MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Down 257 this week

The Left Handed Gun (1958)

6.6
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.6/10 from 1,999 users  
Reviews: 33 user | 16 critic

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

Director:

Writers:

(screenplay), (play)
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 2000 titles created 6 months ago
 
a list of 48 titles created 20 Feb 2012
 
a list of 405 titles created 29 Mar 2011
 
a list of 23 titles created 11 months ago
 
a list of 1320 titles created 17 Aug 2011
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Left Handed Gun (1958)

The Left Handed Gun (1958) on IMDb 6.6/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Left Handed Gun.

Videos

Photos

Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Lita Milan ...
...
Hurd Hatfield ...
Moultrie
James Congdon ...
Charlie Boudre
...
Tom Folliard
Colin Keith-Johnston ...
John Dierkes ...
McSween
Robert Anderson ...
Hill (as Bob Anderson)
Wally Brown ...
Deputy Moon
Ainslie Pryor ...
Joe Grant
Martin Garralaga ...
Saval
...
Paul Smith ...
Smith
Nestor Paiva ...
Pete Maxwell
Edit

Storyline

William Bonney - Billy the Kid - gets a job with a cattleman known as 'The Englishman,' and is befriended by the peaceful, religious man. But when a crooked sheriff and his men murder the Englishman because he plans to supply the local Army fort with his beef, Billy decides to avenge the death by killing the four men responsible, throwing the lives of everyone around him - Tom and Charlie, two hands he worked with; Pat Garrett, who is about to be married; and the kindly Mexican couple who take him in when he's in trouble - into turmoil, and endangering the General Amnesty set up by Governor Wallace to bring peace to the New Mexico Territory. Written by Gary Dickerson <slug@mail.utexas.edu>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

sheriff | cowboy | murder | revenge | death | See more »

Taglines:

All of a sudden, just for the kicks Billy would slip down to Mexico. See more »

Genres:

Biography | Western

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

26 September 1958 (France)  »

Also Known As:

Billy the Kid  »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(RCA Sound Recording)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gore Vidal greatly disliked this well-received film version of his television play, "The Death Of Billy The Kid", once describing it as "a film only someone French could like." He was greatly annoyed when director Arthur Penn expressed criticisms of his original script and brought in Leslie Stevens for rewrites. In 1990, the TV movie "Billy The Kid" was made, not only as a remake of this film, but as a rebuttal of it, written and largely controlled by Vidal himself. He declared himself pleased with it, but the 1957 film remains better-known. See more »

Goofs

The "Englishman" describes his origins as from Ayrshire, a county in South West Scotland. In that case he would be a Scot and not English. See more »

Quotes

Moultrie: [to Billy] What is it? What's wrong? You all right? You're not like the books! You don't wear silver studs! You don't stand up to glory! You're not him!
[crying]
Moultrie: You're not him! You're not him!
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Interesting revolutionist vision of Billy the Kid
6 February 2008 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

Based on Gore Vidal's play (which had already been filmed once for television with Newman), THE LEFT HANDED GUN is an unusual addition to the western genre, with several considerable attempts at psychoanalysis that were slightly ahead of the time for this type of picture. The film is more or less a bio of infamous outlaw Billy the Kid, with the novelty that Billy (played by Newman) is sympathetically portrayed more as a misunderstood youth rather than an outright criminal. Director Arthur Penn and screenwriter Leslie Stevens (working from Vidal's original play) have done a commendable job at presenting Vidal's revolutionist vision of Billy, even though the film sometimes rambles and lacks the streamlined momentum that made Penn's similar BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967) an American film masterpiece. The entire story was filmed much more effectively in Sam Peckinpah's cult classic PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID (1973), but THE LEFT HANDED GUN stands as an interesting curio and a film that (aside from some overwrought acting) has aged very well. This was yet another role that was originally intended to be played by James Dean that Newman stepped into after that young actor's tragic death. Unlike 1956's SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME (which Newman played to perfection), I actually think that Dean might have actually been better suited to play Billy the Kid, as his nervy stance and cocksure demeanor have yet to be match by anyone and possibly could have enhanced the role even further. Newman is still quite good, however, playing the role as closely to Vidal's original concept as possible, and there is a particularly lovely scene with Newman's reaction as Billy to a Biblical verse remaining one of my favorite pieces of reactive acting ever. The sympathetic portrayal of Billy the Kid also gave Newman his first real shot at playing an anti-hero, a task that he would later perfect in the 24-Karat film masterpieces THE HUSTLER (1961) and HUD (1963).


10 of 13 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Significance of the Hurd Hatfield character Moultrie mlraymond
miscast but still good teejay6682
ayrshire..england Dicky_Hart
In Memoriam: Arthur Penn blackfirepro
Bob's Death DrGlitterhouse
Music in the movie Vice-4
Discuss The Left Handed Gun (1958) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?