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 country.

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-territory 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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.”