The Left Handed Gun (1958)

Director:

Arthur Penn

Writers:

Leslie Stevens (screenplay)
Gore Vidal (play)

Release Date:

26 September 1958 (France)

Genre:

Biography | Western

Tagline:

This is William Bonney, a juvenile "tough" from the back-alleys of New York... a teenager wanted dead or alive throughout the West. This is the screen's first real story of the strange teen-age desperado known to legend as "Billy the Kid"...

Plot:

After his employer is murdered by rival cattlemen, a troubled and uneducated young cowboy vows revenge on the murderers,

Plot Keywords:

Cowboy | Billy The Kid | Revenge | Cattleman | Murder

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Billy The Kid
Lita Milan	...	Celsa
John Dehner	...	Pat Garrett
Hurd Hatfield	...	Moultrie
James Congdon	...	Charlie Boudre
James Best	...	Tom Folliard
Colin Keith-Johnston	...	Tunstall
John Dierkes	...	McSween
Robert Anderson	...	Hill (as Bob Anderson)
Wally Brown	...	Deputy Moon
Ainslie Pryor	...	Joe Grant
Martin Garralaga	...	Saval
Denver Pyle	...	Ollinger
Paul Smith	...	Smith
Nestor Paiva	...	Pete Maxwell

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:Approved (certificate #18709) | UK:PG | West Germany:16 (nf) | Spain:13 | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:14A (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Haroll Productions

Trivia:

The sets for the town of Medaro were actually left over from Warners' 1939 epic Juarez (1939). Although they were in state of great disrepair, parts of them were salvaged for use in "The Left-Handed Gun."

Goofs:

Factual errors: The film is about western outlaw Billy the Kid, who was in fact right-handed.

Quotes:

Moultrie: [when he sees Billy] I knew you weren't dead!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Gunfighters of the Old West (1992) (V)

A Film That Has James Dean's Fingerprints All Over It!

Actor Paul Newman once said in an interview that actor James Dean's death in an auto accident wound up making him a movie star. Prior to Dean's tragic demise, Newman's body of work was mostly television. Things seemed to take a turn for the worse when he accepted a starring role that Dean had turned down in "The Silver Chalice". The film was so bad that Newman took out an ad in "Variety" and apologized for making it. A short time after Dean was killed in his tragic September 30, 1955 car accident, Newman appeared in two films that Dean was scheduled to star in; "Somebody Up There Likes Me", the true story of World Middleweight Champion, Rocky Graziano, and "The Left Handed Gun", the true story of the legendary outlaw known as "Billy the Kid". It was because of these two films that actor Paul Newman was soon destined to become one of Hollywood's biggest stars. "The Left Handed Gun", from my point of view, shares a somewhat haunted past with several other films such as "Soloman and Sheba" and "Something's Got To Give". These films share a common bond for they are films that find themselves in the same haunting situation in which the star of the film dies and is replaced, leaving the film aficionado to speculate and search for something that could have and should have been there. Tyrone Power died on the movie set in "Solomon and Sheba" and was replaced by Yul Brynner. If you look closely at some of the scenes in that film, you can still see Tyrone Power in some of the original footage such as crowd scenes or battles at a distance. Marilyn Monroe died before she was able to complete "Something's Got To Give", and if you look at some of the hair styles and costumes and various drawings planned for the original film, it becomes obvious that they do not work on Monroe's replacement, Doris Day. "The Left Handed Gun" is a film that has James Dean's fingerprints all over it. If you try real hard, you can even see him in the film. Newman seems to make an effort to somehow mimic Dean in this this dark, moody, foreboding film. Actor Steve McQueen once said he tried to mimic James Dean in his first film "The Blob", and later admitted it was a mistake. Newman, on the other hand, pulls it off. Even the musical score for the film is somewhat reminiscent of the music in "East of Eden". Another thing I found unique about this film was something it had in common with one of Brando's films, "Viva Zapata!". In the "Left Handed Gun", Hurd Hatfield (Moultrie) is a man that seems almost intoxicated with the concept of creating a legend than becomes obsessed with the desire to destroy it. This role shares a unique similarity to the one Joseph Wiseman (Fernando Aguirre) portrayed in "Viva Zapata!". Both characters represent some kind of strange catalyst that seek some kind of cathartic release in the death of a legend. Dean's fingerprints become most noticeable during a scene in which Newman lays against an adobe wall, and anguishes for his past sins and betrayals. As Newman takes on a series of Dean like mannerisms, the evil Moultrie taunts him, "What is it? What's wrong? You all right? Your not like the books? You don't wear silver studs! You don't stand up to glory! Your not him! Your not him!" Pehaps, Moultrie is right. Maybe Newman isn't Dean, but his performance works. I give this film high marks, and recommend it for anyone who likes a great western or just wants to be entertained.