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IMDb > Joe Kidd (1972)
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Overview

User Rating:
6.2/10   3,626 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Elmore Leonard (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Joe Kidd on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 July 1972 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
If you're looking for trouble - - - he's JOE KIDD
Plot:
An ex-bounty hunter reluctantly helps a wealthy landowner and his henchmen track down a Mexican revolutionary leader. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
Western Wednesdays: ‘The Ox-Bow Incident’
 (From The Flickcast. 16 December 2009, 3:31 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Fighting for what you believe in doesn't always come easy. more (38 total)
US TV Schedule:

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Clint Eastwood ... Joe Kidd

Robert Duvall ... Frank Harlan
John Saxon ... Luis Chama
Don Stroud ... Lamarr Simms
Stella Garcia ... Helen Sanchez
James Wainwright ... Olin Mingo

Paul Koslo ... Roy Gannon
Gregory Walcott ... Sinola County Sheriff Bob Mitchell

Dick Van Patten ... Hotel manager
Lynne Marta ... Elma
John Carter ... Judge
Pepe Hern ... Priest

Joaquín Martínez ... Manolo (as Joaquin Martinez)
Ron Soble ... Ramon
Pepe Callahan ... Naco
Clint Ritchie ... Deputy Sheriff Calvin
Gil Barreto ... Emilio
Ed Deemer ... Harry (bartender)
Maria Val ... Vita
Chuck Hayward ... Eljay
Michael R. Horst ... Deputy
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Directed by
John Sturges 
 
Writing credits
Elmore Leonard (written by)

Produced by
Sidney Beckerman .... producer
Robert Daley .... executive producer
 
Original Music by
Lalo Schifrin 
 
Cinematography by
Bruce Surtees 
 
Film Editing by
Ferris Webster 
 
Art Direction by
Henry Bumstead 
Alexander Golitzen 
 
Set Decoration by
Charles S. Thompson 
 
Production Management
Ernest B. Wehmeyer .... unit production manager (as Ernest Wehmeyer)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Fargo .... assistant director (as Jim Fargo)
 
Sound Department
James R. Alexander .... sound
Waldon O. Watson .... sound
 
Stunts
Buddy Van Horn .... stunt coordinator
Steven Burnett .... stunts (uncredited)
Tap Canutt .... stunts (uncredited)
Running Deer .... stunts (uncredited)
Mickey Gilbert .... stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward .... stunts (uncredited)
Bob Herron .... stunts (uncredited)
Kim Kahana .... stunts (uncredited)
George Orrison .... stunts (uncredited)
Walter Scott .... stunts (uncredited)
Buddy Van Horn .... stunt double (uncredited)
Autry Ward .... stunts (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Jack N. Young .... location manager (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Sinola (USA) (working title)
Sinola (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Belâ arayan adam (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Joe Kidd (France) [fr]
Joe Kidd (Brazil) [pt]
Joe Kidd (Denmark) [da]
Joe Kidd (Spain) [es]
Joe Kidd (Greece) [el]
Joe Kidd (Finland) [fi]
more
Runtime:
88 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Writer Elmore Leonard certainly did know something about classic firearms. From Frank Harlan's Custom Savage 99 (1899), Olin Mingo's Remington-Keene sporter (1880) in .45-70, Lamarr Simms Mauser C-96 (1896) broomhandle and Joe's Cased Ross Rifle sporter model M-10 (1910) in .280 Ross. Leonard took special care to ensure all weapons (even the optics) were period accurate for that movie, being set in pre-statehood New Mexico territory (1912). more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: In the scene where Joe Kidd is approaching town after having joined up with Luis Chama, he sends one of Chama's men to ride into town first to test if the area is covered by gunmen. As he's riding into town you can see a vehicle driving across the frame in the distance. more
Quotes:
[Joe is putting the moves on Elma]
Elma: How long have they had you locked up?
Joe Kidd: Two days.
Elma: What would you be like after two months?
Joe Kidd: We wouldn't even be talking now.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Major Movie Star (2008) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
14 out of 17 people found the following comment useful.
Fighting for what you believe in doesn't always come easy., 25 June 2006
6/10
Author: lost-in-limbo from the Mad Hatter's tea party.

Joe Kidd is discreditable ex-bounty hunter who's facing a couple days in jail, but a well-known big flier landowner Frank Harlan pays his fine hoping that he would join his group of hunters in tracking down the revolution leader Louis Chama. Who's upset about the treatment his people have received in the land reform policies and he goes into town to show he and his group mean business. But Kidd has nothing against him so he declines, but that all changes when he finds out Chama and his outlaws stole his horses and touched up his carers. So after that, Kidd decides to join in the hunt, only to discover that maybe he's on the wrong side.

How many times have we seen it, don't mess with Clint! After the highly significant cop thriller "Dirty Harry", he returned to the western foray with not-so forcible results. "Joe Kidd" is what you can call, one of Eastwood's lesser westerns, but I actually enjoyed it. Maybe that's because I knew very little about it and I wasn't expecting anything revolutionary, but I found this little slam-bang western to be an earnest vehicle for Eastwood, which has a capable supporting cast in Robert Duvall, Don Stroud and John Saxon and in the director's chair is John Sturges. With those names involved it could have been much more, but it's not all a waste.

I thought that it started of rather unusually and far from your typical Eastwood western. It's quite unpredictable and it's laced with a lot quick-witted humour, but when it gets into its groove with the journey part of the story, it falls into a systematic pattern. There's nothing overly dynamic about it, but since it's quite a short flick it goes by quick enough without any meandering sequences. We get an even amount of humorous wisecracks, sturdy action set pieces and a steam-rolling climax for the undemanding. The performances are extremely good as the main characters are very egotistical. Eastwood provides his causal persona in the lead role, although this character seems to have a little more spruce and morality in his actions than that cynical edge we come to love. Duvall is influentially striking as the snaky villain Frank Harlan. Saxon is a superb character actor and that translates into his minor performance of Louis Chama. Don Stroud, Paul Koslo and Stella Garcia were more than decent too.

The consciousness story by Elmore Leonard is rather weakly drawn-up with very little in the way development and little to pushy in it's unjustifiable moral high ground. Although I loved the ironic judge, jury and executioner symbolism that fate has in-stored for the main villain. Sturges' direction won't blow you away, but it was a competent display and he manages to incorporate the sublime backdrop of the High Sierras with on spot and open location photography. There are many well-placed angle shots and leeway in its execution. Another facet that was surprising was Lalo Schifrin's distinctively, pulsating score that's never over-powering, but it was always there.

You might forget all about this western after a day or two, but with these class people involved in this production, just expect some captivating, light entertainment. I found it satisfying enough, but Eastwood would go onto better things a year later with the spell-bindingly, cruel "High Plains Drifter".

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Eastwood eating a sandwich? ronaldkorfel
Need help w/an answer to a trivia question ! Please help ! mlawter777
Not Smarter Than A Fifth Grader ww-37
Pronunciation of Chama LukeCoolHand
What book or short story was this based on? Mannlaw99
Some random thoughts on Joe Kidd (spoilers?) BigShoe62
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