on the straight and narrow. And you will not find a sneakier more loathsome villain than Gene Lockhart as the local boss of the area who is provoking a range war with Hunter.

Billy the Kid is not the best western that Taylor ever did, but it certainly opened a whole new career vista for him.