Bronco Billy (1980)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writer:

Dennis Hackin (written by)

Release Date:

11 June 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

The most outrageous of 'em all.

Plot:

An idealistic, modern-day cowboy struggles to keep his Wild West show afloat in the face of hard luck and waning interest.

Plot Keywords:

Wild West Show | Premarital Sex | Circus | Drive In Restaurant | Backstage

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Bronco Billy
Sondra Locke	...	Antoinette Lily
Geoffrey Lewis	...	John Arlington
Scatman Crothers	...	Doc Lynch
Bill McKinney	...	Lefty LeBow
Sam Bottoms	...	Leonard James
Dan Vadis	...	Chief Big Eagle
Sierra Pecheur	...	Lorraine Running Water
Walter Barnes	...	Sheriff Dix
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Dr. Canterbury
Beverlee McKinsey	...	Irene Lily
Doug McGrath	...	Lt. Wiecker (as Douglas McGrath)
Hank Worden	...	Station Mechanic
William Prince	...	Edgar Lipton
Pam Abbas	...	Mother Superior
Eyde Byrde	...	Maid Eloise (as Edye Byrde)
Douglas Copsey	...	Reporter at Bank
John Wesley Elliott Jr.	...	Sanatorium Attendant
Chuck Hicks	...	Cowboy at Bar
Robert F. Hoy	...	Cowboy at Bar (as Bobby Hoy)
Jefferson Jewell	...	Boy at Bank
Dawneen Lee	...	Bank Teller
Don Mummert	...	Chauffeur
Lloyd Nelson	...	Sanatorium Policeman
George Orrison	...	Cowboy in Bar
Michael Reinbold	...	King
Tessa Richarde	...	Mitzi Fritts
Tanya Russell	...	Doris Duke
Valerie Shanks	...	Sister Maria
Sharon Sherlock	...	License Clerk
James Simmerman	...	Bank Manager (as James Simmerhan)
Roger Dale Simmons	...	Reporter at Bank
Jenny Sternling	...	Reporter at Sanatorium
Chuck Waters	...	Bank Robber
Jerry Wills	...	Bank Robber
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Merle Haggard	...	Himself
Alison Eastwood	...	Child at orphange (uncredited)
Kyle Eastwood	...	Orphan (uncredited)
Danny Jensen	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Arlis Tranmer	...	Photographer (uncredited)

Directed by
Clint Eastwood

Writing credits
Dennis Hackin		(written by) (as Dennis E. Hackin)

Produced by
Robert Daley	....	executive producer
Neal H. Dobrofsky	....	producer (as Neal Dobrofsky)
Dennis Hackin	....	producer (as Dennis E. Hackin)
Fritz Manes	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
David Worth		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Joel Cox
Ferris Webster

Art Direction by
Eugène Lourié		(as Gene Lourie)

Set Decoration by
Ernie Bishop

Costume Design by
Glenn Wright

Makeup Department
Thomas Tuttle	....	makeup artist (as Tom Tuttle)
Jay Cannistraci	....	makeup artist: New York (uncredited)

Production Management
Larry Powell	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Graves	....	second assistant director
Tom Joyner	....	assistant director
Fritz Manes	....	second assistant director
Stanley J. Zabka	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Gerald MacDonald	....	construction coordinator (as Jerry MacDonald)
Lynda Paradise	....	assistant art director
Steven Westlund	....	property master (as Steve Westlund)

Sound Department
Bub Asman	....	sound effects editor
Bert Hallberg	....	sound
Alan Robert Murray	....	sound effects editor
John T. Reitz	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Jeff Jarvis	....	special effects

Stunts
Norman Blankenship	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jim Burk	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Durock	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hicks	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Robert F. Hoy	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gene LeBell	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Orrison	....	stunts (uncredited)
C. Ransom Walrod	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Waters	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jesse Wayne	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ted White	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Wills	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John Davis	....	best boy
Sheldon Ehrlich	....	second grip
Jack N. Green	....	camera operator (as Jack Green)
Jack Johnson	....	key grip
Don Nygren	....	gaffer
Douglas Olivares	....	assistant camera
Leslie Otis	....	assistant camera
Jack Shannon	....	still photographer
Ron Veto	....	grip

Casting Department
Bryan Buchanan	....	atmosphere casting
Bryan Buchanan	....	extras casting

Music Department
Steve Dorff	....	conductor
Robert Fernandez	....	scoring mixer
Snuff Garrett	....	music supervisor
Donald Harris	....	music editor
Grover B. Helsley	....	music mixer (as Grover Helsley)

Transportation Department
H. William Miller	....	transportation captain (as Bill Miller)
John Reade	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Susan Allen	....	production secretary
Alan Cartwright	....	stager: riding sequences
Betty Endo	....	secretary to the producers
Harry Kohoyda Jr.	....	auditor (as Harry Kohoyda)
James Moffett	....	first aid
Lloyd Nelson	....	script supervisor
J.W. Stoker	....	stager: roping sequences
Linda Twigger	....	timekeeper

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Second Street Films (in association with)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1980) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1983) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2000) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2000) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Warner Bros. (2000) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1980) (West Germany) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• High Noon Mobile Caterers  catering
• Manno Productions Ltd.  New York sequences coordinated by
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

Bronco Billy (Argentina) (Peru) (Spain) [es]
Bronco Billy (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Bronco Billy (Greece) [el]
Bronco Billy (Denmark) [da]
Bronco Billy, o Aventureiro (Portugal) [pt]

Runtime:

116 min | Argentina:119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:Atp | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Spain:13 | Australia:M | West Germany:12 | Peru:PT | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | USA:PG | South Korea:15 | Singapore:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Boise, Idaho, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

A night-shift guard in the insane asylum segment is whistling the tune from Every Which Way But Loose (1978), an earlier film which also featured Clint Eastwood, Geoffrey Lewis, Dan Vadis, Walter Barnes and Sondra Locke.

Quotes:

Antoinette Lilly: Good morning!
Lefty LeBow: What's so good about it?
Antoinette Lilly: Smell that fresh morning air! Look at the blue sky above!
Lefty LeBow: Have you been drinkin' some of Doc's Snakebite?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Eastwood... A Star (1992) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Barroom Buddies

A minor classic

Here's a picture that works beautifully on several levels, including the philosophical (I kid you not). Approach it as a lighthearted caper, and you will be entertained. If you enjoy whimsy with a trace of fantasy, it will not disappoint you. How about a picture questioning the nature of reality, in which characters challenge and re-shape the identities that life seems to have foisted upon them? There are not many movies with such powerful ambitions, and fewer still that develop them in an oblique, yet perfectly comprehensible, manner. There is nothing the least bit heavy handed about this film; quite the opposite. Enter the special world it creates, and you will be rewarded both emotionally and intellectually.

(See what I mean? Now make sure you haven't missed "Finding Graceland" and "Pennies From Heaven.")