Le Kid du Texas

I have a lot of respect for Audie Murphy, the most decorated US solder of WW II. However I have to admit that what I find most memorable about him are his acting roles, particularly in Westerns. He always played a deceptively young-looking gunfighter and had the real-life moves to back him up on camera. One excellent example is early in the film Duel at Silver Springs where he shoots the gun out of Lee Marvin's hand while sitting at a saloon card table - he was lightning fast on the draw.

I like Murphy here as Billy the Kid because he's still young-looking enough to be reasonably convincing. There is another movie called Billy the Kid from 1941 with Robert Taylor in the title role and he doesn't look anything like a kid - shortly after I started watching that one I switched it off. Taylor was over 30 years old and looked possibly even older than that. (On the other hand the opening scenes of To Hell and Back have Murphy at age 31 playing himself as a military inductee of 18, and to me, that also did not work.) Here, Murphy at 25 or so still looks young enough to pull off the role of a "kid".

Anyhow, back to this movie, it's one of the versions of Billy the Kid I enjoy watching because Murphy plays his part convincingly. And it has the added bonus of having been shot in Technicolor, making it easy on the eyes too.

The Kid from Texas (AKA: Texas Kid, Outlaw) is directed by Kurt Neumann and written by Robert Hardy Andrews and Karl Kamb. It stars Audie Murphy, Gale Storm, Albert Dekker, Shepperd Strudwick and Will Geer. Music is by Milton Schwarzwald and cinematography by Charles Van Enger.

11th July 1879, Lincoln County, and a young man born of the name William Henry McCarty Junior is about to write his name into the annals of infamy...

"I'll get every man who had a hand in this killing if it's the last thing I do"

It's a "B" feature in production terms and it's a hodge-podge of historical facts, but in the trajectory of Western movies it's a rather important piece. It also happens to be great entertainment for the Western fan.

It would be the film to launch Audie Murphy on the road to Western iconography, whilst simultaneously becoming a valid early addition for cinematic representations of the Billy the Kid legend. Historically the core basis of the film is accurate, though the chronology is all over the place. There's also a bizarre decision to use different character names for McSween, Tunstall and Dolan, three of the major players in the Lincoln County War.

However, the portrayals of the principal real life people is surprisingly well balanced, there's no attempts at romanticising the issues, no side picking, because both sides are equally driven and culpable for the carnage and misery that would play out during this time in Western history.

As an Oater on entertainment terms it delivers wholesale, there's some staid acting, not least from Murphy, who you can see is feeling his way into how he should react in front of a camera. Yet there's a magnetic charm to Murphy that would serve him well in this specialist genre field. It also helps to have a very reliable supporting cast backing him up, be it the wonderfully named Gale Storm's beauty, or Dekker and Geer being acting professionalism personified, there's a lot to enjoy here on the thespian production front.

The requisite amount of action is in full effect, as are key moments in the real story that provide some great scenes; such as the infamous jail break, while the colour photography is most pleasant. Ultimately it's a revenge story for the "B" Western loving crowd, where the villains are slippery and the anti-hero a damaged dandy. Sometimes you gotta peer through the gloss to get the facts, but what fun that proves to be. Yee- haw. 7/10

During the 1930s-50s, there were tons of westerns which brought actual living characters from the old west to the big screen. The problem, however, is that about 90% of what you see in these films has very little to do with the real life exploits of these minor characters. In many cases, sociopathic jerks like Jesse James, Butch Cassidy and Billy the Kid are elevated to almost heroic status...while in real life they were simply murderers and thieves...the type you really want in prison, not marrying your sister!

This film is Audie Murphy's chance to play one of these highly fictionalized real life people. He was not a bad choice, as Murphy was still young and short...and so playing a guy dubbed 'the Kid' was a good fit. He's good in it and the movie is entertaining.

The story follows the events, somewhat, from the so-called 'Lincoln County War'...a series of fights between wealthy ranchers in the New Mexico Territory. Mostly, it was one thug shooting another...no glory and if they could shoot you in the back, so much the better. But because they want to make Billy more likeable, the shooting unarmed folks and the like are eliminated and each of the MANY murders he commits seems reasonably justified.

Overall, a decent film but one you'd best see as fiction and not the real old west in any way. And, oddly, if you want to see Billy the Kid's grave, there are TWO of them in New Mexico today...something that confuses me!

Biographic movie about the real-life of Billy of Kid living in Texas and he , subsequently , becomes embroiled in Lincoln County war . The film gets spectacular shoot em'up , thrills , exciting horse pursuits ; it's entertaining , although nothing new but displays an ordinary pace and with no originality . This is an in interesting look about the known story of the West's greatest bandit . When a baron cattle called Roger (Shepperd) who gave him an employment is shot by rival henchman , Billy vows vendetta . Kid takes to the mountains with his colleagues until caught . Billy is detained but he escapes hanging . Meanwhile , he's infatuated by a lawyer's (Alfred Dekker) wife (Gale Storm) .

This moving movie is an epic portrait of the historic story about the celebrated gunfighter . The movie is plenty of action , shootouts , adventures and is pretty entertaining . The plot is plain and simple , as the story follows Billy the Kid taking authentic events , but changing names and chronology . This passable Western packs lots of thrills , shootouts , and explosive action . Taut excitement throughout , beautifully photographed and with spectacular crossfire but realized with some flaws .It's one of very few Audie Murphy Westerns based on historic deeds . Murphy won more tan 20 medals , being the most decorated American soldier , including the Congressional Medal of Honor and he was also awarded five decorations by France and Belgium . Murphy starred a great number of Westerns as ¨The kid from Texas¨, ¨Cimarron Kid¨, ¨Gunpoint¨, ¨Night Passage¨, ¨The Gunrunners¨, ¨Posse from Hell¨, ¨Gunfight at Comanche¨, ¨Rifles Apaches¨, ¨The Unforgiven¨, ¨Red badge of courage¨, ¨Legend of Sam Ward¨, ¨Whispering Smith¨, ¨40 Guns at Apache pass¨ , ¨Texas kid¨ , among others . Being usually directed by Jesse Hibbs who directed various Audie Murphy vehicles such as : ¨To hell and Back¨ (1955) , ¨World in My Corner¨ (1956) , ¨Ride a Crooked Trail¨ (1958) , ¨Medal of Honor¨ and ¨To Hell and Back¨. Casting is frankly good with usual Western actors as Alfred Dekker , Walter Sande , Dennis Hoey , Ray Teal , Don Haggerty and Frank Wilcox as Sheriff Pat Garrett . The motion picture was well made by Kurt Newmann (The fly , Mohawk , Watusi) , including acceptable performances and professional direction . The picture obtained limited successful but results to be enough agreeable . It's a good stuff for young people and adventures lovers who enjoy enormously with the extraordinary dangers in the far west.

This one is based on facts about William Bonney, alias Billy the Kid , these are the followings : Billy became a cowboy in Lincoln County (New Mexico) for cattleman Tunstall allied to Chisum , but Tunstall is killed and started the Lincoln County war against Murphy as main enemy . Billy seeks revenge for his death and he converted a nasty gunfighter with a price on his head and an outlaw pursued by several posses . Then Billy along with a young group have their own ethic codes and undergo a criminal spree . The bunch is besieged but they went out firing his gun and made his escape . However , the Kid was caught and convicted of killing and sentenced to be hanged ; though shackled foot and hand , he managed to getaway from prison by shooting dead the deputies guarding him. Pat Garret , a former friend, was elected sheriff and set off in pursuit to capture him and on 1881 tracked at Fort Sumner and there shot him dead by surprise. It is said that Chisum was instrumental in making Billy the Kid an outlaw killer, he used his considerable influence in getting Garret elected Sheriff of Lincoln County in 1880 and it was Pat who hunted down and killed the young outlaw . Garret and his gang pull off a hot chase against the outlaws. Legend says that Billy murdered 21 men in his 21 years of life but is really thought to be much less. After Pat Garrett was not reelected sheriff of Lincoln County, however he was commissioned a captain in the Texas Rangers. On 19 February 1908 he was driving his buggy on a lonely desert road, he stepped down to urinate and was shot in the back by a hired killer. A man stood trial for the murder but was acquitted. Controversy still surrounds the end of Pat Garrett .

The real attraction here is war hero Audie Murphy in one of his first starring roles. Naturally, the Western format best fit his military background and acting inexperience, so its no surprise that his movie career was built on a succession of similar B-oaters. Nonetheless, there would have been no Hollywood career, I believe, without his boyish good looks that had hardly faded at the point of his untimely death (1971). True, he was small, hardly imposing in the usual Hollywood style. But he could work up a cold-eyed stare with the best of them, and coming from that baby face, the contrast was especially startling. It's that disconnect between the boyish appearance and the intimidating manner that's so unusual.

The movie itself is unexceptional, supposedly based on historical fact; however, Hollywood has its own set of history books, particularly when it comes to Billy the Kid. The producers fortunately had the good sense to back up the inexperienced Murphy (he would loosen up with practice) with a strong supporting cast—Dekker, Geer, Strudwick, Barrat. On the other hand, there may be too much malt shop in Gale Storm for a Western, but visually she matches up well with Murphy. Anyway, there's enough Technicolor scenery, big shootouts, and even a slippery villain, to keep matinée fans like me happy.