Matando Sem Compaixão

I saw this film on Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

It seems others have made a virtue out of this film's odd credentials and quite possibly used these against the film itself. On the face of it and if you didn't know (most folks won't, or care) then this is a decent western, with a Sam Peckinpah sense of gritty realism and dynamism.

The story follows a familiar one; an aged Scottish Gregory Peck and a young half-caste youth become fugitives - then friends - after a bungled bank robbery. They are pursued by racist and violent sheriff Jack Warden who hounds the pair, right to the bloody finale. There's good action and the unusual Israeli scenery actually adds a bit of variety to the surroundings.

The interestingly titled Billy 'Two Hats' is given an unusually sympathetic and approachable role, especially considering the western genre's tendency to the opposite toward native American characters. This again, adds to the flavour of the film, giving it a nuance that marks it apart from dozens of others.

I'd not heard of 'Billy Two Hats'; its title got me interested in the TV listings and found it well worth the time and effort but not quite enough to buy it on DVD.

I haven't seen this movie since I saw it in its initial release where it was playing to a nearly empty theater. It was shot in widescreen, the format appropriate to the genre and the movie would undoubtedly suffer if seen on TV. Granted that the foreign location gave it an odd quality but the desert vistas are no less magnificent. I'm not a particular fan of the western film genre but this one seems to have clung to my memory. Peck's Scottish burr seems forced at times but it does not detract from what is essentially a visually compelling entertainment. If it becomes available in DVD(widescreen) format, I'll certainly buy a copy.

I am a fan of the Cowboy/Western genre. I've watched a lot of Western movies, from the 50's B movies to the John Ford masterpieces and Clint Eastwood's honest portrayal. This is a very good Western, it has some great powerful performances from Peck and Arnaz Jr who was truly very watchable and conveyed a lot of underlying emotions. The movie concerns the relationship between diverse characters, Peck's humorous kind portrayal of a man who has turned to crime to ensure a living, to Arnaz's contained portrayal of a man caught between two worlds, perhaps his two hats nomenclature is a euphemism for the two worlds he straddles. The supporting characters are no less interesting with Jack Warden as the relentless sheriff who doesn't understand the relationship between the two and David Huddlestones Store owner who was a buffalo hunter sharpshooter in the recent past and who can see the new future promised by the railroad and the advent of civilization to come. The move itself is quite metaphorical and symbolic but doesn't lose sight of the main thread, that of the growth of Billy Two Hats in the company of his wise mentor. I really enjoyed it, and I hope you will too. The only downside was Gregory Peck's dreadful Scottish accent which appears and disappears randomly throughout.

I think this movie is underrated as a western. Or maybe it's just under-seen, which is really a pity. With nice color photography, it's got some really great western visuals, a meaty storyline, a collection of disparate characters whose fates you really start to care about, and some memorable, quotable dialogue here and there. Jack Warden is excellent as a gruff frontier sheriff "just doing his job," as it were. He's a toned-down and more accessible version of Gene Hackman's over-the-top bastardly sheriff in "Unforgiven." Gregory Peck, playing a words-of-wisdom-spouting Scottish outlaw with a big heart, is really quite good with his Scottish accent (no, it's not perfect, but passable), and has some memorable lines. Desi Arnaz Jr. is quite the sympathetic character as a half-breed Kiowa Indian outlaw being brought to justice by the sheriff. The supporting cast is quite good, and oh.. that nasty little band of outlaw Apaches they run into is truly a scary lot. You can't help but wonder how many white settlers they raped, murdered and pillaged.

All in all, the movie is packed with memorable western images and meaningful lines of dialogue . See it if you get a chance. I'd love for this movie to get more air time.

Old Scottish bank robber and young 'half breed' accomplice on the run after the former mistakenly killed (only meant to wound) person during the bank robbery.

Determined and ornery lawman goes after them with the help of a friend.

Older bank robber is injured when the friend takes a very long range shot at him with his Sharps 'buffalo' rifle (also see 'Valdez is Coming' for more Sharps action).

Anyway the other reviews do a good job summarising the rest of the film.

Highlights for me: - Peck's Scottish accent is quite good, no surprise as he was brought up by his grandmother who was Scottish. - long range Sharps action - lawman treating his friend poorly, his friend can't believe it... - lawman tussling with some unsaid contradictions he has to consider - Indian is a good guy (pity he was not played by a first nation actor still it was 1974).

Do watch it and reflect on some of the odd moments and interactions.