Tag: Billy the Kid

THE KID / 2019


one horse town / blackberry smoke

The Kid / 2019

An Outlaw. A Lawman. A Boy Caught In The Crossfire.

It only matters the story they tell when you’re gone.

All you have to do is say “The Kid” and everybody knows who you’re talking about.
That’s Fame. Or Infamy.
A Legend any way you look at it.

In theatres March 8 – Limited Distribution

Locations: Check Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MovieTheKid/
I’ll be looking for it to show up on Netflix, Crave, ??? somewhere.

Ethan Hawke gets Top Bill.

Dane DeHaan (The Kid) gets second Bill.

Jake Schur is” introduced”.

Last I heard there were over 20 movies depicting Billy the Kid. Of various quality.
Some Classic. But most end up in Boot Hill.
So among the 20 new Westerns that I posted recently,
The Kid is one of the most interesting. 
(Anything with Billy the Kid gets our attention)

It’s always interesting to see if they stick to actual events and history – or depart wildly.
Some folks don’t like it if Historical events aren’t closely followed.
I say: Is it a good Western – or not?

Rotten Tomatoes Audiences liked it. 
Critics not so much.

IMDB says it’s Watchable.

Obviously a huge factor in KID movies is who plays The KID?

Dane DeHaan
Does he have the Star Power to pull if off?
We’ll see.

The Kid centers the plot / storyline around Rio – played by young Jake Schur (his first movie!?)
and the events being seen through his eyes …

… and how he is influenced by Billy or Pat Garrett.
That’s the angle. 

Director / Actor Vincent D’Onofrio.


Vincent D’Onofrio has massive credentials as a TV / Film Actor going all the way back to 1983.
Over 30 years. Also Produces and sings.
He’s paid his dues.

Chris Pratt plays a bad guy. He’s almost unrecognizable with that huge beard.

IMDB Trivia:

  • Dane Dehaan was 31 years old during filming ( 32, upon release ) while the real Billy the Kid was shot and killed at 21 years of age. (Though I still wonder if the Kid didn’t get away.)
  • Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, and Vincent D’Onofrio all previously starred together in another western, The Magnificent Seven (2017).
    Pratt and D’Onofrio also starred in Jurassic World.

The Magnificent Seven / 2017The Magnificent Seven / 2017

  • Vincent D’Onofrio and Adam Baldwin both starred in Full Metal Jacket, though they shared no scenes together in that film.
  • Dane DeHaan and Ethan Hawke both starred in the movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017).

I’m eager to see what they come up with.

Never Fool with the Kid …

Easy Kid. Easy! It was ONLY a joke.

Yeah, sure it was lousy … but still just a joke!

NO! NO …. !

OK my April Fools joke stunk. It wasn’t funny.
And if your April Fools joke isn’t funny you’re in trouble.
I just left things too late and then rushed something out. Not good.

So … I’ll just toss it on the massive pile of ‘Billy the Kid’ Mythology …
And git outta town.

Next year …

You gotta be KIDding?


Behind Blue Eyes

What good would an April Fools joke be if it didn’t fool anybody?
(Fake News I guess?)

I’ve been fooled a few times myself over the years.

But I also feel a bit guilty about doing it because there’s always a few people
who don’t realize it’s a joke – and they go around telling everybody
about this wonderful new movie about Billy the Kid
– starring his (non-existent) grandson.

ANYWAY …

NO. There no new Billy the Kid movie. (Sadly. I wish there was.)

YES: there is such a person (or more) called James Tyler McCarty.
(Though I didn’t know that) But it’s not this guy that I made up.
(Seems you can make up just about any name
and such a person will actually exist).

NO: Billy the Kid has not been “Resurrected”. (Don’t tell Spielberg).

NOR does Sergio Estafa (which means ‘Scam’ in Spanish) exist.
(I don’t think?) 

YES there are a few “Sam Westwoods” – but my Sam is a composite name
from Sam Peckinpah and Clint Eastwood.

NO: “Bruce Willis” and “Benedict Cumberbach”
are not interested in my fictitious movie.
(I don’t think? Too bad).

NO: this image of James Tyler McCarty is not real.

This image is a composite I constructed from these pics I found on the Net:

I don’t know who these good looking folks are, but I used this guy’s  body (in circle).

Then I found this image of Martin Short:

Which I reversed horizontally:

Then I removed the hat
and enlarged his ears.

Then I found a Billy the Kid hat on the Net.
(You can buy one of these)

https://www.riverjunction.com/Billy-the-Kid–Hat-Style_p_3735.html

I dropped it on Marty’s head.
(Great Scott!)

Then I dropped Marty’s head on the body.

Voila !!
Instant Billy.

Then I wrote up a bunch of ridiculous crap that sounded somewhat credible.

It was fun.
I hope it was fun for you.

New Billy the Kid Movie to star his grandson


Bad Company

James Tyler McCarty is the New Billy

“The resemblance is amazing!”

The Resurrection of Billy the Kid

April 1, 2018

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA — In an astonishing turn of events, United Artists film makers have revealed that a new Billy the Kid movie of will begin production this July – starring newly discovered Billy the Kid’s grandson, James Tyler McCarty – in a movie that was initially planned to be a documentary!

But following recent forensic evidence and DNA tests that’conclusively identified’ McCarty is indeed “a direct descendant of “The Kid“, Producer Sergio Estafa started thinking differently.

“When we travelled to Gallveston (Texas) to interview Tyler, everything changed. We were shocked at his resemblance to Billy.”

“His jawline, those ears. It’s uncanny!” says Director Sam Westwood.

Tyler – age 30 had been raised on the ranch near Galveston and was already a working cowboy.

“Once we saw how he looked, and his cowboy skills, we started thinking about a Movie instead. You can’t fake this stuff.” says Estafa. “This kid’s legit.” 

Director Westwood tested Tyler on his skills. “Tyler’s gun handling and horsemanship are exceptional. This guy’s got the pedigree.”

But what about acting?

“This is an Action Movie.” says Estafa. “We’re not going for Oscars.”

Adds Westwood. “The Kid’s already been Screen Tested. He’s as good as Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

Support Cast?:

“That’s Ongoing.” says Westwood. “Were talking to Bruce Willis and Benedict Cumberbach right now. Bruce says he always wanted to make a Western.”

The production will utilize ‘on location’ shooting as much as possible.

“But we might even use Old Tucson. Who’s gonna know?”

Stay tuned!!

 

 

Paul Newman Western Filmography – The Left Handed Gun – 1958

Paul Newman only made about 6 Westerns (IMO). But most were noteworthy.

The Left Handed Gun (1958); Hud (1963); Hombre (1967); The Outrage (1964); Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969); The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972); Pocket Money (1972); and Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976).

Hud and Pocket money may be questionable as Westerns, but some feel the flavour is there.

The Left Handed Gun is just one of at least 24 films made about Billy the Kid. It marked Director Arthur Penn’s (Little Big Man (1970) The Missouri Breaks (1976)), film Directing début.

Confession: I have never seen The Left Handed Gun. As far as I can tell, it’s never (or very rarely) shown on TV. Western Film experts will definitely have seen it and can offer an opinion. I cannot. My guess is the experts would consider this movie a ‘necessary watch’ for any Western film fan. So I better catch up on it. As I’ve stated before, I’m a mere Western Movie fan – not an expert. For some real expert opinion check out my Blogroll.

But I know what I like.

PAUL NEWMAN
Screen Banner shot / Comic Book Cover / Paul

The Left Handed Gun poster

Poster quality in films can vary from the sublime to outright awful.
These two are not great.

The Left Handed Gun poster 2

Excellent publicity shots below …The Left Handed Gun - Paul Newman

The Left Handed Gun - Paul Newman 6
The Left Handed Gun …

________________________________________________

Reviews 

AllMovie Review The Left Handed Gun
AllMovie review and Synopsis (below)

Synopsis – by Hal Erickson

The Left Handed Gun was adapted by Gore Vidal from his own TV play, The Death of Billy the Kid. 33-year-old Paul Newman stars as 21-year-old William Bonney, the hotheaded gunslinger known as Billy the Kid. Avoiding the usual Hollywood glamourization of this controversial character, Newman portays Bonney pretty much as he was: an illiterate, homicidal cretin. Treated with kindness for the first time in his life by rancher Tunstall (Colin Keith-Johnston), Bonney becomes devoted to the rancher; in fact, it is virtually a love affair. Soon after, however, Tunstall is killed, prompting Bonney to go on a murderous spree. In the end, Bonney must face down the other important father-figure in his life, Pat Garrett (John Dehner). In case anyone should miss the Freudian subtext in The Left Handed Gun, the closeups of Bonney fondling his six-shooter will make things crystal clear.

The Left Handed Gun - John Dehner - Paul Newman
John Dehner as Pat Garrett / Newman as ‘The Kid”

John Dehner got a LOT of work over the years.
For good reason: he was damn good at anything he did.

Rotten Tomatoes Left Handed Gun
Rotten Tomatoes / The Left Handed Gun
IMDB The Left Handed Gun
IMDB / The Left Handed Gun

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Keep the change Kid ...
Keep the change Kid …
Arthur Penn - Director
Arthur Penn – Director
Iconic Itmage
Iconic Image – James Best at left
The Left Handed Gun - Paul Newman 4
Newman and Lita Milan … never drop yer Colt

The Left Handed Gun - Paul Newman 5

The Left Handed Gun - DVD
The Left Handed Gun – DVD

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid … Iconic Images 2

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid – Billy 7 – Bob Dylan

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid … Iconic Images: “The Kid”

Billy the Kid by Woody Guthrie

The Kid …

Jeremiah Johnson and Billy the Kid: Stranger than Fiction?

Jeremiah Johnson and Billy the Kid: Stranger than Fiction?

I doubt many care – or even that it’s all that important – but Robert Redford doesn’t look much like the real Jeremiah Johnson.

JOHNSON … REDFORD

However …  in most Westerns, it don’t really seem to matter whether the actor looks like the actual person – or not. There’s plenty of examples: Kris Kristofferson as Billy the Kid in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Kristofferson was too good looking for ‘the Kid’ – and was also in his 30’s. While the ‘Kid’ was … well … an ugly cuss  (if I can tell by the famous photo) and was about 20 years old … almost ‘a kid’. But, James Coburn didn’t look a whole lot like Pat Garrett … I better stop here. Great movie though.

So if likeness’ is a casting necessity … ?

Hell, maybe it’s just too darn hard to find anybody that ugly who can act.

A young Henry Silva actually looks a lot like ‘the Kid”.

SILVA … THE ‘KID’

In most other movie biographies though, likeness is important. For instance, If you’re playing Winston Churchill … Redford wouldn’t get the job … and also (hopefully) the chance to murder an English accent.

And I do admit that Redford’s ‘matinée idol’ looks did initially grate on me a bit when I first watched Jeremiah Johnson. I figured they should have cast somebody a bit more (or a lot more?) rugged looking than Redford. Someone like Tom Selleck maybe, or Lee Marvin. Bronson? (Trivia says that this movie was initially to star Clint Eastwood as Johnson – and be directed by Sam Peckinpah … WOW! … that would have been a different movie … punk) We didn’t get lucky.

Director Sydney Pollock, however, had a very simple philosophy about making a movie: Employ Stars. Star Power guarantees success. And Pollock surely knew Redford’s Star Power –  Directing him in seven movies.

And all in all … Redford did a great job: one of My Favorite Westerns.

The other beef I had with the movie was that the actual (supposed) true story about Jeremiah Johnson seemed more interesting than the movie version.

I suspect, however, that some of these ‘facts’ about Johnson pushed a few credibility buttons … and was hardly the stuff of ‘Heros’. “Liver Eating Johnson”?! Some believe Johnson actually did this. It’s said that the Crow believed that unless a body was intact that the spirit could not pass over. So Johnson removed the liver and … yet it’s also said that Johnson confessed once that this story was a story he propagated (to scare or anger the Crow?) But if you were a cannibal, would you admit it?

Possible. Probable? Believable?

I figure some of these ‘details’ were kept out of the movie because not only do they seem implausible, but they made the character – our Hero – a lot less of a Goodguy.

As the Crow flies …

Then there’s the story that Johnson killed over 300 Crow braves. 300?!! That’s a hell of a lot of empty Teepees. Let’s see … if the Crow sent only one brave at a time (as the movie suggests)… and Johnson killed one brave a month … it would take 25 years to kill 300 Crow. That’s almost as hard to swallow as liver. 30 would be impressive enough … and believable. But 300 … ??? You have to question it.

But who’s counting?

Johnson? The Crow? (I might believe their count). But Johnson’s …

Yet … maybe it’s true.

Billy the Kid’s myth labours under similar suspicious history. Some claim ‘The Kid” really only killed about 4 people … though folklore and myth claim about 20 … or more.

So … the truth is … we really don’t know the truth.

Yet again … sometimes the truth IS indeed ‘stranger than fiction’.