Bad Company

It is no coicidence that one of the characters in this film is named Hobbs (Geoffrey Lewis), for this film dramatizes vividly what happens when you refuse to defend civil society. After escaping conscription into the Union army, the protagonist Drew Dixon is dumped out into the state of nature, a struggle for mere subsistence, joining a band of boys that die or drift apart as soon as they perceive their interests to be opposed those of the others. Drew perceives himself as a Christian man, but slowly realizes, thanks to the man he thinks is least moral (Jake), that he has been an amoral man all along. For Drew set out to meet only his own interests, ever since he joined Jake and the boys. In the end, we are left with a pivotal ambiguity: have we just seen the story of a young man molded by his environment, or a story in which evil begins with the choice to rebel?

In 1973 my wife and sat in a theater with three other paying guests and six theater workers and watched Bad Company. We were transfixed by the sheer power of this magnificent American drama. Last weekend, with a recently released low speed version of the move, our seventeen-year-old son watched it for the first time and simply said "They should put it back in the theaters!"

This is one of the most overlooked, underrated, forgotten and ignored great films of the last twenty-five years. Acting, story, editing, photography, score - all are right on the money. My eternal thanks to Jaffe and Benton for having the courage of their convictions.

Another reviewer said that this film has been widely ignored and that is a crying shame. I've only seen the once in ten years, it's not on TV/satellite and is unavailable on video in the UK.

But I never forget watching it and being captivated by its charm and depiction of the real, sometimes very brutal West (I cannot forget one of the young gang getting shot for stealing a pie). The two leads are excellent, perfectly balancing the other, Bridges as the streetwise tearaway and Brown (RIP) as the well educated, mother's boy lead astray after dodging the draft (Vietnam echoes?).

The final scene is a gem as the two partners, shaped by their experiences in a lawless West, turn to crime.

This is one of those films that you put on not expecting much and are nothing but impressed by what you see. In short it's the story of a group of young men setting off to try their hand at a life of crime. It turns out to be a harsh lesson in just how tough the old west could be.

Shot in muted colours this is an impressively filmed western which evokes the real character of the period. The cast is led by a young Jeff Bridges who is hugely charismatic in this role. He is ably supported by Barry Brown as the fundamentally decent young man not suited to the role of an outlaw.

Although fairly slow to get going, this film has a number of memorable episodes and the tone of the film changes between light and dark at regular intervals making the sporadic violence all the more shocking and unpredictable. This fits in nicely with how life must have been during this period.

I am surprised this film hasn't got a much higher profile as it is one of the more memorable westerns I have seen. Well worth watching for western fans.

Bad Company is directed by Robert Benton and Benton co-writes the screenplay with David Newman. It stars Jeff Bridges, Barry Brown, Jim Davis, David Huddleston and John Savage. Music is by Harvey Schmidt and cinematography by Gordon Willis.

Young men dodging the Union Army draft for the Civil War escape to the West in the hope of finding fortune and freedom. What actually awaits them is something completely different.

The 1970s saw a slew of Westerns released that were a far cry from the golden frothy production line of the 1950s. Film makers big into the genre were quick to latch onto more sombre stories or quirky non conformist pieces. The climate of the World was changing and so directors and writers were comfortable in portraying the Wild West as not being romantic or heroic at all. One such gem is Bad Company.

Benton's film quickly sets out its stall with its opening salvo, as Union soldiers round up young boys in child snatching fashion, all that is missing is big chins and lollipops. Enter one young man named Drew Dixon (Brown), a God fearing youngster packed off by his Mum to the West to start a richer life. Soon enough he is falling in with bad company, company fronted by Jake Rumsey (Bridges), the main man for a ragtag band of young thieves.

The West painted here is a dour place, Rumsey's gang think nothing of robbing young children of their pocket money, or tormenting a feral feline. We are often throughout the picture reminded that folk come West for fame and fortune etc, but have found nothing but misery. A man quickly spies an opportunity to solicit his wife out to the young gang for $10 a pop, an elder gang think nothing of robbing the younger upstarts. Weapons have to be traded just for a meal (slop really...), and of course there is no honour among thieves, doing each other over will come naturally. And naturally pain, death and rude awakening are just a heartbeat away.

And yet the pic is not without humour, much needed humour as it bears out the naivety of youth, or misplaced cockiness, or just in fighting camaraderie. There are laughs to be had here, some choice dialogue or a put-down, but given the nature of the story, a shock or heartache scene is never far away.

A Technicolor production, the colours are however stripped down to autumnal filters, this perfectly aids the naturalistic flavours of this particular Western broth. Schmidt offers up a range of piano dirges, flitting between perky and morose as per the scene it accompanies. Cast are great, Bridges and Brown hold court in believable fashion, the other youngsters guided well by their director. Big Joe's (Huddleston excellent) gang consists of reliable character actors who Western fans will be pleased to see, such as Geoffrey Lewis (The Culpepper Cattle Co. High Plains Drifter), Charles Tyner (Jeremiah Johnson, The Outlaw Josey Wales) and Ed Lauter (Breakhart Pass, Dirty Little Billy).

Myths of the West debunked, Bad Company is a must see for Western fans seeking the more earthy approach to Western story telling. 8/10