Billy le cave

Back in the ancient 1970's, only the high budget pictures had production designers. The others had to rely on the cinematographer to make sure the art director, the set designer, and the make-up/costume people were all on the same page; so that the picture had a consistent look. Ralph Woolsey was one of the better cinematographers at keeping all these elements under control. He was a busy guy in 1972 and two of his pictures were westerns: "Dirty Little Billy" was made right after "The Culpepper Cattle Company"- arguably one of the top ten westerns of all time. And while "CCC" is significantly better than "DLB", they share beautiful cinematography and production design (may have literally shared it because they probably used the same stuff in both productions).

It became popular after Robert Altman's "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" (1971) to replace the well-scrubbed Roy Rogers look and portray the west as dirty, dusty, gritty, unshaven, and tattered. Woolsey eagerly embraced this realism and gave us two of the grimiest features we are likely to see. Perhaps the most entertaining thing about "DLB" was the casting of Lee Purcell as the seediest looking western heroine of all time. Compared to "Berle", Susan Tyrell's saloon gal "Alma" ("Shoot Out") was a tidy sorority girl. You might expect this look from Barbara Hershey, but Purcell was deservingly typecast as prissy/demure so the movie is worth a look just to imagine her inwardly cringing each time she had to make an appearance on the set.

The story itself is extreme historical distortion, but so moronic as to render itself harmless. Still, it is puzzling that they bothered to give it the appearance of being history, as it would have worked fine as fiction. It has a nice surprise ending and several soon-to-be-famous-in-television actors; Mills Watson would go on to great things as bumbling Deputy Perkins in the many "Sheriff Lobo" programs and Dick Van Patten would play father "Tom Bradford" on "Eight Is Enough".

It is not a typical western in that it does not intend to glorify gunfighters. This movie felt like part of a documentary since the sets seemed so realistic and the characters were very credible.

The movie seems to be made with a tight budget, whether that is the fact or not I don't know. I also loved the violent scenes, fights, gun-play and so on.

Even though most western movie fans know the outcome of the life of Billy the Kid, the outcome does not seem predictable the way Michael Pollard plays the character.

I also loved the character of Lee Purcell (Berle), she was amazing and very credible. Though her character displayed a displeasing picture of violence against women she also was able to show the strength and character of the woman in the film (Berle).

I definitely recommend it, if you are tired of seeing those puffed up and testosterone injected westerns we are all used to seeing.

Forgotten little western about young slacker Billy arriving in the West from New York and not wanting anything to do with his father's crop-work. After being banished by his father he wanders aimlessly through town and finds a mentor in the town outlaw Goldie. Not the Billy the Kid story were familiar with; Billy is a dirty, chubby-cheeked kid who doesn't have a care in the world and gets shaky every time he attempts to fire a gun. The film has a terrific feel to it with grainy brown and black colors. Dirty is an appropriate word for the ambiance of the movie. Not much story per se, but the film is well acted especially by Pollard who looks and acts as though he is a rabid puppy. Some jarring moments of violence and a terrific ending. Worth a look if you're a western fan.

*** out of ****

Gritty, grimy life on the frontier. I'm a history buff that concentrates on the personal causes of why people do what they do. Alienated New York teen, cultural shock, with cold, judgmental father and smothery mother, it's easy to see how Billy could fall in the loop of Goldie & Berle who listen and nurture him albeit perversely. The cool, well adjusted characters of the Golden Age of Hollywood Westerns, in their sanitary, back-lot sets likely bore little resemblance what the true west was like. In the same line, serial killers,(basically what those outlaws were) then as now, are troubled little wimps who validate themselves by destroying others. We may all enjoy Emilio Esteves'"Young Guns" portrayal of the slick shootist defying all odds, history's reality of the true Billy, such as the ambush shotgun slaying of Bob Ollinger,is closer the the character morphed from Michael J. Pollard's trouble interpretation. It was interesting to see the Italian Replica Walker Revolver converted to fire cartridge blanks. I wonder if this was the same prop used in True Grit & Outlaw Josie Wales, all movies of roughly same era,.

Watch Dirty Little Billy back-to-back with Young Guns for a testimonial to how little faith you can place in Hollywood to give you an accurate portrayal of history.

In the latter we have William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, portrayed as the fastest, cleverest, most ruthless and domineering youngster ever born...a boy capable of shooting it out with a dozen experienced gunfighters and living to tell about it. Then, in the former, we have the very same William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, now portrayed as this skinny little punk with his hands wrapped in bandages because farm work is too rough on his delicate skin. He follows his hero, Goldie, around obsequiously, and trembles like he's giving birth to porcupines whenever he's got a gun in his hands.

So which one is accurate? Neither, of course; they're both Hollywood characters. They're both historical B.S., just like almost every other movie ever made about any other famous person who ever lived. I'm sure the real Billy the Kid fell somewhere far in between those two portrayals. No human being that ever lived could have survived all those gunfights that super-bad Emilio Esteves won so easily. (must be kin to Sylvester Stallone), just as a sissy like Michael J. Pollard could never have survived for two days as an outlaw in the Wild West.

But, is the movie good? Yeah, for entertainment value it's O.K. I guess, but my being an old fart that saw it at the drive-in, back in '73, may have something to do with that opinion. (It came on Encore Channel last night, which is why I'm writing this) I also kind of enjoyed Young Guns, even though I had to roll my eyes alot at the ridiculosity of it all. (It IS a word...I just invented it)

If you're a teenage badass wannabe, you probably won't like this flick. It will make you feel uncomfortable as you spot your own sad little weaknesses in Pollard's character. Someone like you is better off fantasizing that you're Vin Diesel, while you watch Fast and Furious or something equally low-brow and gangsta-oriented.