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.

This film really clicked with me. One of the first times I had seen Peter Boyle and Dennis Hopper. Really enjoyed it. I had just graduated from college. I got to see it in a sneak preview. I have looked for it ever since to see it again.

The first half of this seemed kind of slow to me and a couple of times I only watched about 10 minutes of it when it came on IFC, telling myself I'd rather watch it all the way through from the beginning.

I was glad I did. Bickner (Hopper) is a godless, but sincere former outlaw trying to live a straight life under tough conditions and a mean sheriff in a small town where the factory turned out to be his only hope for work.

Though I thought it a bit slow at first, about halfway through, I found I was into it and the ending actually made me smile.

My favorite line is easily Hopper's when he tells Warren Oates, "A man's gotta kill his own snakes.", which I found to have meaning on multiple levels.

Definitely a revisionist Western, but I love this film. Dennis Hopper plays Bickford Waner who has gone to Dime Box Texas to live an honest life, but really he is Outlaw Kid Blue of Fort Worth. Ben Johnson is fantastic as Sheriff Mean John Simpson. Warren Oates is great as Warner's friend in town. M Emmitt Walsh has a role in this. Hopper was great in this. Played this straight yet there was always a kindness to his character. It's a shame this isn't better known. It's very tame in language and violence. This is like a counter culture Western. Seek it out .

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.