Bad Company (1972)

A God-fearing Ohio boy dodging the Civil War draft arrives in St. Joseph, MO where he joins up with a hardscrabble group of like runaways heading west

Director:

Robert Benton

Writers:

David Newman, Robert Benton

Stars:

Jeff Bridges, Barry Brown, Jim Davis

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges	...	Jake Rumsey
Barry Brown	...	Drew Dixon
Jim Davis	...	Marshal
David Huddleston	...	Big Joe
John Savage	...	Loney
Jerry Houser	...	Arthur Simms
Damon Douglas	...	Jim Bob Logan (as Damon Cofer)
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

Storyline

A group of naive boys find that life as desperadoes in the west is more serious that they understood when they embark on abortive careers in bushwhacking. Violence, betrayal, sombre colours and a Beckettsian whimsy mark this ironic western.

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Plot Keywords:

animal thief | man tied up | interrupted hanging | hanged from a horse | hanged from a tree | 

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Taglines:

Would I like to get my hands on the son of a ..... who told me to go west.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The classic rock band Bad Company named itself after this film. When Paul Rodgers (ex-Free) formed a band with Mick Ralphs (ex Mott the Hoople) in 1973, the first public warm up gigs were in Germany. Just prior to the gig they saw the film. When asked what the band was called, they remembered the poster, and adopted the name.

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Goofs

The pistols used in the film are long barrel Colt 1873 SAAs (Peacemakers). These were not patented until a decade after the film takes place.

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Quotes

Marshal: Chaw?
Big Joe: [Lighting his pipe] When I want to chew on horseshit, I'll let you know.

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Connections

Referenced in Murphy Brown: Bad Company (1995)

User Reviews

The crooked way west

A young man dodging the draft in the Civil War falls in with bad company on his way west. A group of juveniles trying to be hardcases, they run into a variety of men trying to do the same and one or two actual tough nuts. On the way, our narrator (Barry Brown) learns more than the usual lessons about what it is to be a man, to be brave and to be a friend. Brown will make you wish his career had been longer. Jeff Bridges is his usual terrific self.

Robert Benton, one of America's real treasures as a writer and director, is the force behind this. You'll see that many of the themes he was interested in back then still echo in Nobody's Fool and Twilight.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 December 1972 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Bad Company

Filming Locations:

Wichita, Kansas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jaffilms, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1