Not bad "psychological Western" based on Gore Vidal's take on the Billy the Kid story, written for the big screen by Leslie Stevens (of 'The Outer Limits' fame). Arthur Penn, director of such future classics as "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Little Big Man", makes his feature film directorial debut here, with Paul Newman in the role of Billy, taken in by kindly English gentleman / rancher Tunstall (Colin Keith-Johnston). He forms enough of a bond with this father figure to react with rage when the man is gunned down by his rivals, drawing two of his fellow ranch hands, Tom Folliard (James Best) and Charlie Boudre (James Congdon) into the ensuing drama. Newman may indeed have been too old for the role, but still creates a convincing enough portrayal of a man whose fate was determined early on and continues to maintain a wild child sort of personality. Unfortunately, things are destined to never go smoothly, as even when amnesty is granted by Gov. Wallace, Billy cannot leave well enough alone, and eventually damages his friendly relationship with easygoing Pat Garrett (John Dehner). With the exception of Garrett, none of the other roles are exactly what one would consider fleshed out, although the cast is solid right down the line, with Hurd Hatfield of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" fame cast as Jed Moultrie, the most interesting character of them all, the man intent on creating the Billy the Kid legend and then, ultimately, ending it. While the movie does drag in parts, it is indeed noteworthy for its attempt to put some sort of human face on a notorious real life personage, and it has quite a brooding quality for the duration - the low key finish is a literal portrayal of its underlying darkness. Best and Congdon, both highly exuberant, are amusing as Billy's sidekicks; one can even see hints of Best's future Roscoe P. Coltrane performance in one comedic sequence. Striking Lita Milan makes a pretty good impression as the young Mexican wife whose relationship with Billy only adds to his problems. Particularly strong among the supporting actors is the distinctively featured John Dierkes as the calm, caring McSween who tries to keep Billy under control. You'll also notice Best's future 'Dukes of Hazzard' co-star Denver Pyle as the character Ollinger. While the movie begins on a somewhat shaky note with that treacly theme song, it soon finds its footing and makes for compelling viewing. Previously filmed for the 'Philco Television Playhouse' series as 'The Death of Billy the Kid', which also starred Newman. Seven out of 10.

Billy The Kid has been played on screen by many actors, of whom Paul Newman may have been the most justly famous. So why is his Billy such a drip?Newman was 33 years old and had managed to make the most of his second chance at screen fame with a solid turn in "Somebody Up There Likes Me," playing a rebellious young boxer. As Billy, though, Newman seems lost as a similar character of sudden impulse. "All I know is how I feel," he says, and that's true whether he's brooding Brando-like over the death of a rancher he just met or dancing up a storm three minutes later. For every scene he plays with his trademark cool, there must be four or five he exaggerates to strange effect.It's a strange movie with or without him. Celebrated by some as a psychological western, it presents Billy as neither evil nor a sociopath, but rather as tied up by an understandable if extreme need for revenge. There was this guy, you see, who gave Billy a job and then got shot by some corrupt peace officers, and he promised to teach poor Billy to read.Never mind that Billy doesn't know this guy when the movie starts and he's already dead ten minutes in. Nor that Billy's two partners-in-crime, Tom (James Best) and Charley (James Congdon), have no clear reason for siding with their hot-tempered friend. "The Left-Handed Gun" is a film in a hurry, mainly to give Newman as much opportunity to emote as possible. Boy, does Newman emote!Compositionally, "The Left-Handed Gun" does some interesting things. We see Billy's first gunfight through a steamed-up window taking place while Billy simultaneously maps it out, a terrific effect. Director Arthur Penn and cinematographer J. Peverell Marley (not a harmonious team, as Penn reveals in a DVD commentary) continually find unique details to capture the eye, like one man's face pressed against a window glass after taking a fatal bullet. In his movie blog "Nothing Is Written," Groggy Dundee points out just how much of Penn's big escape scene made it into the later Sam Peckinpah movie "Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid," to the point of identical blocking and camera angles.This is a better film that that one, which is overlong and cattywampus. Penn makes a point in his DVD commentary about the film being taken away from him in the editing room, and there's much sloppiness in evidence in the final cut, like Tom taking the same bullet in two consecutive scenes. But Penn must take the blame for a cast that overplays way too much, as if Newman's Method acting style was the swine flu. Best either whacks his hat or giggles constantly, while John Dehner as Pat Garrett has an atrocious scene where he whines at Billy for shooting a guy during his wedding reception."This wall, this street, this town, I married all of it," Dehner screams. I shudder to imagine the honeymoon.Best's future "Dukes Of Hazzard" castmate Denver Pyle sticks out in a better way as the ornery Ollinger, while Hurd Hatfield coos over Billy as an overly florid Southern writer who wants to make his fortune writing up Billy's career. Considering this was based on a play by Gore Vidal, there may be a subtext there, though Hatfield works his few scenes more in the direction of a creepier Vincent Price. I liked him, even if I don't think he got across anything more than a hint of an idea about our exploitative celebrity culture.That's the problem with "Left-Handed Gun," aiming too high and not getting what it shoots for. That and Newman, who shows some star power here but not much acting skill. Unlike Billy, he had time to get better.

When the film began, I suddenly had very low hopes for it. That's because the opening tune was simply horrible--with bad lyrics and a cheesy quality that made me cringe. However, I assumed it would get a lot better. After all, almost anything Paul Newman did is well worth seeing (other than his first film, "The Silver Chalice"--which Newman himself often mocked when asked about it). Well, while this isn't as bad as "The Silver Chalice", it is pretty bad.The biggest problem with the film is the direction. It seems that instead of making a simple western, the actors had been told to act as if they were at a workshop given by The Actor's Studio--and each of them was trying to out-emote each other. Imagine a film where EVERYONE is method acting and all trying to do it more broadly and noticeably than the last guy! Subtle, it was not--in fact, it was seriously funny at times. There were just so many scenes that were overacted horribly. I especially loved the death scenes and when folks got mad because they REALLY died spectacularly or got insanely angry! I especially loved Pat Garrett's (John Dehner) reactions in the film--they were downright funny.The other big problem is that as a historical piece, the film bore no resemblance to reality! Like a lot of bad westerns, this one purports to be about an infamous western bandit (in this case, Billy the Kid) but isn't his life in the least. And, combined with the crap acting and direction, the film is just a complete mess. So, unless you like bad films or have no taste at all, steer clear of this one. Even with Newman, it's a dog.

That was the Wild West, not so wild though but quite wild yet. A poor kid who was born in that atmosphere of violence, who found himself alone, walking in the wild, carrying his saddle and his gun is recuperated by some rancher taking a small herd to Lincoln. For obtuse reasons that have probably to do with some economic vengeance, the sheriff and three deputies kill the rancher, an old unarmed man, in the morning at the top of the pass leading to Lincoln. The young man, Billy the Kid, reacts in a strange way and will not really change his mind which is not his mind but his habitual way of thinking. He wants justice, hence he is going to stand and challenge the four people. Then the rest is details you can discover them all by yourselves. The film is good because the young "Kid" is shown as being slightly slow in his brains. He is practically adopted by some people in a Mexican city next to Lincoln, but he rapes the girl because he cannot accept things not to go the way he wants them to go. And that will be his doom. The film is also good because it shows how those who had a star, sheriffs or marshalls, could do anything they wanted, more or less, and rather more than less. And they definitely shot before being shot at. Preventive self defense, even when they could not say whether the man had a gun or not. Preventive self defense. The last reason why this film is still worth seeing is because we can really watch a good actor being born. Small touches here and there show the humane side of things, of this "Kid", a flute, or an expression on his face, or his negotiating the lie that he could read though he could not. I will regret though that this slightly mentally slow "Kid" is not kept from beginning to end, but that is how the film is directed. He used his guns or other defensive method as a reflex of self-preservation more than of violence. He was completely absorbed and possessed by the outside world seen as a potential danger, which is total distraction, if not the sign of a deranged mind in a way. But we only get that feeling from time to time, not always. That's a regret of mine.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID