Billy the Kid (1964)

George Martin is Billy Carter, son of a rancher who’s resisting efforts to push him off his land.

Tom Carter has repeatedly turned down John Price’s offers to purchase his ranch. Carter’s erecting barbed wire fences to protect his property.

Frustrated that his efforts have failed, Price conspires with fellow ranchers Donovan and Brewster to have their ranch hands cut those fences and drive off Carter’s herd of horses.

During the raid, Black (Jack Taylor), leader of Price’s band of henchmen, winds up killing Tom Carter against his boss’s wishes.

In order to cover up the killing, he drags Tom Carter’s body into his ranch house, then sets it ablaze with his wife and daughter inside.

And so Billy returns from a trip to Culver City to find his father dead and his mother badly burned. He suspects who’s to blame, though the sheriff insists his father’s death was an accident.

In retribution, Billy burns down Price’s warehouse in Rockwell. He’s captured and thrown in jail. And offered one last chance to sell his father’s ranch.

But Billy has an ace up his sleeve. He’s captured the heart of Helen Price (Juny Brunell), John Price’s sister-in-law.

She helps him escape jail. And so Billy rides off into the hills, more determined than ever to avenge his father’s death.

George Martin as Billy Carter, grief-stricken by his father’s death in Billy the Kid (1964)

Jack Taylor as Black, John Price’s top gun, leading his blood lust get the best of him again in Billy the Kid (1964)

Review:

This followed 1962’s Torrejon City as the second Euro Western from prolific director León Klimovsky, and it’s a much better film, featuring plenty of action and some impressive cinematography.

Jack Taylor makes for a brutal villain. Juny Brunell makes for a fetching heroine. And George Martin is solid in the role of a man forced to pursue his own justice.

The motives of neighboring ranchers trying to force the Carters off their land are left a bit vague. Is it because of the barbed wire? Or is it because all of their ranch hands are black?

And are those paid hands? Or slaves? There’s a reference to the Carter family being forced to flee Louisiana. And Billy’s sister is initially reluctant to cooperate with a Union officer investigating her dad’s death.

The jailbreak is one of the film’s more imaginative scenes. Helen Price and Billy’s sister show up asking to visit Billy. The deputy informs them Billy can’t have visitors.

While they’re arguing the point, the Carters’ pet dog Dixie rushes to the jail cell and leaps up to greet his owner. Attached to his collar is a six-gun!

Juny Brunell as Helen Price, searching for her boyfriend Billy Carter in Billy the Kid (1964)

Luis Induni as John Price, surprised to learn of Tom Carter’s death in Billy the Kid (1964)

Directed by:
León Klimovsky

Cast:
George Martin … Billy Carter
Jack Taylor … Black
Juny Brunell … Helen Price
Tomas Blanco … Tom Carter
Luis Induni … John Price
Tota Alba … Mrs. Carter
Aldo Sambrell … Sheriff Cox
Esther Grant … Marie Carter
Lorenzo Robledo … Deputy Jim
Enrique Nunez … Donovan
Simon Arriaga … Brewster
Alberto Dalbes … Capt. Harkell
Joaquin Parris … Jack Desmond

Also with: Henri Macedo, Jose Luiz Lizalde, Claudio Denis, Gaspar “Indio” Gonzalez

aka:
Fuera de la ley
Alle frontiere del Texas
L’uomo dell’ O.K. Corrall

Songs:
“Ride Along” and “Spiritual”
by John Littleton

Runtime: 91 min.

Alberto Dalbes as Capt. Harkell, the man who decides to investigate Tom Carter’s death in Billy the Kid (1964)

Aldo Sambrell as Sheriff Cox, listening to Black’s explanation for his latest shenanigans in Billy the Kid (1964)

Memorable lines:

Sorry, I watched a non-English print of this film.

Tomas Blanco as Tom Carter, rejecting another offer to buy his ranch in Billy the Kid (1964)

Tota Alba as Mrs. Carter, Billy’s mom, recovering from her burn injuries in Billy the Kid (1964)

Trivia:

The U.S. title was likely an attempt to grab the attention of fans of American Westerns. This isn’t the Billy the Kid story. As indicated in the alternate title above, one of the Italian titles for the film makes reference to the O.K. Corral. It’s not that story either.

This is the only film listed for Juny Brunell and Esther Grant. Tota Alba, who plays Billy’s mother, had a small role in “Bullets and the Flesh,” starring Rob Cameron. That film was also released in 1964.

This was the first released Euro Western starring George Martin, who appeared in three more in 1964 alone, including “Tomb of the Pistolero,” “Fury of the Apaches” and “Two Violent Men.”

George Martin as Billy Carter with Sam, one of his dad’s workers who’s being bullied by Black and his men in Billy the Kid (1964)

Esther Grant as Marie Carter, Billy’s sister, answering questions for the Union captain in Billy the Kid (1964)

Lorenzo Robledo as Deputy Jim, outwitted as Billy Carter prepares to escape jail in Billy the Kid (1964)

George Martin as Billy Carter, refusing to give up his quest for vengeance, even though locked up in Billy the Kid (1964)

Jack Taylor as Black and his men take a break from their job as John Price’s enforcers in Billy the Kid (1964)

George Martin as Billy Carter and Juny Brunell as Helen Price, debating the wisdom of his quest in Billy the Kid (1964)