The Left Handed Gun (1958)

Director:

Arthur Penn

Writers:

Leslie Stevens (screenplay)
Gore Vidal (play)

Release Date:

26 September 1958 (France)

Genre:

Biography | Western

Tagline:

This is William Bonney, a juvenile "tough" from the back-alleys of New York... a teenager wanted dead or alive throughout the West. This is the screen's first real story of the strange teen-age desperado known to legend as "Billy the Kid"...

Plot:

After his employer is murdered by rival cattlemen, a troubled and uneducated young cowboy vows revenge on the murderers,

Plot Keywords:

Fire | Prison | Amnesty | Saloon | Mexican American

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Billy The Kid
Lita Milan	...	Celsa
John Dehner	...	Pat Garrett
Hurd Hatfield	...	Moultrie
James Congdon	...	Charlie Boudre
James Best	...	Tom Folliard
Colin Keith-Johnston	...	Tunstall
John Dierkes	...	McSween
Robert Anderson	...	Hill (as Bob Anderson)
Wally Brown	...	Deputy Moon
Ainslie Pryor	...	Joe Grant
Martin Garralaga	...	Saval
Denver Pyle	...	Ollinger
Paul Smith	...	Smith
Nestor Paiva	...	Pete Maxwell
Robert Foulk	...	Sheriff Brady
Anne Barton	...	Mrs. Hill
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jo Summers	...	Bride
George Bell	...	Deputy (uncredited)
Joe Bell	...	Peddler (uncredited)
Orlando Beltran	...	Mexican farmer (uncredited)
George Berkeley	...	(uncredited)
Lane Chandler	...	Townsman on street with Mason (uncredited)
Mary Lou Clifford	...	Gypsy woman (uncredited)
Stephen Coit	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Cecil Combs	...	Deputy (uncredited)
Jess Franco	...	Young Gypsy man (uncredited)
Terry Frost	...	Angry townsman (uncredited)
Robert Griffin	...	Morton (uncredited)
Norman Leavitt	...	General store clerk (uncredited)
Eve McVeagh	...	Mrs. McSween (uncredited)
Tina Menard	...	Mexican woman (uncredited)
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Tessie Murray	...	Gypsy woman (uncredited)
Joseph V. Perry	...	Clerk (uncredited)
Stephanie Pond-Smith	...	(uncredited)
Henry Rowland	...	Man on street with deputy (uncredited)
Oreste Seragnoli	...	Priest (uncredited)
Morgan Shaan	...	Man in crowd (uncredited)
Dan Sheridan	...	Bucky (uncredited)
Fred Sherman	...	Clerk (uncredited)
Jorge Treviño	...	Ramírez (uncredited)
Glen Turnbull	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
Ernesto Zambrano	...	Old Gypsy man (uncredited)

Directed by
Arthur Penn

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Leslie Stevens		screenplay
Gore Vidal		play

Produced by
Fred Coe	....	producer

Original Music by
Alexander Courage

Cinematography by
J. Peverell Marley		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Folmar Blangsted

Art Direction by
Art Loel

Set Decoration by
William L. Kuehl

Costume Design by
Marjorie Best

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Russell Saunders	....	assistant director (as Russ Saunders)
Jack Voglin	....	first assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Earl Crain Sr.	....	sound

Stunts
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Williams	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Alexander Courage	....	composer: ballad

Production Companies

• Haroll Productions
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• CBS Television (1972) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Warner Bros. (1958) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

UK:102 min | Germany:99 min | USA:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #18709) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Australia:M | UK:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Haroll Productions

Trivia:

James Dean was signed to play Billy the Kid in this picture but the role was given to Paul Newman after Dean's death. It was the second role Newman inherited from Dean (who had also been signed to star in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)).

Goofs:

The film is about western outlaw Billy the Kid, who was in fact right-handed.

Quotes:

Pat Garrett: You see I work up a sweat - to mind my own business.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

Penn gives you a glimpse of things to come in his first film

The director of Bonnie & Clyde and Little Big Man is off to a promising start with The Left Handed Gun, his first film. The film stars a young Paul Newman as Billy the Kid. Billy, working as a ranch hand, swears revenge on the four men who ambushed and killed his boss.

That's about it for plot. Newman plays Billy well, portraying a man bent on his mission. One senses that he means well, but his short temper and dark past always get the best of him, even during his friend's, Pat Garrett (John Dehner in a nice performance), wedding.

Unfortunately, Newman suffers from a weak supporting cast and little character development. I found it hard to believe that Billy could develop such a strong bond with his boss in such a short time (although the movie doesn't exactly specify how long). With the possible exception of Garrett, the remaining players are there to fill up the screen.

In short, I wasn't disappointed with this film, but if you want to view a great Western about a man driven by revenge, definitely see John Wayne in The Searchers.