Billy Two Hats (1974)

When someone gets killed during a bank robbery by Deans, half-breed Billy Two Hats and their partner, the robbers flee. Sheriff Gifford tracks the robbers, killing one of them and capturing... See full summary »

Director:

Ted Kotcheff

Writer:

Alan Sharp

Stars:

Gregory Peck, Desi Arnaz Jr., Jack Warden

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gregory Peck	...	Arch Deans
Desi Arnaz Jr.	...	Billy Two Hats
Jack Warden	...	Sheriff Henry Gifford
David Huddleston	...	Copeland, Saloon Owner
Sian Barbara Allen	...	Esther Spencer
John Pearce	...	Spencer
Dawn Little Sky	...	Copeland's Squaw
Vince St. Cyr	...	Indian Leader (as W. Vincent St. Cyr)
Henry Medicine Hat	...	Indian
Zeev Berlinsky	...	Indian (as Zev Berlinsky)
Antony Scott	...	Indian

Storyline

When someone gets killed during a bank robbery by Deans, half-breed Billy Two Hats and their partner, the robbers flee. Sheriff Gifford tracks the robbers, killing one of them and capturing Billy. Deans escapes, but during a successful plot to free Billy from the Sheriff, Deans is shot, leaving him unable to walk or ride a horse. Billy, not wanting to abandon his friend, builds an Indian cot to drag Deans behind the horse. With the Sheriff hot on their trail, Deans and Billy try to stay one step ahead of the many obstacles which threaten their lives and freedom.

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Plot Keywords:

half breed | native american | false accusation | friendship | american indian | 

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Taglines:

Against the Law Against the Odds Against the Land Itself

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Genres:

Romance | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 March 1974 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

The Lady and the Outlaw

Filming Locations:

Israel

Company Credits

Production Co:

Algonquin

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Contains a long scene with long-shot 'Buffalo Rifle', Sharps rifle and illustrates accuracy of it.

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Quotes

Spencer: How many (Indians) do you think there are?
Arch Deans: Four, I think.
Spencer: How do you know there's four?
Arch Deans: I counted their feet and divided by two.

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Connections

Referenced in The Directors: The Films of Norman Jewison (1999)

User Reviews

Relationships: healthy, loving, sick and inexistent.

This film is about relationships, healthy, loving, sick, and about those who are incapable of any. Gregory Peck seems to have stepped right out of "The Gunfighter" if it would not be for the accent. When he tells Billy (Desi Arnaz Jr, excellent) what Ecclesiastes says about man not being alone he is telling the whole point of the film. Jack Warden as the Sheriff is a hard man who cannot relate to anyone. David Huddleston and John Pearce have sick relationships with their wives. Sian Barbara Allen has a great performance as the stuttering woman who lives like a slave of her husband. About halfway through the film the scenery looks like New Mexico, but then you realize the difference between the Israeli and the American desert. The Israeli scenery brings a type of beauty, not the real environment, but very appropriate for the film's mood somehow reminding of the scenery in "Garden of Evil" (1954). A film worth seeing.