Kid Blue

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)

I saw this movie when it first came out in the theater in 1973. Everyone I knew who saw it loved it. Then it disappeared. Vanished. Gone. Never available on VHS nor DVD, so your chances of ever seeing this great movie are nil. However, as I write this in November 2005, the movie is available on Comcast On-Demand Free Movies!

With a memorable supporting cast including Peter Boyle, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson and the beautiful, young Lee Purcell, Dennis Hopper turns in one of his best performances. You'll never forget Ben Johnson as Mean John Simpson. Nor Peter Boyle as the ascetic high-tech, high-flying Preacher. Although it is set in Texas around the turn of the century, the social commentary that is critical of religion, racial prejudice, the establishment's compulsion to force conformity on everyone, the inequality in the workplace, and the hypocrisy of the elite ruling class and their control of law enforcement, is still relevant today. Perhaps even more so than when it was released in 1973. With comedic undertones, the movie manages to combine action/violence, drama and an implied steamy sex scene without ever becoming too serious. It pits the individual against the mores and values of the group (in this case the town of Dimebox, Texas and it's biggest employer, the All American Western Novelty Company). And guess who wins?

Don't miss this movie if you have Comcast Digital. It's available until March 2006.

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.

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.

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 .