It's a decent attempt to humanize William H. Bonney, aka Billy the Kid (hunky Johnny Mack Brown), whose birth name appears to have been Henry. He is seen going against Sheriff Pat Garrett (a blustery Wallace Beery), standing up against the film's real villain, Colonel William P. Donovan (James A. Marcus), a greedy land baron who won't allow homesteaders to settle, charging them enormous amounts of money at his stores and stealing their horses and cattle. Billy's initially law abiding, but when violence against the settlers results in murder, he vows revenge.
Beautifully filmed with a memorable shot of New Mexico immunity following the credits, it has a memorable vista that shows a great perspective of the number of stagecoachds in this western bound trek, giving an indication of what it would look like years later after highways were built. The photography, even as a standard format, is extraordinary, and it's a shame that the wide-screen print does not exist.
The acting is in general pretty mediocre, early sound techniques great as far as photography editing are concerned but outside of Brown, Beery and heroine Kay Johnson, is slowly spoken and hesitant. Roscoe Ates may be stuttering less than normal as "Old Timer", but outside his encounter with a mule, not really funny. Marcus isn't an enjoyable villain, even to just hiss at. There's lots to like though in the ancient early talkie, the direction by King Vidor above an average notch, and a sign that talkies were advancing in quality. I rate it accordingly with those aspects and forgive the mostly tedious acting that is more about standards of the time rather than actual talent.
Beautifully filmed with a memorable shot of New Mexico immunity following the credits, it has a memorable vista that shows a great perspective of the number of stagecoachds in this western bound trek, giving an indication of what it would look like years later after highways were built. The photography, even as a standard format, is extraordinary, and it's a shame that the wide-screen print does not exist.
The acting is in general pretty mediocre, early sound techniques great as far as photography editing are concerned but outside of Brown, Beery and heroine Kay Johnson, is slowly spoken and hesitant. Roscoe Ates may be stuttering less than normal as "Old Timer", but outside his encounter with a mule, not really funny. Marcus isn't an enjoyable villain, even to just hiss at. There's lots to like though in the ancient early talkie, the direction by King Vidor above an average notch, and a sign that talkies were advancing in quality. I rate it accordingly with those aspects and forgive the mostly tedious acting that is more about standards of the time rather than actual talent.