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Summary
Billy the Kidhas been portrayed in films for over 100 years , but only a few picture show suffer out . A westerly outlaw , William H. Bonney , also known as Billy the Kid , has been portrayed by several actors , order from Robert Taylor in 1941 to Tyler MacDuff in 1954 to Tim Blake Nelson in 2021 . Each actor had their unparalleled way of limn the famous outlaw , per the motion-picture show standards at the time .
Born in 1859 as Henry McCarty , Billy the Kid ’s early life-time was full of surprises . He lost his mother to tuberculosis in 1874 and never knew his father . After a series of criminal offense spree , arrests , and prison house get away , The Kid was shot and killed at the historic period of 22 by Sheriff Pat Garrett , who had pursued him legion multiplication in the past ( viaPBS ) . That story has been repeat over the years in thebest westerly moviesabout The Kid , some of which were much well than others .
John Wayne and Clint Eastwood were n’t the only Hollywood stars who made the Western writing style well , including Kevin Costner , Sidney Poiter , and others .
10I Shot Billy the Kid (1950)
Starring: Don “Red” Barry (Billy the Kid), Robert Lowery (Pat Garrett), Wally Vernon (Vicenti), Tom Neal (Charlie Bowdre)
The short movie on this list , 1950’sI Shot Billy the Kid , is only 57 minutes long but still has plenty of action in it to keep audiences entertained . Whileit is not as fierce as the modernistic - twenty-four hours Billy the Kid adaptions , it is still memorable and has plenty of Western drama to keep fan of a more classic tone well-chosen . The account is told from Garrett ’s point of view as he recall his relationship with Billy the Kid up to the fatal gunfight . Portrayed by Donald " Red " Barry , the Billy in this version was noticeably older since Barry was nearly 40 yr old rather of being 22 .
9The Kid (2019)
Starring: Ethan Hawke (Pat Garrett), Dane DeHaan (Billy the Kid), Jake Schur (Rio Cutler), Leila George (Sara Cutler), Chris Pratt (Grant Cutler)
Despite an overwhelming goat god by critics , The Kidshows the point of sentiment of a teen named Rio who regard Billy the Kid in a gunfight with Sheriff Garrett . Rio goes along with his sister , Sara , after their mother is viciously beaten to death by their father , and accompany the Kid . The Kidoffers a different , but interesting perspective to Billy the Kid ’s storyin a modern , more dynamic flair . With an all - star roll include Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke , The Kid’sstar quality is not lacking by any means , and has a story that depict the realness of living in the Old West .
8The Boy From Oklahoma (1954)
Starring Will Rogers Jr., Nancy Olson (Katie Brannigan), Lon Chaney Jr. (Crazy Charlie), Anthony Caruso (Mayor Barney Turlock), Tyler MacDuff (Billy the Kid)
Billy the Kid inThe Boy From Oklahomais one of the few near comedy about the fiber and uses the story of Billy the Kid with some humor tote up in . The story covers a lawyer who becomes a sheriff of a town and has to dispense with malefactor . With Tyler MacDuff as The Kid and Will Rogers , Jr. as the valet in charge of the town , The Boy From Oklahomabrings out the funnier side of this dark tale . Billy is seen as an underage miscreant who is used by others to peril the top homo to get what he want .
7Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
James Coburn (Sheriff Pat Garrett), Kris Kristofferson (Billy the Kid), Richard Jaeckel (Sheriff Kip McKinney), Jason Robards (Governor Lew Wallace), Bob Dylan (Alias)
Known as one of the best western of all time , Pat Garrett and Billy the Kidfollows the narrative of the valet de chambre in charge of hunting The Kid down . It show a very realistic , non - romanticized reading of the Old West ’s law enforcement organization and is savagely honest . Garrett is seen as a vicious , no - mercy sheriff , even going as far as to beat up prostitutes to expose the whereabouts of Billy . Pat Garrett and Billy the Kidwas better known for the behind - the - scenes dramabetween the movie ’s conductor , Sam Peckinpah , and Metro - Goldwyn Meyer over the last version of the project .
6The Left-Handed Gun (1958)
Starring Paul Newman (Billy The Kid), Lita Milan (Celsa), John Dehner (Pat Garrett)
The Left - Handed Gunwas named due to amistake in a photograph representing Billyas being able to shoot left - handed . Portrayed by Paul Newman , this version of Billy is picture as a humankind who wants to get revenge on rival cattlemen for off his Bos . Whilethis version of Billy is over the top and sometimes manic , it matches up perfectly with Newman ’s portrait and represents Billy ’s personality traits accurately . While Newman was in his early XXX while filming , his age was not a constituent in the casting .
Some of the good Westers in the history of the musical style are about revenge , a topic that can make for compelling , engaging floor when done right on .
5Old Henry (2021)
Starring Tim Blake Nelson (Henry), Scott Haze (Curry), Gavin Lewis (Wyatt), Trace Adkins (Al), Stephen Dorff (Ketchum)
A more late plus to the Billy the Kid stories , Old Henryshows a more sympathetic side to the outlawas he prove to lead something of a normal life sentence with his son . pictured byTim Blake Nelson in one of his good roles , the movie take after the story of a widowed Fannie Merritt Farmer name Henry who separate the story of Billy the Kid , only for the audience to find out that Henry is , in fact , the famous outlaw . While this film is not historically exact , it resonates with plenty of heart , even earning a high Rotten Tomatoes score of 94 % .
4Chisum (1970)
Starring John Wayne (John Chisum), Forrest Tucker (Lawrence Murphy), Ben Johnson (James Pepper)
Despite having a dressed appearance that does n’t match up to descriptions of the veridical - life Billy the Kid , Geoffrey Deuel ’s depiction in this John Wayne western showcases his acting chop . The story is based on the Lincoln County War of 1878 in New Mexico , amid Billy ’s heyday as an outlaw . Unlike other Billy the Kid movies , Chisumends with Billy still alive and pursuing one of the partner in crime who worked for the man who killed his boss . This is alsoone of the few Billy the Kid movies with a gee - rating , probably due to John Wayne in the title function and starring influence .
3Young Guns (1988)
Starring Emilio Estevez (Billy the Kid), Kiefer Sutherland (Doc), Lou Diamond Phillips (Jose Chavez y Chavez), Charlie Sheen (Dick Brewer)
Young Gunsalso traverse Billy avenging the death of someone close to him . Leading a group of hitman , Billy and his deputies become deputies to avenge a murder . But when the leadership power starts to go to his head , Billy and his friend terminate up becoming fugitive from the rancher who defeat their wise man . Young Gunshas a Robin Hood feel to it , with the town honoring Billy as a someone who is fighting for justice rather than an felon . The picture show also had a sequel that come out in 1990 and has been honored asone of the most historically exact versions of The Kid ’s story .
2The Outlaw (1943)
Starring Jack Buetel (Billy the Kid), Jane Russell (Rio McDonald), Thomas Mitchell (Pat Garrett) Walter Huston (Doc Holliday)
Despite no overly gory scenes , The Outlawwas way ahead of its sentence when it came out in 1943 . With Billy the Kid being portrayed by Jack Buetel , the movie helped project Jane Russell to her sex symbol status . The Outlawcaused problem with the Hays Code due to the racy figure of speech used in the advertizing ( viaNPR ) . Unlike most versions of Billy ’s stories , The Outlawends with Billy surviving the shootout with Garrett and carry aside with Jane Russell ’s reference , Rio McDonald .
1Billy The Kid (1941)
Starring Robert Taylor (Billy the Kid), Brian Donlevy (Jim Sherwood), Gene Lockhart (Dan Hickey), Lon Chaney Jr. (‘Spike’ Hudson)
Based on the original black and white pic in 1930 , 1941’sBilly The Kidtook a fair number of creative liberties in the storytelling and historical accuracy department but is still a classic . Pat Garrett is renamed Jim Sherwood and is a childhood friend of Billy ’s , who is dally by Robert Taylor . Sherwood even arranges a job for Billy and his friends to work for a non - violent rancher , which ends when the rancher is murdered by a competitor . This version ofBilly the Kidhas a moral compass and his motives behind his actions are explained as him require revenge for people that have been murdered by rivals .
Sources : PBS , NPR
