Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

The West is changing, and Pat Garrett (James Coburn) is determined to survive the changes.

So he becomes a lawman working at the behest of New Mexico’s cattle kings. And one of their priorities is chasing Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson) out of the territory.

Of course, that task is a personal one for Garrett because he and Billy are old friends. So he gives Billy a five-day, get-out-of-the-area warning.

When Billy refuses, Garrett and his posse hit the trail, capturing Billy and killing two of his buddies.

But Billy doesn’t stay jailed long. A gun hidden in an outhouse allows him to kill deputies Bell and Olinger and flee the jail in Lincoln.

And so Garrett sets out on Billy’s trail once more, this time accompanied by a deputy named Poe, who’s been hand-picked by the cattle barons, just to be sure Garrett doesn’t forget his duties.

Kris Kristofferson as Billy the Kid, exchanging a glance with Maria in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

James Coburn as Pat Garrett, knowing he has to rid the territory of Billy the Kid in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Review:

Much like Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in the West,” the original theatrical release of this movie was a much-edited version. Peckinpah’s version of the film wasn’t widely released until 1988.

That version includes Peckinpah’s trademark violence — it opens with heads being shot off chickens as target practice for Billy and his buddies.

But it’s the film’s pace, the characters we meet, the relationship between Billy and Garrett and the revision of the Billy the Kid myth that make it a special film.

The cast includes lots of well-known Western veterans — Jack Elam, Chill Wills and Katy Jurado. Slim Pickens and R.G. Armstrong have brief but memorable roles.

Newcomers include Bob Dylan, who admires Billy’s jailbreak and joins his gang. He also supplied the soundtrack.

Then there’s Rita Coolidge as Billy’s lover. They married shortly after working together on this film.

R.G. Armstrong as Ollinger, preaching fear of the Lord to prisoner Billy the Kid in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Matt Clark as J.W. Bell, surprised to see a pistol in the hand of his prisoner in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Directed by:
Sam Peckinpah

Cast:
James Coburn … Pat Garrett
Kris Kristofferson … Billy the Kid
Bob Dylan … Alias
Richard Jaeckel … Sheriff McKinney
Slim Pickens … Sheriff Baker
Katy Jurado … Mrs. Baker
Chill Wills … Lemuel
R.G. Armstrong … Deputy Bob Olinger
Matt Clark … Deputy J.W. Bell
Jack Elam … Alamosa Bill
Barry Sullivan … Chisum
Rita Coolidge … Maria
Luke Askew … Eno
John Beck … Poe
Jack Elam … Alamosa Bill
L.Q. Jones … Black Harris
Paul Fix … Maxwell
Jason Robards … Gov. Wallace

Runtime: 122 min.

John Beck as Poe, the man assigned by the governor to be Pat Garrett’s deputy in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Bob Dylan as Alias, one of Billy’s new acquaintances in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Memorable lines:

Pat Garrett: “It feels like — times have changed.”
Billy the Kid: “Times maybe. But not me.”

Garrett: “I aim to live to be rich, old and gray.”
Billy: “That’s a fine ambition, Pat.”

Billy, during his escape, holding a shotgun on a Bible-spouting deputy: “How’s Jesus look to you now, Bob?”
Citizen in background: “Billy’s killed Bell!”
Bob, as Billy prepares to pull the trigger: “He’s killed me too.”

Garrett, to the Sante Fe cattlemen’s group about their reward for capturing Billy: “Well, I aim to bring the kid in. But until I do, better take your $500, shove it up your ass and set fire to it.”

Slim Pickens as Sheriff Cullen Baker, willing to go after Billy, but only for a price in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Katy Jurado as Mrs. Baker, tucking extra shotgun shells into her blouse as her husband prepares to go after Billy in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Lemuel, after Garrett has his hat pulled down over his eyes so he can’t see, then guns down the man sitting next to him: “You made me have a bowel movement in my britches. I ain’t never gonna forgive you for that.”

Ruthie Lee, a whore who’s often shared a bed with Billy, after being slapped by Pat Garrett, who wants to know Billy’s location: “You’re going to have to give me another (slap across the face). I owe Billy at least that much.”

Kip McKinney, about the search for Billy: “Nah… I ain’t goin’.”
Garrett: “You owe it to me.”
McKinney: “I do? For what?”
Garrett: “For not killing at over at Rosewater. For gettin’ you this job. And not seein’ you run outta this territory. For pullin’ you outta that snow drift up at Shamus. And for cold cockin’ you over at Stillwater Saloon last fall. And savin’ you from Rabbit Owens from bitin’ off your ear. And from just puttin’ up with you for a hell of a lot longer than I oughta.”
McKinney: “Yeah… Well I hope they spell my name right in the paper.”

Kris Kristofferson as Billy the Kid takes aim at the head of a roster in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

James Coburn as Pat Garrett, eyes pinned on the cabin where Billy is pinned down in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Rita Coolidge as Maria, the new girl to spend time in Billy’s bed in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Aurora Clavel as Ida Garrett, arguing with husband Pat over how his badge has changed him in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Rutanya Alda as Ruthie Lee, the whore who might know where Billy the Kid is in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Richard Jaeckel as Sheriff Kip McKinney, balking at the notion of helping Pat Garrett (James Coburn) track down Billy in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Jack Elam as Alamosa Bill, one of the man who pins on a badge and joins the hunt for Billy in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Chill WIlls as Lemuel, forced to follow Garrett’s orders in his own saloon in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Jason Robards as Gov. Lew Wallace, explaining the concerns resulting from Billy’s escape from jail in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Barry Sullivan as Chisum, answering questions for Pat Garrett in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Harry Dean Stanton as Luke, wondering what Pat Garrett’s new badge will mean to Billy and his friends in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

L.Q. Jones as Black Harris, one of Billy the Kid’s companions in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Richard Bright as Holly, one of Billy’s friends in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Luke Askew as Eno, watching Billy reclaim a whore from Luke after breaking out of jail in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Paul Fix as Pete Maxwell, the old friend who opens his home to Billy in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Emilio Fernandez as Paco, getting a warning that Chisum can’t be trusted in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

James Coburn as Pat Garrett, looking down at the body of his latest kill in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

Kris Kristofferson as Billy the Kid, about to break jail in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)