The Law vs. Billy the Kid

The Law vs. Billy the Kid
The Law vs. Billy the Kid
Directed by	William Castle
Screenplay by	Bernard Gordon; Janet Stevenson ; Philip Stevenson
Produced by	Sam Katzman
Starring	Scott Brady; Betta St. John ; Paul Cavanagh
Cinematography	Henry Freulich
Edited by	Aaron Stell
Music by	Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Color process	Technicolor
Production; company	Clover Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	August 1, 1954;
Running time	72 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Law vs. Billy the Kid is a 1954 American western film directed by William Castle and starring Scott Brady, Betta St. John and Paul Cavanagh.^[1]^[2] It was produced by Sam Katzman for distribution by Columbia Pictures.

Plot

Cheated out of a half month's pay, William Bonney takes his money anyway and rides off. He kills one of the men who pursues him and soon becomes better known in the territory as Billy the Kid.

Pat Garrett, a cowboy who considers Billy a friend, finds him a job at British land baron John Tunstall's giant ranch in New Mexico. Rustlers are causing Tunstall trouble and he asks Garrett and Billy to help protect his property. Billy tries to go straight, partly because he's fallen in love with a local beauty, Nita Maxwell.

Bob Olinger, a brutal foreman, takes a dislike to Billy and beats him up. Olinger also goes to a crooked lawman, Watkins, to dig up a wanted poster on Billy and insist on his arrest.

A posse comes looking for Billy and kills Tunstall by mistake. Billy guns down the man who pulled the trigger. The governor of New Mexico wants to replace Watkins and asks Garrett to take the job. Garrett declines until the governor vows to institute martial law and have Billy shot on sight. Billy tries to go along with Garrett peaceably, but others like Olinger demand that he hang.

Billy kills Olinger and flees. He tries to get to Nita with a wedding ring and a proposal they begin a new life in Mexico, but then he is shot dead by Garrett.

Cast

Scott Brady as Billy the Kid
Betta St. John as Nita Maxwell
James Griffith as Pat Garrett
Alan Hale, Jr. as Bob Olinger
Paul Cavanagh as John Tunstall
Steve Darrell as Sheriff Tom Watkins
William Tannen as Dave Rudabaugh
William "Bill" Phillips as Charlie Bowdre
Benny Rubin as Arnold Dodge
George Berkeley as Tom O'Folliard
Richard H. Cutting as Pete Maxwell
Gregg Barton as Parson Ranch Hand
John Cason as Nate, a posse member
John Cliff as Carl Trumble
Bill Coontz as Garrett posse member
William Fawcett as W.L. Parson
Eddie Foster as Pedro
Martin Garralaga as Miguel Bolanos
Otis Garth as Gov. Lew Wallace
Robert Griffin as L.G. Murphy
Al Haskell as cantina bartender
Rory Mallinson as slim
Philo McCullough as hangman on scaffold
Bud Osborne as Tunstall ranch hand
Frank Sully as Deputy Jack Poe
Jack Tornek as a townsman
Tony Urchel as the cantina barfly

References

^ The Law vs Billy the Kid ^{[dead link]}
^ Castle, William (1976). Step right up! : ... I'm gonna scare the pants off America. Putnam. p. 126.

External links

The Law vs. Billy the Kid at IMDb
The Law vs. Billy the Kid at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
The Law vs. Billy the Kid at the TCM Movie Database

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[1] The Law vs Billy the Kid ^{[dead link]}

[2] Castle, William (1976). Step right up! : ... I'm gonna scare the pants off America. Putnam. p. 126.

[1]