Billy the Kid (1930)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

Walter Noble Burns (book)
Wanda Tuchock (continuity)

Release Date:

18 October 1930 (USA)

Genre:

History | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Cattle-thief, outlaw, 2-gun man, Don Juan - was this the youth who ruled the lawless west with a flame-tipped gun and iron courage?

Plot:

In this version of the Billy the Kid legend, Billy, after shooting down land baron William Donovan's henchmen for killing Billy's boss...

Plot Keywords:

Legend | Billy The Kid | Escape | Sheriff | Killing

Cast

Johnny Mack Brown	...	William H. 'Billy the Kid' Bonney (as John Mack Brown)
Wallace Beery	...	Deputy Sheriff Pat Garrett
Kay Johnson	...	Claire Randall
Karl Dane	...	Swenson
Wyndham Standing	...	John W. 'Jack' Tunston
Russell Simpson	...	Angus McSween
Blanche Friderici	...	Mrs. McSween (as Blanche Frederici)
Roscoe Ates	...	Old Stuff (as Rosco Ates)
Warner Richmond	...	Bob Ballinger (as Warner P. Richmond)
James A. Marcus	...	Colonel William P. Donovan (as James Marcus)
Nelson McDowell	...	Track Hatfield
Jack Carlyle	...	Mr. Dick Brewer
John Beck	...	Butterworth
Chris-Pin Martin	...	Don Esteban Santiago (as Chris Martin)
Marguerita Padula	...	Nicky 'Pinky' Whoosiz

Also Known As:

The Highwayman Rides (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

98 min | USA:95 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Gallup, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The pistols carried by Johnny Mack Brown were the actual pistols that belonged to the real Billy the Kid. They were loaned to the studio for the picture by William S. Hart, who had them in his private collection.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Billy the Kid (1941)

Soundtrack:

Hi-Ho

an old B-Western

For a long time, during the 30s and 40s, there were a lot of low-budget films based on life during the 19th century, that we now call black-and-white B-Westerns. They are known for their bad acting, very quiet gunshot sound effects, and fairly routine story lines and plots. This film, a fictionalized screen version of the classic story of Billy the Kid and the lawman Pat Garrett, is another one of them. And it, unfortunately, is one of the weaker out of them all. That being said, it's very slow, has weak development and uninteresting characters, and doesn't have much to show for itself.

Billy the Kid is portrayed here by John Mark Brown, whose performance was...okay for a B-Western. There were a few moments where Brown's really deep voice just made it seem like Billy the Kid was retarded. Such as this one scene, where he's mad over a friend being killed, somebody mentions his name, and he goes "What do you want?" in a low, stupid-sounding voice. But I will say that despite this one aspect, Brown's expression in his acting was very good and he did pull off a good job as looking as if he was skilled with a six-gun. Wallace Beery was perhaps the best actor on the set.

But despite two good performances, the movie is still very slow and a bore. It lacks a lot of action and because the gunshot sound effects are so quiet, the few moments of action aren't that impressive. And sometimes, they go by too fast. A moment where a character gets blasted by a shotgun, it seems as if the filmmakers shot it in a full-long shot, but when it was edited, the film jumped from the gun about to fire, to the gun having already been fired. That or my memory just serves by poorly. But I do well remember a part where the sound effects were so quiet, we were wondering just what a character was doing as he stood around, staggering fakely.

And what was also majorly disappointing was the ending. Not only was it totally fictional, but it ended in a totally undramatic way. Wallace Beery just smiles and we cut to the "The End" title card. No music, nothing. If I remember right, there was no music in the entire movie from start to finish. I think it could have at least had some music, for it would have boosted it up in quality and entertainment...a little bit.