Kid Blue

I saw this movie in the mid-70s at the People's Theater in a small town in Kansas (shortly before it burned down (the theater, not the town) & I've been wanting to see it ever since, although I'm almost afraid to now for fear of spoiling my memory of it..

The way I remember it, it was set in a Colorado town at the turn of the century (19th to 20th) & it was about capitalism & modernity & the end of the frontier. The classic scene in my memory is Dennis Hopper walking down Main Street with the owner of the new factory, which makes little gewgaws of some sort. The factory owner explains to Dennis Hopper that he needs to get a job in the factory so he can earn money to buy things that other people make in other factories-- (not mentioning, of course, that he skims off his share in the process). Political economy 101 for the wild wild west.

I'll admit that it wasn't a cinematic masterpiece-- the only lines of dialogue I remember for sure are Hopper's Native American pal advising him: "If you're not hungry, don't eat cow (censored word)," and somebody yelling, "Shoot that peckerwood, sheriff." On second thought, I probably shouldn't watch it again. Still, I like the beat, I can dance to it, I'll give it a 9.

'Kid Blue' is a very odd movie. In many ways a very old fashioned western, but with Dennis Hopper playing a long haired, pseudo-hippie character. It doesn't know whether to be hip or square, and suffers for it. Still, like most of Hopper's overlooked Seventies movies it's worth a look.

Hopper plays Bickford Waner aka Kid Blue, train robber. Tired of his lack of success at crime he relocates to a small town, gets a real job for the first time in his life, and attempts to fit in. He isn't very successful. In between being harassed by the cruel local sheriff, 'Mean John' Simpson (the legendary Ben Johnson), and one of his fellow boarding house occupant's, Drummer (Ralph Waite of 'Five Easy Pieces' and 'The Waltons'), he tries to find a way to live his life without resorting to his old ways. He befriends some local Indians, the eccentric Preacher Bob (Peter Boyle, 'Joe', 'Taxi Driver') who juggles Christianity with building a flying machine, and a local couple, Reese and Molly Ford (the God-like Warren Oates, and Lee Purcell).

The Fords have the most impact on his life, especially when the beautiful Molly makes a move on him, and the enigmatic Reese starts telling him about the "old timey Greeks" who weren't ashamed to say they loved each other, and then suggests they share a bath together. The scenes between these two screen legends, Hopper and Oates, are priceless and easily the high point of the movie. Sadly, this is the only movie they ever made together

Another added kick is seeing Oates and Johnson, who played the Gortch brothers in Peckinpah's classic 'The Wild Bunch', reunited in very different roles. Also in the supporting cast are fine character actors like Warren Finnerty and Clifton James, who both worked with Hopper and Ralph Waite in the wonderful prison drama 'Cool Hand Luke', and M. Emmet Walsh ('Blade Runner', 'Blood Simple',etc).

'Kid Blue' is NOT one of the great lost westerns, but it IS an eminently watchable curio that any Seventies film buff will be entertained by, especially if they admire the consistently good work of the late Warren Oates, or have any curiosity about Dennis Hopper's undervalued post-'Easy Rider', pre-'Apocalypse Now' movies, which also include such strong performances as 'Tracks' and Wim Wenders 'The American Friend'.

The "Kid" has always been a recurring character in western lore. Here he gets a whole movie to himself. Hopper is excellent as the train robber trying to settle down. An unpredictable storyline starts with a very funny robbery and never goes entirely where you'd expect. (Good stuff: 7/10)

There are a lot of Hopper films out there that too few people have seen, especially his lost decade of the 70s. Kid Blue is in the top 5 of my favorite Hopper films. 30 seconds into the movie I already laughed. I also melted many times that Hopper was on screen, his blue eyes and beautiful smile (yes I'm a tad obsessed). He was just so frickin cute in this film. His mannerisms and facial expressions show what a great actor he was (and wish he still was). But movie memories like from Kid Blue stay in my mind even during his bad movies of the year 2000s. Watch Kid Blue if you get lucky enough to find it on cable, I think you will like it.

This very pointed satire on the end of the "old west" and the concurrent growth of capitalism is set in Dime Box, Texas at the beginning of the 20th century. Dime Box is a real town in central Texas but here it is set on the Mexican border, where the new industry in town is a factory manufacturing ashtrays with a Mexican flag and an American flag stuck into them, symbolizing hands across the border (when a buck is concerned.) One of the funny bits I remember is Dennis Hopper asking what an ashtray is for, and he is told for putting cigarette and cigar ashes in, and he replies that people smoke outdoors, why do they need something to put the ashes in?

So he is something of an innocent, even though a former outlaw who has decided to go straight, move to town, and join the 20th century. He gets many lessons in capitalism, Native American spirituality vs Christianity, modern sexuality, and, since this was made in the early 70s, the attitude of law enforcement toward young, long-haired males. I haven't seen this in over 30 years but saw it several times in theater then and laughed every time.

It has such a great cast, particularly the males, Hopper, Boyle, Oates, Ben Johnson, all as adept at comedy as drama. Sure would like to see this get a DVD release!