Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writer:

Rudy Wurlitzer (written by)

Release Date:

31 August 1973 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

History | Western

Tagline:

Best of enemies. Deadliest of friends.

Plot:

An aging Pat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons--his sole purpose being to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.

Plot Keywords:

Mexico | Billy The Kid | New Mexico | Pat Garrett | Friend

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations

Cast

James Coburn	...	Pat Garrett
Kris Kristofferson	...	Billy The Kid
Richard Jaeckel	...	Sheriff Kip McKinney
Katy Jurado	...	Mrs. Baker
Chill Wills	...	Lemuel
Barry Sullivan	...	Chisum
Jason Robards	...	Governor Wallace
Bob Dylan	...	Alias
R.G. Armstrong	...	Ollinger
Luke Askew	...	Eno
John Beck	...	Poe
Richard Bright	...	Holly
Matt Clark	...	J.W. Bell
Rita Coolidge	...	Maria
Jack Dodson	...	Howland
Jack Elam	...	Alamosa Bill
Emilio Fernández	...	Paco (as Emilio Fernandez)
Paul Fix	...	Maxwell
L.Q. Jones	...	Black Harris
Slim Pickens	...	Sheriff Baker
Jorge Russek	...	Silva
Charles Martin Smith	...	Bowdre (as Charlie Martin Smith)
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Luke
Claudia Bryar	...	Mrs. Horrell
John Davis Chandler	...	Norris (as John Chandler)
Michael T. Mikler	...	Denver (as Mike Mikler)
Aurora Clavel	...	Ida Garrett (as Aurora Clavell)
Rutanya Alda	...	Ruthie Lee
Walter Kelley	...	Rupert
Rudy Wurlitzer	...	O'Folliard
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Cody
Gene Evans	...	Mr. Horrell
Donnie Fritts	...	Beaver
Dub Taylor	...	Josh
Don Levy	...	Sackett
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sam Peckinpah	...	Will (uncredited)

Directed by
Sam Peckinpah

Writing credits
Rudy Wurlitzer		(written by)

Produced by
Gordon Carroll	....	producer

Original Music by
Bob Dylan

Cinematography by
John Coquillon		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
David Berlatsky
Garth Craven
Tony de Zarraga		(as Tony De Zarraga)
Richard Halsey
Roger Spottiswoode
Robert L. Wolfe

Casting by
Patricia Mock

Art Direction by
Ted Haworth

Set Decoration by
Ray Moyer

Makeup Department
Jack Wilson	....	makeup artist (as Jack P. Wilson)
Herbert Smith	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Jim Henderling	....	unit production manager
Alfonso Sánchez Tello	....	production manager: Mexico (as Alfonso Sanchez Tello)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Newt Arnold	....	assistant director (as Newton Arnold)
Gordon T. Dawson	....	second unit director (as Gordon Dawson)
Jesus Marin Bello	....	assistant director: Mexico
Lawrence J. Powell	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Robert J. Visciglia Sr.	....	property master (as Robert John Visciglia)

Sound Department
Harry W. Tetrick	....	sound
Charles M. Wilborn	....	sound
Bill Wistrom	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Augie Lohman	....	special visual effects (as A.J. Lohman)

Stunts
William H. Burton	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Combs	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Gatlin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Hart	....	stunts (uncredited)
Whitey Hughes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Harrold Laswell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Walter Scott	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Herbert Smith	....	camera operator
Gabriel Torres	....	director of photography: second unit (as Gabriel Torres G.)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael Butler	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Dan Carlin Sr.	....	music editor (as Dan Carlin)
Dan Wallin	....	scoring mixer (uncredited)

Other crew
Katherine Haber	....	production staff (uncredited)
'Chema' Hernandez	....	head wrangler (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents) (as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1973) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1975) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• MGM-EMI (1973) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1973) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Neue Visionen Filmverleih (????) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Encore Avenue (2009) (Canada) (TV)
• Esselte Video (1988) (Finland) (video)
• EuroVideo (19??) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1987) (1997) (2004) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1992) (2008) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.)
• Turner Entertainment  package design

Also Known As:

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (USA) (poster title)
Pat Garrett jagt Billy the Kid (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Pat Garrett och Billy the Kid (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
Duelo na Poeira (Portugal) [pt]
I megali monomahia (Greece) [el]
Pat Garrett e Billy Kid (Italy) [it]
Pat Garrett et Billy le Kid (France) [fr]
Pat Garrett et Billy the Kid (Canada: French title) [fr]
Pat Garrett i Billy Kid (Poland) [pl]
Pat Garrett i Billy el Nen (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Pat Garrett ja Billy the Kid (Finland) [fi]
Pat Garrett og Billy the Kid (Denmark) [da]
Pat Garrett y Billy el niño (Spain) [es]
Pat Garrett y Billy the Kid (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for western violence and sexuality/nudity. (edited for re-rating; originally R)

Runtime:

122 min (1988 restored version) | 115 min (2005 DVD Special Edition) | 106 min (Cut theatrical version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1987) (video release) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) | UK:X (original rating) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) | West Germany:16 | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Canada:14A (TV rating) | Australia:PG | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Durango, Mexico

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Bo Hopkins was Sam Peckinpah's first choice for the role of Billy.

Goofs:

Continuity: After he kills Alamosa, Billy mounts his horse and passes by Alamosa's body. Then the body is in a different position.

Quotes:

Mr. Horrell: Just got through putting up that new cottonwood door. Used the old one for my son John. He got into a shooting with Olin Carroll. He's buried out yonder there.
Billy: I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Horrell.
Mr. Horrell: John was a good hand. Couldn't shoot, though.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

One of Peckinpah's Finest

I enjoyed the film very much, in part because Peckinpah continues his theme, as he did in "Ballad of Cable Hogue" and "The Wild Bunch", of the illusion of who is "good" and who is "evil." Also, Peckinpah mourns the passing of people such as Garrett and Billy; at one point Garrett says to Poe, "This country's getting old, and I'm to get old with it." Garrett knows that he and Billy, among others, are to disappear from the West as big business and civilization advance, and Garrett tries to avoid this by selling out to Chisum (Barry Sullivan) and the Santa Fe Ring. But Garrett is a torn man; he is trying to avoid the tide of history by avoiding the eventual meeting with Billy, while also trying to avoid the financial forces (e.g., Chisum) that are making individuals such as himself disappear, so that big business will take over. The entire film is really a depiction of Garrett and Billy avoiding each other in order to resist historical forces that they would have a better chance of surviving if both of them left New Mexico or if both of them were on the same side. However, Garrett feels that aligning himself with the ranchers is better for survival, but in the end the hand that fed him, so to speak, is the same hand that destroys him. A truly poetic, and quite elegiac film, one that I feel is underrated among Peckinpah's films.