Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)

Director:

Abraham Polonsky

Writers:

Harry Lawton (book)
Abraham Polonsky (written by)

Release Date:

31 October 1969 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Plot:

Based on true events, Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, tells the story of one of the last Western manhunts...

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Native American | Posse | On The Run | Native American Reservation

Awards:

Won 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 win

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Robert Redford	...	Deputy Sheriff Christopher 'Coop' Cooper
Katharine Ross	...	Lola
Robert Blake	...	Willie Boy
Susan Clark	...	Dr. Elizabeth Arnold
Barry Sullivan	...	Ray Calvert
John Vernon	...	George Hacker
Charles Aidman	...	Judge Benby
Charles McGraw	...	Sheriff Frank Wilson
Shelly Novack	...	Johnny Finney
Robert Lipton	...	Charlie Newcombe
Lloyd Gough	...	Dexter
Ned Romero	...	Tom
John Wheeler	...	Newman
Erik Holland	...	Digger (as Eric Holland)
Garry Walberg	...	Dr. Mills

Also Known As:

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:PG (re-rating) (1975) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:M (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Joshua Tree, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Quotes:

[first lines]
Tom:Did you see that crazy Calvert go by?
Willie Boy:Ate his dust.
Tom:When did you get back to Banning, Willie Boy?
Willie Boy:Five o'clock freight.
Tom:Goin' to the fiesta?
Willie Boy:Is that where you're goin', Tom?
Tom:Trailin' Mr. Calvert with a tow just in case he breaks down - or breaks his neck.
Willie Boy:Well, I guess that's where I'm goin'.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Beautiful Girls (1996)

"Nobody Gives A Damn What Indians Do"

In southern California at the start of the twentieth century, a young indian man gets into a violent dispute over a girl. This triggers a manhunt.

Director Abraham Polonsky was making his comeback to mainstream cinema with this film, eighteen years after being blacklisted by the UnAmerican Activities Committee. He also wrote this screenplay, which strikes a defiant note in favour of the lone hero against the forces of intolerance and repression. It is not too fanciful to see the indians, with their alternative sensibility and distinct code of values, as a metaphor for artists and free thinkers. Minorities are always in danger, suggests the film, from the urge to hound and victimise manifested by some elements in society.

Polonsky skilfully uses the camera to tell his story. We follow the complex movements of the various characters around the fiesta fairground without the need for spoken dialogue. The silent meeting of Coop and Willie tells us everything about these two men, and their mutual rivalry and respect.

The wonderful topography of the Mojave Desert is superbly captured in Panavision. In particular, the showdown on Ruby Mountain offers some gorgeous images. The film's four leads are excellent: Robert Redford is a wise and humane Coop, the sherriff obliged to lead the inappropriate manhunt: Robert Blake is perfect as the nihilistic, elemental Willie: Doctor Elizabeth Arnold is played by Susan Clark, developing nicely the ambivolence of a woman who needs Coop sexually but despises herself for it: Katharine Ross is the spry, athletic Lola, the young indian girl who becomes Willie's 'wife by capture'.