Released in 1969, "Young Billy Young" tells the story of Lordsburg, Arizona, where a new lawman comes to town (Robert Mitchum). He takes to a foolish young gun (Robert Walker Jr.) because he reminds him of his murdered son and also to a saloon girl (Angie Dickenson) who's happens to be the woman of the bad man who runs the town (Jack Kelly). John Anderson plays the criminal whom the lawman came to bring to justice. Deana Martin (Dean's daughter) is on hand as the kid's possible romantic interest while David Carradine plays a ne'er-do-well.The story is based on Will Henry's "Who Rides with Wyatt," a fictionalized novel that focuses on Wyatt Earp's relationship with young Billy Clanton, but the names were changed for the movie. Wyatt becomes Marshal Kane (Mitchum), Billy Clanton becomes Billy Young (Walker Jr.) and the town villain is named after the corrupt sheriff of Tombstone, John Behan. The plot is similar to 1959's "Rio Bravo" and 1966' "El Dorado" while the tone is akin to the more contemporary "El Dorado" and 1968's "Bandolero!" Speaking of the latter, the quirky nature of the score by Shelly Manne is reminiscent of the score to "Bandolero!," albeit not quite as good, yet still very notable (of course, some hate it). Robert Mitchum sings the title song.If you favor any of those three films you'll likely appreciate "Young Billy Young," although it's the least of 'em. While the cast is great, with Mitchum towering as the fearless and confident protagonist, and there are numerous impressive Western visuals – e.g. the awe-inspiring locomotive/train, the magnificent stagecoach and the ensuing stagecoach hold-up attempt – there are too many glaring unlikelihoods. For instance, why don't the bandits chasing the stagecoach simply shoot one of the eight horses linked to it? That'd bring it down real quick. Nevertheless, there's enough good here for an enjoyable Western experience, even though you might say "Yeah, right" now and then. The chemistry between Mitchum and Dickinson is palpable and there's a moving line the latter says to the former that steals the show.The film is short-n-sweet at 89 minutes and was shot in Old Tucson, Arizona.GRADE: B-

This is a very mediocre offering from Burt Kennedy. It is yet another remake of Rio Bravo, but without any added wit or star power to justify the exercise. I gave it 3 out of 10 stars in IMDb and didn't bother to rank it. There were a few things I liked about it: Robert Mitchum makes it watchable. There aren't a whole lot of women who are sexier at age 38 than they are at age 28. Angie Dickinson is one of them. This kid Robert Walker Jr., who plays the Billy Young in the title, has an interesting background. His mother was Jennifer Jones and his father, Robert Walker, was an excellent actor who is best known for his role as the creepy guy in Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train". He was also very good as the "spoiled, no good cattle baron's son" in "Veangance Valley". Unfortunately, his son appears to have inherited his mother's acting talent instead of his father's. Look for another poor performance by the kid in "The War Wagon". Nice authentic location i.e. the film is shot mostly on location in southern Arizona where the film is set. It's worth a very hearty laugh when you realize that Robert Mitchum is actually doing the vocals on the title song, which gets played over the opening credits and then again at the end. He sounds like a moose in heat.

I've noticed that a lot of American westerns from the '60s play out like they were made for TV, with the static direction and production values - this is one of them. It's far from the worst western ever made - for one thing, it has Robert Mitchum, and he manages to brighten up each scene he's in. But he can only do so much - the movie is pretty padded, sometimes blatantly so when it shows people riding the desert for minutes on end. It's perhaps no wonder that the spaghetti western caught the American public's fancy around this time - though many of the stories were as standard as this one, they at least were more lively done.

A good entertainment but nothing more : in this western we are between the classics and the spaghetti ones. This provides us a good a conventional story but it's always a pleasure to see Robert Mitchum with his legendary flegma although he isn't as fit as in the forties or the fifties. And don't forget David Carradine is the son of John Carradine