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 | New Mexico | Billy The Kid | Pat Garrett | Fort Sumner

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:

Rumors began to reach the studio that director Sam Peckinpah was unable to work due to his heavy drinking. So as a joke, a photo was taken which showed Peckinpah on a stretcher being fed whiskey through an IV bottle while cast members carried him.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Richard Jaeckel (Sheriff McKinney) wears a very obvious wig in all his scenes.

Quotes:

Garrett: Won't some of you people get him up off the ground and into it?

Movie Connections:

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

Get A Rope

With two classic westerns under his belt (Ride the High Country and The Wild Bunch)and a reputation for being a rebellious non-conformist you would think Sam Peckinpah the ideal person to relate the story of the teen prodigy outlaw, Billy the Kid. You would be wrong. From start to finish this western is an aimless mess. Scenes are poorly paced and disjointed. It looks like it was edited on a beach.

Kris Kristofferson is clearly too old and limited for Billy. As Garrett, James Coburn fares much better with a stylish and graceful performance that exudes a cool confidence despite being in conflict with himself. Bob Dylan supplies some fine music but his performance is an embarrassment. In minor rolls some of the great old guard (Slim Pickens, Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, Jack Elam, R G Armstrong) steal every scene they are in.

There's the requisite slow mo blood spattering scenes of violence and in one scene Chickens replace scorpions (without the symbolism) in a gruesome moment of male bonding but Peckinpah for the most part allows Dylan's score to set the pace in scenes, rendering them sluggish and mawkish.

At this point in his career it was clear Peckinpah had nothing left. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a testament to how far and fast he had fallen.