Product Details

• Actors: Robert Taylor, Brian Donlevy, Ian Hunter, Mary Howard, Gene Lockhart
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Warner)
• VHS Release Date: April 25, 1994
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: 6303072194
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #282,055 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

A thrilling stampede involving 1,500 cattle is one of the many highlights of this exciting western. When famed outlaw Billy the Kid runs into childhood friend Jim Sheridan, he chances upon a new way of life--one without violence. Jim's boss, Eric Keating offers him a job and Billy accepts, eventually hanging up his guns. But when his old gang, led by Dan Hickey, kills both Keating and Billy's best friend Pedro, the Kid once again straps on his guns. Only this time...he's fighting for justice.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Would work a lot better if it was not about Billy the Kid, April 26, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Billy the Kid [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Robert Taylor was only 30 years old when he played the title role in the 1941 film "Billy the Kid," but he still seems too old for the role. However, this actually works in favor of the story being told in this film, not that it has much to do with the historical facts regarding Billy the Kid, even though the script is based on Walter Noble Burns's book "The Saga of Billy the Kid" (although Taylor gets props for learning how to shoot with his left hand for the film).

The story is set in 1880 when the Kid breaks his friend Pedro (Frank Puglia) out of jail and gets involved in some outlaw activity. But then the embittered outlaw ends up working for a pacifist farmer, Eric Keating (Ian Hunter), who tries to reform Jesse and insists that if you do not wear a gun the code of the West will stop anyone from shooting an unarmed man and keeps proclaiming that law and order is coming to the wild West. Billy also takes a shine to Keating's sister Edith (Mary Howard), who presents another reason for going straight. Meanwhile it turns out that Billy's old friend Jim "Holy" Sherwood (Brian Donlevy in the Pat Garrett role), is now the foreman for Keating's ranch. When Keating becomes a marshal he makes Jim a deputy and give Billy his parole, Billy gives Edith a colt, and it looks like Billy might be able to live happily ever after. But then Keating gets shot in the back and all bets are off.

At that point this 1941 film basically combines your standard western revenge story with the established legend of Billy the Kid's death. Since the law, represented at this point by Sherwood, is unable to bring Keating's killer to justice, it is left to Billy to go kill the killer before being gunned down himself. If the question is whether Billy is still trying to do good or has gone back to his bad ways, then the answer would come when Billy guns down Dan Hickey (Gene Lockhart) by shooting him in the back.

Ironically, the biggest problem with this tale of "Billy the Kid" is that it told about Billy the Kid. If you changed the name and made Robert Taylor's character anybody else then the film works a lot better. Taylor just has too much gravity to be anybody "the Kid" let alone the most famous one of them all. Besides, all they are really using from the life of William H. Bonney is the idea that he was an outlaw. This is especially true because at the end of the film you get the sense that he is relieved to be able to go back to what he does best.