Billy the Kid (1941 film)
| Billy the Kid | |
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Theatrical poster
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| Directed by | David Miller |
| Produced by | Irving Asher |
| Written by |
Walter Noble Burns (book) Gene Fowler Howard Emmett Rogers Bradbury Foote |
| Starring |
Robert Taylor Brian Donlevy Gene Lockhart Lon Chaney, Jr. |
| Music by | David Snell |
| Cinematography |
William V. Skall Leonard Smith |
| Edited by | Robert Kern |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,411,000 |
| Box office | $2,432,000 |
Billy the Kid is a 1941 American color remake of the 1930 film of the same name. The film features Robert Taylor as Billy and Brian Donlevy as a fictionalized version of Pat Garrett renamed "Jim Sherwood" in the film. Directed by David Miller and based on the book by Walter Noble Burns, the cast also included Gene Lockhart and Lon Chaney, Jr.. The film was not as well received as the 1930 original, Billy the Kid, which had starred Johnny Mack Brown and Wallace Beery and been shot in an experimental widescreen process.
The year is 1880 and William Bonney (Robert Taylor) is already a famous gunslinger, known as "Billy the Kid". In Lincoln, New Mexico, Billy helps his friend Pedro Gonzales (Frank Puglia) escape from jail, where he was put by mean sheriff Cass McAndrews (Cy Kendall).
Later, Billy and Pedro go back to a saloon from which Pedro was thrown out earlier by the locals because of his ethnicity. One of the cattle barons, Dan Hickey (Gene Lockhart), recognizes Billy and hires him to scare up some farmers into joining Hickey's business. Billy and the rest of Hickey's men start a stampede among the farmers' cattle, wreaking havoc and creating chaos. A farmer is killed during the stampede, and afterwards Billy feels guilty of what he has done.
During the stampede, Billy encounters one of his childhood friends, Jim Sherwood (Brian Donlevy), who works for a man named Eric Keating (Ian Hunter). Jim arranges for Billy and Pedro to come and work for the non-violent Keating instead of the violent Hickey.
At the Keating ranch, Billy meets Eric's beautiful sister Edith (Mary Howard) and is instantly attracted to her. He finds himself well at home at the ranch, until Pedro is shot in the back and killed by one of Hickey's men. Keating convinces Billy not to take revenge, but to wait until he has talked to the governor about the violent situation in the region.
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