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Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here

  • 19691969
  • MM
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
3K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
In 1909, when young Paiute Indian Willie Boy returns to his California reservation to be with Lola, whose father disapproves of him, a killing in self defense takes place, triggering a massive man hunt for Willie.
Play trailer2:51
1 Video
43 Photos
  • Drama
  • Western
In 1909, when young Paiute Indian Willie Boy returns to his California reservation to be with Lola, whose father disapproves of him, a killing in self defense takes place, triggering a massi... Read allIn 1909, when young Paiute Indian Willie Boy returns to his California reservation to be with Lola, whose father disapproves of him, a killing in self defense takes place, triggering a massive man hunt for Willie.In 1909, when young Paiute Indian Willie Boy returns to his California reservation to be with Lola, whose father disapproves of him, a killing in self defense takes place, triggering a massive man hunt for Willie.
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
3K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Abraham Polonsky
  • Writers
    • Harry Lawton(book)
    • Abraham Polonsky
  • Stars
    • Robert Redford
    • Katharine Ross
    • Robert Blake
Top credits
  • Director
    • Abraham Polonsky
  • Writers
    • Harry Lawton(book)
    • Abraham Polonsky
  • Stars
    • Robert Redford
    • Katharine Ross
    • Robert Blake
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 36User reviews
    • 27Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 BAFTA Awards
      • 3 wins & 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:51
    Trailer

    Photos43

    Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
    Robert Redford in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
    Robert Redford in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
    Robert Redford in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
    Robert Redford and Susan Clark in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
    Katharine Ross in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
    Robert Redford in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
    Robert Blake in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
    John Vernon and Robert Lipton in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
    Robert Blake in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
    Robert Redford and Susan Clark in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
    Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robert Redford
    Robert Redford
    • Cooperas Cooper
    Katharine Ross
    Katharine Ross
    • Lolaas Lola
    Robert Blake
    Robert Blake
    • Willieas Willie
    Susan Clark
    Susan Clark
    • Lizas Liz
    Barry Sullivan
    Barry Sullivan
    • Calvertas Calvert
    John Vernon
    John Vernon
    • Hackeras Hacker
    Charles Aidman
    Charles Aidman
    • Benbyas Benby
    Charles McGraw
    Charles McGraw
    • Wilsonas Wilson
    Shelly Novack
    Shelly Novack
    • Finneyas Finney
    Robert Lipton
    Robert Lipton
    • Newcombeas Newcombe
    Lloyd Gough
    Lloyd Gough
    • Dexteras Dexter
    Ned Romero
    Ned Romero
    • Tomas Tom
    John Wheeler
    John Wheeler
    • Newmanas Newman
    Erik Holland
    • Diggeras Digger
    • (as Eric Holland)
    Garry Walberg
    Garry Walberg
    • Dr. Millsas Dr. Mills
    Jerry Velasco
    • Chinoas Chino
    George Tyne
    George Tyne
    • Le Marieas Le Marie
    Lee de Broux
    Lee de Broux
    • Meatheadas Meathead
    • (as Lee De Broux)
    • Director
      • Abraham Polonsky
    • Writers
      • Harry Lawton(book)
      • Abraham Polonsky
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Abraham Polonsky said to a USC film class at the time that he purposely shot and edited the manhunt sequences with characters moving in all directions across the screen, rather than in the usual way wherein both runners and pursuers would move in the same direction across the shots (i.e., left to right) to enhance the impression of urgent suspense in a chase. Instead, Polonsky was looking for a different feel for the audience, of the characters wandering, feeling their way through the landscape. He implied he was willing to sacrifice some suspense to externalize the characters' confusion. He also said that for Katharine Ross' brief, artfully lit nude shot, he exposed the film correctly but then produced a high-contrast copy of the same film frames with deep blacks and transparent lights, then bi-packed both pieces of films together to rephotograph. The high-contrast overlay ensured that the shadows on Ross' body were black--so that the image could not reveal more in the shadows than it was supposed to.
    • Goofs
      Willie Boy's original clothing and Cooper's haircut are more 1960s that 1900s.
    • Quotes

      Dr. Elizabeth Arnold: Willie killed Mike and took Lola. They call it marriage by capture. The mother knew that and told her to go.

    • Connections
      Featured in Red Hollywood (1996)

    User reviews36

    Review
    Top review
    The true story of this incident.
    Here is the true account of this story as told by posse member Law-man Ben de Crevecoeur in 1941.

    Willie Boy was a 25 or 26 year old Paiute Indian. Isoleta Boniface was a 15 year old Paiute Indian girl. Isoleta's father, Old Mike Boniface was a Paiute Indian.

    Willie Boy had an unrequited interest in Isoleta. Her father didn't like Willie Boy. Willie Boy kidnapped Isoleta the first time from the family's camp at Twenty-nine Palms, Ca. Her father found them, took her back and told Willie Boy that if he came near her again he would kill Willie Boy.

    Some days later, after drinking with a White friend, Willie Boy went to the Gillman Ranch, near Banning Ca., where the Boniface family was working and crept up on Old Mike, his wife and their 7 children where they were sleeping under a Cottonwood tree. Willie Boy shot Old Mike in the head as he slept.

    Willie Boy kidnapped Isoleta again and headed into the desert. He used her as a pack animal to carry whatever supplies he had. The posse, some of which were Paiute Indians, came upon a message scrawled in the dirt from Isoleta that read, "My heart is almost gone, I will be dead soon". When she couldn't go any further, Willie Boy shot her in the back and killed her.

    Lawman Ben Crevecouer said, "The sight of that girl's body was something a person would want to forget, but couldn't. We came on it while it was still warm. Her clothes were just rags, she was welts and bruises all over, and there were cactus spines in her flesh. She had worn through her thin little shoes and her feet were raw and bloody".

    The posse eventually discovered Willie Boy's body after chasing him for 11 days and 500 to 600 miles in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties in Ca.. Willie Boy killed himself with his last bullet.

    Willie Boy was just a scumbag who murdered two of his own people but ,of course, this director, Abe Polonsky, turns the story into another anti-White Hollywood propaganda film.

    Info from interview of Ben de Crevecouer in "Desert Magazine", Nov. 1941.
    helpful•25
    5
    • klm801
    • Jun 24, 2014

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 31, 1969 (West Germany)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Willie Boy
    • Filming locations
      • Pioneertown, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $5,949
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 38 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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