Clevercell Very disappointing...

SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

vincentlynch-moonoi When I first began watching this film, I was so unimpressed I almost turned it off. It's a rare Western that today holds my attention. But I'm glad I stuck with it because, on balance, it's a very good film.But let me start with what I don't like about the film. First, it's another one of those movies that try to resurrect the reputation of an outlaw, in this case Billy The Kid. It almost tries to portray Billy as just a poor misunderstood young man. Baloney.And then there is some of the photography. On the one hand, an apparently, big budget Western with beautiful color photography, some of it filmed in Monument Valley and Sedona. On the other hand, some of the closeups of riding horses were so fake looking as to be funny, and some of the matte work was very fake looking.But what makes this film stand apart is the performance by Robert Taylor. It's the main thing that kept me watching. Taylor was able to show Billy's dark nature by a certain look on his face...a slightly disturbed look. He showed great immaturity and petulance. It was quite compelling.The supporting cast is quite good, as well. Brian Donlevy, who I felt had a somewhat uneven career, is quite good as Billy's friend, who shoots him in the end. Ian Hunter as a rancher is excellent, and I have always enjoyed his performances in films. Gene Lockhart has a bit of a different role here -- as the bad guy! Lon Chaney, Jr. is here, as one of the bad guys, but although a typical role for him, not the way I like to see Chaney. And, it's always a treat to see Henry O'Neill in a film, here as a newspaper editor.Of course, there's a question about historical accuracy. I recommend you read a brief history of Billy The Kid (e.g., Wikipedia). Taylor is too old for Billy; Billy was only 21 when he died. However, much of the story loosely follows history. What's depicted is the Lincoln County War in New Mexico; so, wrong state in terms of scenery. Sheriff Pat Garrett, for some reason, has a completely different name here -- Jim Sherwood. And how Billy dies in this film is not anywhere near the truth.However, all considered, this is quite an impressive Western, and well worth watching.

classicsoncall Except for the title, this would have been as generic a Western as they come. With the title, virtually everything about it smacks of poetic license taken to the nth degree. Robert Taylor portrays the outlaw of Wild West legend, as other characters in the picture have their names changed while the story itself loosely assembles the history of the Lincoln County War and then just scatters it in all directions. Not only that, but Lincoln County itself has been relocated from the New Mexico Territory to Utah's Monument Valley, which actually is one of the film's redemptive efforts. The gorgeous Technicolor format shows off those rugged structures to maximum effect, even becoming part of the story when Billy's friend Pedro (Frank Puglia) is laid to rest at the base of the 'greatest tombstone in the world'.So if historical accuracy is your thing, you probably don't want to come near this one. For my money, the best portrayal of Billy the Kid remains Emilio Estevez's take on the character in 1988's "Young Guns", where he makes the kid an almost ego-maniacal figure, but with a certain charisma that makes you kind of overlook the fact that he was an outlaw. Here, Taylor goes for a straight on, no-nonsense characterization that's often conflicted as he attempts to choose sides between town boss Hickey (Gene Lockhart) and eventual benefactor Keating (Ian Hunter). Thrown in for good measure is the Pat Garrett stand-in, here called Jim Sherwood, a boyhood friend of Billy's from the old Silver City days, a tidbit the film keeps reminding you of over and over again.For old time Western fans, part of the attraction here is seeing who shows up as the story progresses. In particular, Lon Chaney Jr. and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams meander in and out of a number of scenes, while lesser known veterans like Cy Kendall, Henry O'Neill, Dick Curtis and Grant Withers all appear in bit parts. Actress Mary Howard is written into the script as something of a question mark, the fiancée of Sherwood, but perhaps casting an eye for Taylor's Billy. Hmm, the story didn't go anywhere with that but you had to notice the tease.In short, if you don't take this too seriously, it's an OK picture for Robert Taylor fans, here appearing in his very first Western. He cuts an imposing figure as the man in black, but when you come right down to it, he's no kid, and each reference to Billy's nickname simply reminds us of that fact.

vitaleralphlouis Robert Taylor in 1941 was a tall, handsome, mature 40-year old man and typically played a hero or authority figure -- such as the leader of the wagon train in "Westward the Women." Here he's cast as a short, fun-loving immature teenage gunslinger. The casting is as hopeless as having Clint Eastwood playing Mary Poppins.Besides that, none of the story comes even close to the real (and easy to access) story of Billy the Kid -- which is far more interesting than any movie ever made about him.In 1941, Technicolor westerns were few and much appreciated, as color was new and the 3-strip Technicolor of that era was/is stunningly beautiful and far better than color photography in 2009. Seeing a picture like this would have been special. Actually, if you ignore the mis-casting and the true history, this picture is enjoyable.For a better look at Billy, seek out Universal's "The Kid from Texas" starring Audie Murphy. Billy's body-count is still inflated, but the story is 80% accurate and Murphy is perfect as Billy.

bkoganbing Of all the versions of the Billy the Kid saga this is one of the loosest ones with the facts. Even the names are completely changed in this film with only Robert Taylor retaining Billy's most known alias of William Bonney. Even Brian Donlevy does not get to play Pat Garrett, he's Jim Sherwood in this.But this is the standard Billy the Kid story, a young outlaw who goes to work for a straight arrow rancher during a range war. Then later when the rancher, in this case Ian Hunter, is gunned down at that point the tragic end that Billy will come to is irreversibly set for him.This was Robert Taylor's first western and it would be another eight years before he did another. After that westerns became pretty standard film fare for him. Taylor, like his good friend, Ronald Reagan, loved horses and probably if MGM hadn't made him a romantic heart throb, he would have loved to have been a cowboy actor. Like Reagan he certainly looked at home hosting Death Valley Days later on.Jim Sherwood(Pat Garrett)is a different part for Brian Donlevy to play. Donlevy was at the high point of his career as a screen villain and being a good guy for him is almost a case of an alternate universe. But being the professional he was, Donlevy carries off the portrayal in fine style.Ian Hunter is just fine as the English gentleman rancher who tries to set Taylor on the straight and narrow. And you will not find a sneakier more loathsome villain than Gene Lockhart as the local boss of the area who is provoking a range war with Hunter. Billy the Kid is not the best western that Taylor ever did, but it certainly opened a whole new career vista for him.