Scott Brady plays the title character. In this retelling, Billy and Pat Garrett (James Griffith) are cowpokes working side by side on a small ranch. The ranch owner tries to cheat Billy out of half his wages. Billy will have none of it, takes what he thinks he is owed and rides off. One of the ranch owner’s henchmen follows and Billy kills him, marking the first notch in his gun.
Then he and Pat go to work for Englishman John Tunstall. Billy winds up falling for Tunstall’s niece. Nita Maxwell (Betta St. John), though that arouses the jealousy of a hired hand named Ollinger (Alan Hale Jr.), who had his sight set on the pretty young woman for his own.
When Ollinger is fired for beating Billy, he joins Tunstall’s enemies. He suspects there might be a wanted poster on Billy, and he’s right. Urged on by the ranchers who want to run Tunstall off the range, Sheriff Tom Watkins agrees to take a posse to his ranch, arrest Billy for the old killing and Tunstall for harboring a fugitive.
When Tunstall is gunned down reaching for his glasses — the gunman thought he was reaching for a gun — Billy decides it’s time to go on the vengeance trail and vows that every member of the posse will die. Pat Garrett turns lawman, hoping he can keep his good friend alive. Anyone else in the job would shoot first and worry about justice later.
Review:
The film has its moments, but you won’t have to look hard to find a better version of the Billy the Kid story. And parts of the plot make no sense. Like when Gov. Lew Wallace offers Pat Garrett the job of sheriff. If he accepts and gets Billy to turn himself in, he’ll be granted amnesty. If Garrett turns down the job, the governor will declare martial law and order his troops to shoot Billy on sight. Huh?
As for the moments, there’s a charming scene when Billy is showing off his native New York to Nita Maxwell via a buggy, pulled by pretend horses. And there’s a scene where the scoundrel Billy sells a rancher his own stolen horses.
James Griffith is solid as the sheriff who has the job of tracking down a friend who doesn’t seem to want his help. As for Betta St. John, she was 15 years removed from her film debut, made at age 10 in the classic “Destry Rides Again.” In an uncredited part, she plays a young girl who mimics Marlene Dietrich’s song, “Little Joe.”
Directed by:
William Castle
Cast:
Scott Brady … Billy the Kid
James Griffith … Pat Garrett
Betta St. John … Nita Maxwell
Alan Hale Jr. … Bob Ollinger
Paul Cavanaugh … John Tunstall
William Phillips … Charlie Bowdre
Benny Rubin … Arnold Dodge
Steve Darrell … Tom Watkins
Otis Garth … Gov. Lew Wallace
George Berkeley … Tom O’Folliard
William Tannen … Dave Rudabaugh
Richard Cutting … Pete Maxwell
Runtime: 72 min.
Memorable lines:
Billy: “The only thing I care about is: If I do a full man’s work do I get full-time pay?”
Tunstall: “Of course. Why?”
Billy: “Because my stomach craves full-time grub.”
Billy to Nita: “What you said about being fancy free? Well, I’m glad you’re free. And I’m sure glad you’re fancy.”
Billy to Nita: “Just like my mom. You know, she used to think that just because somebody turned over a new leaf that all the pages that went before were erased, nice and clean.”
Billy to his men, when they’re asked to surrender to the law: “I don’t know how you boys feel about getting hurt. But the way I figure, hanging is about as uncomfortable as a bullet.”
Colleague: “I never liked nothing around my neck, cept maybe Doris’ arms.”
Colleague #2: “I’m the backward kind. Don’t like a lot of folks around me when I’m doing something important, like dying.”
Billy, checking out a dead man: “Well, at least it was quick.”
Collegue: “Yeah, we’ve got a great future, wondering if the end will be quick.”
Billy, after his capture: “Don’t look like that, Nita.”
Nita: “How do you want me to look? Shall I smile bravely and act unafraid while you have a noose around your neck.”
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