Billy the Kid (1941)

Robert Taylor plays Billy the Kid, a young man who hasn’t trusted the law since his father was gunned down when he was 12.

He agrees to be a hired gun for Dan Hickey, who’s trying to gain control of the cattle range over fellow rancher Eric Keating.

Then Billy discovers that an old friend, Jim Sherwood (Brian Donlevy) works for Keating, that Keating’s a pretty decent fellow and has a sister named Edith who’s more than decent looking.

So Billy switches sides and takes off his gun.

But after watching a good friend and then Keating get gunned down, all that changes and he sets out on the vengeance trail despite the warnings from Sherwood and Edith that Keating wouldn’t want it that way.

When Billy won’t listen Sherwood, now a lawman, reluctantly sets out on his trail.

Robert Taylor as Billy the Kid, considering becoming one of Hickey’s hired guns in Billy the Kid (1941)

Brian Donlevy as Jim Sherwood, trying to reason with his friend Billy in Billy the Kid (1941)

Review:

Another Billy the Kid film that casts the killer in a sympathetic light. Sure Billy kills, but only after lots of provocation.

Taylor, 29 when the film was released, makes for a tough-talking kid, but this is far from his best Western. Or Donlevy’s, for that matter.

There’s an odd romantic triangle that’s hinted at more than played out on film. Billy’s breaking a horse as a birthday present to Keating’s pretty sister, but barely bats an eye at the announcement that she’s about to be engaged to his friend Jim Sherwood.

There’s also an odd attempt to inject some humor in the film in the form of a Mexican baladeer named Pedro who’s befriended by Billy. In fact, his murder helps set Billy back on a path of violence.

Oh, and much is made of Billy being left-handed. In fact, that even plays a role in the film’s ending. It was a common misconception, repeated in the 1958 film “The Left-Handed Gun,” starring Paul Newman.

Mary Howard as Edith Keating, pleading with Billy to remember her father’s wish for justice by peaceful means in Billy the Kid (1941)

Gene Lockhard as Dan Hickey, the man behind all the trouble in Billy the Kid (1941)

Directed by:
David Miller

Cast:
Robert Taylor … Billy the Kid
Brian Donlevy … Jim Sherwood
Ian Hunter … Eric Keating
Mary Howard … Edith Keating
Gene Lockhard … Dan Hickey
Lon Chaney Jr. … Spike Hudson
Henry O’Neill … Tim Ward
Guinn “Big Boy” Williams … Ed Bronson
Cy Kendall … Sheriff McAndrews
Frank Puglia … Pedro Gonzales
Ted Adams … Buzz Cobb
Frank Conlan … Judge Blake
Grant Withers … Ed Shanahan

Runtime:

Memorable lines: 94 min.

Ian Hunter as Eric Keating tries to reason with Dan Hickey in Billy the Kid (1941)

Henry O’Neil as Tim Ward, a newspaper editor out to expose Dan Hickey’s dirty dealing in Billy the Kid (1941)

Memorable lines:

Billy the Kid, on his reunion with Jim Sherwood: “Just as ugly as ever.”
Jim Sherwood: “Time ain’t exactly a beauty treatment.”

Newspaper editor: “Son, you got a hole in your hat.”
Billy: “Ventilation.”

Sign in saloon: “Ask for credit; then drop dead.”

Billy, after overhearing one of Hickey’s men suggest he isn’t dry behind the ears yet.
Billy: “Feel behind my ears. Go ahead, feel.”
The henchman feels.
Billy: “Wet or dry?”
Silence.
Billy: “Wet or dry? Be sure you answer right.”
Henchman: “Dry.”

Billy to Keating, after he’s been sharing his outlook on mankind. “You better wear a hat with a wider brim. The sun ain’t doing you no good.”

Hickey: “No one quits my outfit and stays healthy.”
Billy, glancing at Hickey and his men: “Which one of you want to start making me unhealthy?”

Robert Taylor as Billy the Kid invites one of Hickey’s men to check if he’s wet behind the ears in Billy the Kid (1941)

Mary Howard as Edith Keating and Brian Donlevy as Jim Sherwood, looking for her father’s killer in Billy the Kid (1941)

Robert Taylor as Billy and Frank Puglia as Pedro Gonzalez, considering an offer of jobs on the Keating ranch in Billy the Kid (1941)

Robert Taylor as Bily the Kid, eager to revenge two killings in Billy the Kid (1941)