As everyone knows, Audie Murphy was the most highly decorated soldier of World War II, and a most improbable one. Here, a few years after his almost unbelievable exploits in Europe, he still looks like a teenager. He and Universal Studios established a symbiotic relationship. They gave him a splendid pay check in return for allowing himself and his fame to be exploited.
He was cast repeatedly in inexpensive Westerns with only a few forays outside the genre, mostly forgettable except for one, John Huston's "Red Badge of Courage", in which he was given a chance to act.
In this early film, "The Kid From Texas", he hasn't yet learned his chops. He's handsome in a very young and very boyish way but his expression is that of a department store mannequin. I don't believe he blinks. He's given a taciturn personality for obvious reasons. He was particularly graceless for a warrior. When he walked he hardly swung his arms, and kept his fingers half closed into fists.
The story sticks closely to historical fact but not too closely. In the one or two photographs I've seen of Billy the Kid he looks looks like a street urchin from New York who is desperately in need of a tailor and some dental work.
But here's how Universal has his decked out here. Gray shirt, black hat, tight trousers, black leather bolero jacket, two guns tied down, a black horse, and a black choker. Not a neckerchief, but a choker, straight out of Toulouse-Lautrec's sketch of Marcel Lender an innumerable other singers and whores of Paris in 1885.
I can't even count the number of movies about Billy the Kid, some fictionalized more than others. I think Robert Taylor may have struggled with the role at twice the age of William Bonney. The most artistic effort -- too stylized for my taste but gripping nonetheless -- is Arthur Penn and Paul Newman's "The Left Handed Gun." Billy the Kid lived for a time in Mesilla, New Mexico, about an hour from where I live. You may visit the square at any time and enjoy the delights of the many curio shops and restaurants. I recommend the margaritas at the elegant Double Eagle de Mesilla. Bring your wallet.
He was cast repeatedly in inexpensive Westerns with only a few forays outside the genre, mostly forgettable except for one, John Huston's "Red Badge of Courage", in which he was given a chance to act.
In this early film, "The Kid From Texas", he hasn't yet learned his chops. He's handsome in a very young and very boyish way but his expression is that of a department store mannequin. I don't believe he blinks. He's given a taciturn personality for obvious reasons. He was particularly graceless for a warrior. When he walked he hardly swung his arms, and kept his fingers half closed into fists.
The story sticks closely to historical fact but not too closely. In the one or two photographs I've seen of Billy the Kid he looks looks like a street urchin from New York who is desperately in need of a tailor and some dental work.
But here's how Universal has his decked out here. Gray shirt, black hat, tight trousers, black leather bolero jacket, two guns tied down, a black horse, and a black choker. Not a neckerchief, but a choker, straight out of Toulouse-Lautrec's sketch of Marcel Lender an innumerable other singers and whores of Paris in 1885.
I can't even count the number of movies about Billy the Kid, some fictionalized more than others. I think Robert Taylor may have struggled with the role at twice the age of William Bonney. The most artistic effort -- too stylized for my taste but gripping nonetheless -- is Arthur Penn and Paul Newman's "The Left Handed Gun." Billy the Kid lived for a time in Mesilla, New Mexico, about an hour from where I live. You may visit the square at any time and enjoy the delights of the many curio shops and restaurants. I recommend the margaritas at the elegant Double Eagle de Mesilla. Bring your wallet.