Product Details

• Actors: Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Robert Blake, Susan Clark, Barry Sullivan
• Format: NTSC, Color, Dolby, HiFi Sound, Full Screen
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MCA Home Video
• Run Time: 98 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B000SE6VXS
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #328,315 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

TELL THEM WILLIE BOY IS HERE, a modern western classic, is based on the true story of a Paulte Indian, named Willie Boy (Robert Blake) and his bride, Lola Boniface (Katharine Ross) who become the obects of the last great Western manhunt after he kills her father in a "marriage by capture." The manhunt, led by Under Sheriff Chistopher Cooper (Robert Redford) turns into a media circus when President Taft comes to visit the area and a mishap becomes twisted by the newspapers of the day. As the pressure builds, the events explode in the tragic deaths of Lola and Willie and a turning point in consciousness for Cooper. Released in 1969, TELL THEM WILLIE BOY IS HERE was a triumph for Redford and was called by Time Magazine, "A subtle intense document of racial persecution that stands as one of the finest films of the year."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Redford As The Bad Guy . . . Who Knew?, February 19, 2011

By 

Barbra Madejczyk "state theatre qualifier" (wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (Original MCA Home Video Release) (VHS Tape)

Tell them Willie Boy is here
Robert Redford stars in a film based on historical facts, sharing billing with a young and virile Robert Blake who portrays the character of the title. It is the story of a manhunt in the American West. The time is the very beginning of the 20th century, when the culture of the United States starts to evolve toward tolerance and equality of all its citizens, and, like any birth, it is bloody and painful. The old ways have a death grip, and they won't go down without a vicious fight. Willie Boy (Blake) is a young Pauite who returns to his place of birth to claim his bride (Katharine Ross). Her family resents him, so he uses the custome of bridal capture--he kills her father and brothers and the two run away to join his relatives in another village. Redford plays the sherrif who tracks him down. The sheriff is a hard-living man, in the mold of sheriffs of the privious century. He serves out justice with his fists--and his gun if he has to. There is a woman with a PhD. in anthropology(Susan Clark) living among the Pauites. Her goal is to bring them education so they may get off the reservation. She is beautiful. The sheriff uses her sexually. She finds she cannot refuse him, as she is as sexually hungry as he is. She is angry with him, because she cannot stop his use of her, and she is angry with herself for using such a crude man to fulfill her own needs. The sheriff forms a posse to catch Willie Boy, but early into the chase, decides to let the boy get away and returns to town, telling his posse to return in the morning. The posse acts on its own, and they are systematically and cleverly slaughtered by the young Pauite. The survivors can't believe this is the work of one lone native and word gets back to town that this is an Indian revolt. The sheriff is forced to accept the responsibility of hunting down the young lovers. What follows is an intense manhunt, where old and new ways clash as the sheriff seeks a just ending. This is a unique role for Robert Redford, as he protrays a character with more negative than positive qualities. It is one of his earlier films, made when he was beginning to get noticed as a leading man of talent, and before any of the films that made him big box office began to limit his choices of roles. His character is brutal and selfish, and still believes in the old codes of justice. New ways of thinking are forced upon him, and in the end he finds he must bow to them to get the job done. This is a strong, realistic film, with fine acting by all involved. If you enjoy the tough, violent westerns of the late 1960's and early 1970's, you will find this movie compelling.