Bad Company (1972)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Robert Benton

Writers:

David Newman (written by) and
Robert Benton (written by)

Release Date:

8 October 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

A group of naive boys find that life as desperadoes in the west is more serious that they understood...

Plot Keywords:

Hanged Boy | Hanging | Shot In The Head | Chicken | Child Shot In The Head

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jeff Bridges	...	Jake Rumsey
Barry Brown	...	Drew Dixon
Jim Davis	...	Marshal
David Huddleston	...	Big Joe
John Savage	...	Loney
Jerry Houser	...	Arthur Simms
Damon Cofer	...	Jim Bob Logan
Joshua Hill Lewis	...	Boog Bookin
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Hobbs
Raymond Guth	...	Jackson
Ed Lauter	...	Orin (as Edward Lauter)
John Quade	...	Nolan
Jean Allison	...	Mrs. Dixon
Ned Wertimer	...	Mr. Dixon
Charles Tyner	...	Egg farmer

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Company:

Jaffilms

Trivia:

The classic rock band Bad Company named itself after this film.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The pistols used in the film are Colt SAAs (Peacemakers). These were not patented until a decade after the film takes place.

Quotes:

Big Joe: My boy, let me give you a little piece of advice. If you're going to pull a gun on somebody, which happens from time to time in these parts, you better fire it about a half a second after you do it... because most men aren't as patient as I am.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Murphy Brown: Bad Company (#8.8)" (1995)

Underrated and shamefully neglected

Another reviewer said that this film has been widely ignored and that is a crying shame. I've only seen the once in ten years, it's not on tv/satellite and is unavailable on video in the UK.

But I never forget watching it and being capitivated by its charm and depiction of the real, sometimes very brutal West (I cannot forget one of the young gang getting shot for stealing a chicken). The two leads are excellent, perfectly balancing the other, Bridges as the streetwise tearaway and Brown (RIP) as the well educated, mother's boy lead astray after dodging the draft (Vietnam echoes?).

The final scene is a gem as the two partners, shaped by their experiences in a lawless West, turn to crime.