Barry Brown is Drew Dixon, a teen who heads West with his family’s blessing to avoid being drafted into the Union Army.
He dreams of becoming a silver baron. Instead, he winds up getting mugged in Missouri.
He then falls in with a gang of youths led by the mugger, Jake Rumsey (Jeff Bridges).
Their young westbound gang also includes brothers Loney and Jim Bob, the less than courageous Arthur Simms and the very young Boog Bookin.
But living off the land proves more difficult than any of them imagined. And the young thieves soon become the victims when they cross paths with Big Joe (David Huddleston) and his more experienced gang.
It’s only one of the obstacles, Jake, Drew and their comrades are about to face.
Jeff Bridges as Jake Rumsey in Bad Company (1972)
Barry Brown as Drew Dixon in Bad Company (1972)
Review:
One of the better of the coming-of-age Westerns that cropped up in the 1970s. Bridges carries the film as the young gang leader with more bravado than brains.
As for Brown, he’s determined to stay on the right side of the law, so determined he’ll give the gang part of his own meager savings, then make up a story about robbing a hardware store rather than actually robbing anyone.
As for the romantic West … well, that’s not what this film is about.
An eastbound farmer curses his decision to head West, before offering up turns with his wife to Jake and his friends for $10, then settling for $8.
Big Joe, counting the small amount of money his gang has managed to steal, later grumbles about the West as well.
Scenes you’re likely to remember include young Boog’s attempt to steal a pie, and the gunfight that follows Jake and Drew’s decision to stand up to Big Joe’s gang the second time they meet.
This marked the fourth feature film in what would become a long career for Bridges. Brown committed suicide in 1978 at age 27.
John Savage as Loney, a member of the young gang, in Bad Company (1972)
Damon Cofer as Jim Bob Logan, a member of the young gang, in Bad Company (1972)
Directed by:
Robert Benton
Cast:
Jeff Bridges … Jake Rumsey
Barry Brown … Drew Dixon
John Savage … Loney
Jerry Houser … Arthur Simms
Damon Cofer … Jim Bob Logan
Joshua Hill Lewis … Boog Bookin
Jim Davis … Marshal
David Huddleston … Big Joe
Geoffrey Lewis … Hobbs
Raymond Guth … Jackson
Ed Lauter … Orin
John Quade … Nolan
Ned Wertimer … Mr. Dixon
Jean Allisan … Mrs. Dixon
Charles Tyner … Egg farmer
Claudia Bryar … Mrs. Clum
Monika Henreld … Min
Runtime: 93 min.
Jerry Houser as Arthur Simms, a member of the young gang, in Bad Company (1972)
Joshua Hill Lewis as Boog Bookin in Bad Company (1972)
Memorable lines:
Jake Rumsey to Drew Dixon: “Just so happens, I’m headed west myself. Me and some others. Hand-picked for gumption, which you got.”
Jim Bob, picking up a dead rabbit he and his five colleagues shot dead: “He’s a heavy one, ain’t he?”
Jake Rumsey: “He oughtta be. Must have 40 rounds in him.”
Big Joe, after his gang robs Drew and his colleagues: “Goodbye, boys. Just think of us as some terrible nightmare that come and went.”
Jim Davis as the marshal in Bad Company (1972)
David Huddleston as Big Joe in Bad Company (1972)
Egg farmer: “You’re so full of shit, you’re stinkin’ up my yard.”
Hobbs: “You go ahead and eat your beans Joe. Me and the boys can take ’em easy. There’s only two.”
Big Joe: “My boy, if it was a blind women in a wheelchair, I’d still give her the odds.”
Jake Rumsey: “You know what I done with your money?”
Drew Dixon: “What?”
Jake: “I spent it on whores, just cause I knew that’s what you wouldn’t have done.”
Jeff Bridges as Jake Rumsey in Bad Company (1972)
Barry Brown as Drew Dixon in Bad Company (1972)
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Quiet little film reflecting the harsh realities of life for young vagabonds on the trail to the American west. From gentle child-like beginnings to the realization that death is only a mis-step away for the most trivial of reasons on the unforgiving prairie’s of this country-much like todays urban jungles.
In the end you realize much like today’s youth these young people don’t learn from there trials and tribulations-innocence degrades to indifference leading to poor mis-guided decisions leaving one in the last frame with a sense of dread for the two likable but seemingly doomed protagonists.
Many recognizable character actors from the 70’s and on are put to good use in this film. The two main characters gave compelling and genuine performances-almost as if not even being filmed. Jeff Bridges seemed like his character in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, only 110 years earlier and Barry Brown who sadly took his own life 6 years later was reminiscent of a young Christian Bale.