The Left Handed Gun

source: The Left Handed Gun

Trailer—The Left Handed Gun

The Left Handed Gun

Arthur Penn directed this obscure(and umpteenth) filming of the story of Billy The Kid(William Bonny) Paul Newman(utterly miscast) plays Billy as a misunderstood and pensive youth who merely wanted to avenge the death of his employer, an expatriate Englishman and cattle rancher murdered by a corrupt sheriff and his men because they didn't want the competition. Billy hunts down and kills the men responsible, but becomes a wanted criminal as a result. His friend and lawman Pat Garret(played by John Dehner) reluctantly pursues him, as Billy's fame grows... Terrible film is unbearably slow and uninteresting; a real chore to sit through, and misinformed title makes it look even worse!

Arthur Penn directs this slightly twisted story of William Bonney better known as 'Billy the Kid'. Largely based on Gore Vidal's play, this version shows Bonney as a misunderstood and misdirected youth with the ability of being as loyal as he could be dangerous. The teenager sets out to avenge the murder of his mentor and becomes the most talked about and feared gunman in the old wild West. Originally intended to be a James Dean vehicle, blue eyed Paul Newman portrays the moody legendary desperado with intense assuredness and bravado. Very good supporting cast features:John Dehner, James Best, Lita Milan, James Congdon and Denver Pyle.

This is an uneven movie. It begins with Paul Newman playing Billy the Kid as a borderline simpleton who somehow acquires a normal intelligence by the end of the movie. The first half of the movie is manic, with Billy and his two sidekicks talking loud, acting silly, and laughing at things that are not funny, probably because they are drunk, but ends as some kind of overwrought, psychological melodrama. I think it's called Method Acting. This movie would have us believe that we are seeing a demythologized version of this character from the Old West, but it depicts all his killings as being justified, and when he is shot by Pat Garrett, he has no gun in his holster, so he really is not beaten to the draw, all in keeping with the traditional mythology. I have an idea. Why not make a movie in which Billy the Kid is an evil scumbag? That would be some serious demythologizing.