Readers of the Purple Sage Bookstore
Billy the Kid
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The Legend |
Michael Henry McCarty was born on 20 November 1859 in New York City to Ireland-born Catherine McCarty. Her sometimes-partner Edward McCarty was a fruit peddlar who was married and had another family. By age 14, Billy was a juvenile delinquent, and was 'bound' out West by the city – a common practice during the post-Civil War Era. Billy and his older brother Joe and their unmarried mother traveled via Wichita, Kansas and Denver, Colorado to Santa Fe, New Mexico where she married William Antrim (1873).
The new family set out southward for Silver City, in Grant County. Still into mischief and petty theft, young Henry stole a tub of butter off a buckboard and was caught by the sheriff. Not wanting to jail the teenager, the sheriff spanked him in front of a crowd – an insult that Henry/Billy never forgot. Henry's mother died of tuberculosis in September 1874, and Henry made a meager living working at a hotel.
On 23 September 1875, Henry and an older accomplice stole a large hamper of finished laundry from a Chinese (perhaps a prank), and Henry was again caught by the sheriff, who this time threw the young man into jail. Henry did not squeal on his accomplice, who managed to bust Henry out of the pokey. Henry fled to New York City, taking the name William Antrim.
Soon after turning 16, Billy had a job and regular friends (boys and girls) in New York. One night Billy got into a fight with an 18-year-old who had been drinking; the brawl ended with the older gang member stabbed to death. Billy once more needed to flee town; Billy's birth father paid for his fare back to New Mexico.
Billy passed thru Silver City on his way to the lawless settlement of Camp Grant in Arizona. Billy had few other skills, but he was talented at gambling, as well as with the ladies – Billy was often described as charming – which combination bred jealousy with other men of the camp.
On 17 August 1877, Billy was called out by Frank 'Windy' Cahill, a 32-year-old Irish immigrant, in the dirt street in front of the blacksmith shop. Cahill called Billy a pimp, Billy called Cahill an S.O.B.; Cahill attacked Billy, and in the ensuing scuffle Billy drew a pistol from his belt and shot Cahill in the belly. Billy was put in jail but escaped and fled once more.
Apaches captured Billy's horse, and he trudged many miles until he was taken in by the Jones family; Mrs. Jones nursed Billy back to health, and gave him a horse when he left. Billy continued on to Mesilla, a town just south of Las Cruces, New Mexico. He took on a new name, William Bonney, derived from his mother's family background. Now 18 years old, William H. 'Billy' Bonney soon met and charmed the head bandit of the area, John Kinney, and gained full membership in the gang; he rode with the gang for most of 1877. Billy heard of work to the north, and rode into Lincoln County.
The promise of $500 made to Billy was not for his skills as a cowpuncher, but for his willingness to break the law. The town and county of Lincoln in central New Mexico were a-boil with tension, as the leaders of the town were battling the ranchers. John Tunstall, merchant and banker, was partner with Alexander McSween, a rancher; allied with them was wealthy cattle baron John Chisum. Billy hired on as a cattle guard for Tunstall, about whom Billy later said, "He was the only man that ever treated me like I was a free-born and white."
The other faction – called 'The House' – was led by merchants James Dolan, Lawrence Murphy and John H. Riley. On 18 February 1878, three men ambushed and killed unarmed Tunstall out on the range, purportedly on the orders of Dolan. At Tunstall's funeral, Billy swore, "I'll get every son-of-a-bitch who helped kill John if it's the last thing I do." Billy joined The Regulators, a vigilante outfit supported by McSween. The Regulators hunted down and captured, then killed, two of the men who shot Tunstall. A few weeks later, suspicious of old buffalo hunter Buckshot Roberts, the Regulators tracked him down, and in the ensuing gunfight, both Roberts and the Regulators leader Dick Brewer died. Billy became the leader of the Regulators, and he is credited with masterminding the brazen daylight ambush and murder of Lincoln's Sheriff William Brady and his deputy George Hindman (both aligned with the House faction), on the streets of Lincoln on 1 April 1878.
Billy and other Regulators were indicted for the killings, and went into hiding. On 15 July 1878, they were cornered at McSween's house in Lincoln; a five-day siege by 'The Enforcers' ended when they set the house on fire. Billy and the others fled; Billy killed an Enforcer named Bob Beckwith. McSween was shot leaving his home; Billy fled to Texas.
In late 1878, retired Union general Lew Wallace became governor of New Mexico Territory. In the interest of peace, he announced an amnesty for all particpants in the Lincoln County Cattle War not then under indictment. By March of 1879, Billy had returned to Lincoln, and there met with Gov. Wallace to discuss terms. Billy agreed to testify in return for amnesty; he was paraded to jail for show. Even though Billy's lengthy June 1879 testimony helped to indict Dolan, the district attorney returned Billy to jail, in defiance of the governor's deal. Billy slipped his handcuffs and escaped.
Billy hung around Fort Sumner, in east-central New Mexico, surviving on gambling and cattle rustling. In January 1880, Billy shot and killed one Joe Grant in a Fort Sumner saloon; some say Grant was sent to kill Billy. In November of 1880, Billy and his gang were surrounded by a posse at the ranchhouse of James Greathouse, a friend. Under a flag of truce, the posse sent James Carlyle into the house to negotiate a surrender of the gang, with Greathouse sent out as hostage for the posse. Late that night, a sudden gunshot outside alarmed Carlyle, and he jumped thru a window into the snow. The posse thought this was an escaping outlaw, and they shot and killed Carlyle. When the posse realized what they had done, they gave up and left, and Billy's gang slipped away.
During this time, Billy developed a friendship with a local bartender and saloonkeeper and former buffalo hunter, tall Alabama-born Patrick Garrett. In November 1880, the ambitious Garrett was appointed Sheriff of Lincoln County. Gov. Wallace had recently placed a $500 bounty on the head of young Bonney, now generally known as 'Billy the Kid'. Garrett formed a posse and set out on Billy's trail. Billy escaped a midnight ambush in Fort Sumner on 19 December; gang member Tom O'Folliard was shot and killed by Garrett. Billy and his gang holed up in a stone building at remote Stinking Springs. While the outlaws slept, Garrett's posse surrounded the cabin. When cattle rustler Charlie Bowdre stepped outside at dawn to feed his horse, he was mistaken for Billy and shot dead by the posse. Garrett later shot the horse, blocking the only exit from the cabin. The posse began cooking breakfast, and Garrett and Billy exchanged banter and insults. The outlaws realized that they had no chance of escape and were getting hungry; they surrendered and joined in the meal.
Billy was put in the Mesilla jail to await a trial set for April 1881. The now-famous 'Kid' gave many newspaper interviews; his letters to Gov. Wallace seeking clemency were ignored. The one-day trial resulted in Billy's conviction for the murder of Sheriff Brady (the single conviction against any participant, on either side, in the Lincoln County Cattle War). On 13 April, Judge Bristol sentenced Billy to hang one month hence. Billy was sent to the Lincoln Courthouse jail under guard of two of Garrett's deputies. On 28 April, Billy shot both deputies and escaped. Many details are uncertain, but Billy killed Deputy Bell with a pistol, then grabbed a ten-guage shotgun and waited for Deputy Ollinger to return from across the street. Billy shot the second deputy, then cut the chain of his leg irons with an axe, and rode out of the terrified town at a leisurely pace.
Billy's freedom lasted barely three months. On the night of 14 July 1881, Billy was staying with Celsa Gutierrez in a former Fort Sumner barracks building owned by Pete Maxwell. Garrett had heard that Billy was still in the area, and he and two deputies stopped to question Maxwell, a known friend of Billy. Near midnight, Billy entered Celsa's rooms and took off his hat, gunbelt and boots, then lay on the bed to read a newspaper. He asked Celsa to fix something to eat; she replied that she had little in the house, that Pete had a side of beef hanging on his porch, and if Billy'd cut a piece, she would cook it. Billy grabbed a small butcher knife and walked in stocking feet thru the dark over to Maxwell's porch-fronted adobe house. As Billy approached the porch, he saw two men leaning against the porch rails, assuming that they were Mexican workers. Billy stepped on the porch and asked in Spanish who the men were; when they did not answer, he realized that they were not Mexicans. He moved to the doorway of Maxwell's bedroom, asking Pete who the two men were. Garrett recognized Billy's voice, and fired two rounds from his revolver. The first bullet hit Billy in the side (he was turning away), and passed thru his heart; the second bullet struck two inches from the door jamb.
Both Garrett and Maxwell panicked, not knowing that Billy died instantly; they ran out of the room, over Billy's body and into the street. It was some time before they, backed by a mob of curious townspeople, ventured to return to Maxwell's bedroom, where they found the lifeless body of William H. 'Billy the Kid' Bonney – dead at the age of 21 years. Billy was buried the next day in the Fort Sumner Cemetery. A year after Billy was killed, Sheriff Garrett auctioned Billy's saddle and revolver; the winning bid was $13.50. (Pinkerton detective Charlie Siringo quit at $12 because he thought the items were not worth more than that.)
Pat Garrett milked his fame for all it was worth, publishing a book (see below) with the help of a ghost-writer, Ash Upton. Garrett's later years were spotty: he won and lost elections for sheriff in towns across New Mexico & Texas; he led a contingent of Texas Rangers; he was appointed customs inspector in El Paso; he attempted many other business ventures, including cattle ranching. By February 1908, he was deeply in debt. On February 28, Garrett rode to meet with one of his debtors, W.W. Cox, in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and was shot dead by two of Cox's men. The killer confessed, but was nonetheless acquitted – Garrett was shot in the back of the head; the killer claimed self-defense.
The most famous outlaws of the Old West nowadays are probably Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Jesse James, and Billy the Kid. Historians work to prove and disprove purported facts, while the legends abound and cannot be quelled. Fiction and non-fiction books are written, television and feature films get made, and accuracy is often ignored.
New Mexico author Rudolfo Anaya tells two stories of the legendary New Mexico lawman Elfego Baca [1865-1945]. One has Billy and Elfego as pals in their teens walking from Socorro, New Mexico to Albuquerque, a distance of seventy miles. The other has Elfego talking the deputy who has custody of Billy (escorting him on a train to the capitol in Santa Fe) into allowing Elfego to buy Billy and the deputy lunch at the Harvey House restaurant in Albuquerque. Both could have happened, but you will notice that these two tales are not consistent with the biographical profile above.
Other writers, as seen below, have written books about Billy's connections with other people, including possible romantic pairings. Billy's tombstone was stolen in 1950, and not recovered until 1976, so the gravesite is now secured by a cage of heavy steel bars. In 2003, three Texas sheriffs got the support of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in attempting to exhume the remains of both Billy and his mother, for the purpose of using DNA testing to disprove theories that Billy survived his killing and lived to be an old man – just as similar tales were constructed about Jesse James and Butch Cassidy. The people of Lincoln and Silver City successfully prevented the exhumation.
The Albuquerque Museum put together an excellent exhibit on Billy the Kid – covering both the history and the later legend phenomenon – in 2007, and we can expect widespread celebrations of the sesquicentennial of Billy's birth in 2009.
Whatever the historical truth about Billy The Kid, the Legend of Billy The Kid is the essential American story: the lone individual, a man with a perhaps disreputable past, who takes on the self-righteous gangs of corrupt conspirators who forever seek to conquer honest folk by the use of political stealth, surface piety, blatant thievery, and overt force.
Links
Billy the Kid entry at Wikipedia
Billy the Kid Museum in Ft. Sumner {DeBaca County}, NM
Billy the Kid National Scenic Byway in Lincoln County, NM
Billy The Kid Byway Interpretive Center in Ruidoso Downs, NM
Billy the Kid Pageant [August] in Lincoln, NM
historic Dowlin's Old Mill {Billy The Kid hideout} in Ruidoso, NM
Billy the Kid Gift Shop in Old Mesilla, NM
William Bonney Gallery in Old Mesilla, NM
Lincoln State Monument & Museum: Lincoln County Wars exhibit
Lincoln County War [1878-81] entry at Wikipedia
Lincoln County, New Mexico travel links
Old Lincoln [NM] Historic District
Lincoln County War page at Legends of America
Pat Garrett [1850-1908] entry at Wikipedia
Billy the Kid Historic Preservation Society
Court TV® Crime Library entry for outlaw Billy the Kid
MB's 'About Billy the Kid' fansite
LS's Billy the Kid fansite
Billy The Kid section of Southeastern New Mexico website
Billy the Kid Outlaw Gang, Inc.
NM's Billy the Kid fansite
Books About Billy the Kid
book search on 'Billy the Kid' at Amazon
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"An Authentic Life of Billy The Kid, The Noted Desparado of The Southwest" [New Mexican Printing & Publishing Co. 1882] by Pat F. Garrett & Ash Upton Kessinger Publng 9x7¼ pb [6/2004] for $15.56 Univ OK Press pb [1/2000] for $24.95 Univ OK Press 9½x6½ hardcover [10/89] for $28.45 |
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"The Story of The Outlaw: A Study of The Western Desperado" [1907] by Emerson Hough [1857-1923] includes a chapter on the Lincoln County War (defining early version) Cooper Square Press 8½x5½ pb [12/2001] for $18.95 Kessinger Publng 9x6 pb [4/2005] for $28.08 Grosset & Dunlap hardcover [1907] out of print/used |
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"History of Billy The Kid" [1920] by Charles A. Siringo Univ NM Press pb [4/2000] out of print/used |
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"The Saga of Billy The Kid" [HB 1926, pb 1946] by Walter Noble Burns Univ NM Press 8¼x5½ pb [10/99] for $12.32 Konecky hardcover [6/2001] out of print/used |
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"The Death of Billy The Kid" [Houghton Mifflin 1933] by John William Poe Sunstone Press 9x6 pb [7/2006] for $12.89 |
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"The Real Billy The Kid: With New Light On The Lincoln County War" [1936] by Miguel Antonio Otero Arte Publico Press 8½x5½ pb [8/98] for $12.95 Sunstone Press 1936 facsimile 9x6 hardcover [12/2006] for $16.47 |
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"History of The Lincoln County War: A Classic Account of Billy the Kid" [1968] by Maurice G. Fulton, edited by Robert N. Mullin Univ AZ Press 9¼x6 3rd edition pb [9/97] for $13.57 |
 | "The Collected Works of Billy The Kid" [1970] by Michael Ondaatje An odd mix of poetry and prose (real & made-up newspaper articles, diary entries, narrative) and photographs that build a description of the mythical persona of the outlaw Billy The Kid. Vintage 8x5¼ pb [3/96] for $11.01 Viking hardcover [10/74] out of print/used |
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"Jury of Six" [1982 novel] by Matt Braun
After a friend is gunned down, series hero Luke Starbuck rides to New Mexico and confronts Billy The Kid, ambitious lawman Pat Garrett, and the shifting factions of the Lincoln County War. St. Martin mass pb [7/2002] for $5.99 |
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"They Knew Billy The Kid: Interviews With Old Time New Mexicans" [1986] Edited by Robert F. Kadlec Ancient City Press 8½x5½ pb [11/86] for $14.94 |
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"Anything For Billy: A Novel" [1988] by Larry McMurtry
The legend of Billy Bone – McMurtry's fictional take on Billy The Kid – as told by a dime novelist and failed train robber from Philadelphia. S&S 8x5¼ pb [11/2001] for $11.70 S&S 9x6 hardcover [1/88] out of print/used |
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"Billy The Kid: A Short and Violent Life" [1989] by Robert M. Utley Univ NE Press 9x5¼ pb [8/91] for $10.33 Univ NE Press 9¼x5½ hardcover [9/89] out of print/used |
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"The Illustrated Life & Times of Billy The Kid" [1992] by Bob Boze Bell Treasure Chest Books 10¾x8½ 2nd edition pb [7/96] for $29.95 Tri Star-Boze Publns 11x8¾ 2nd edition hardcover [7/96] for $39.95 author's booksite |
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"Billy The Kid: His Life and Legend" [1994] by Jon Tuska
Univ NM Press 9¼x6 pb [5/97] out of print/used Greenwood Press 9½x6½ hardcover [5/94] for $93.95 "Billy The Kid: A Handbook" [1983] by Jon Tuska Univ NE Press 9¼x6 pb [2/86] out of print/used |
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"The Demise of Billy the Kid" [1994] by Preston Lewis Domain mass pb [10/94] out of print/used |
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"The West of Billy The Kid" [1998] by Frederick W. Nolan Univ OK Press 10½x8¼ pb [9/99] for $18.87 Univ OK Press 11x8½ hardcover [10/98] out of print/used |
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"The Stone Garden: The Epic Life of Billy The Kid" [2001] by Bill Brooks Well-written revisionist fiction, based on a premise that Pat Garrett killed the wrong man and enlisted others in a cover-up, and Billy was glad to go into hiding with his lady-friend Manuella. Forge 8½x5¾ hardcover [6/2001] for $25.94 |
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"Gunman's Rhapsody: A Novel" [2001] by Robert B. Parker
Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, the O.K. Corral – this is most certainly a Western tale, but it is also a deeply-affecting love story. Berkley pb [3/2002] for $7.99 Putnam 9x6 hardcover [6/2001] out of print/many used New Millennium UNABR audio CD [1/2003] for $34.95 New Millennium UNABR audio [1/2003] for $17.00 |
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"Law of The Land: The Trial of Billy The Kid" [2004 novel] by Johnny D. Boggs Signet mass pb [1/2004] for $5.99 |
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"Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid As I Knew Them: Reminiscences of John P. Meadows" [2004] Edited by John P. Wilson Meadows knew or worked for Bonney, Garrett, John Selman, Hugh Beckwith, Charlie Siringo & Pat Coghlan; he lived in the Lincoln, Alamogordo, and Roswell areas of New Mexico, and was mayor of Tularosa. Univ NM Press 8¾x5¼ hardcover [10/2004] for $17.12 |
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"The Kid: A Novel About Billy The Kid's Early Years" [2004] by Ronald E. Goetz Marquette Books 8¾x5¾ pb [12/2004] for $22.95 "The Kid From Lincoln County: A Historical Novel" [2006] by Ronald E. Goetz Marquette Books 8x5¼ pb [10/2006] for $19.95 |
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"Billy The Kid: A Novel" [YA 2005] by Theodore Taylor Harcourt mass pb [8/2006] for $6.95 Harcourt Children's Books 8¼x5½ hardcover [6/2005] for $13.26 |
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"The Heart of A Legend" [2005]
by Amy Lignor The real-life tale of Fort Sumner, New Mexico pioneer Paulita Maxwell, 'the love of Billy the Kid'. Helm large print pb [9/2005] for $16.95 |
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"Billy The Kid: The Endless Ride" [2007] by Michael Wallis PUB pb [DUE March 2008] pre-order for $10.85 W.W. Norton 9¼x6 hardcover [3/2007] for $17.13 Tantor Media UNABR audio CD [5/2007] for $26.59 |
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"The Billy The Kid Reader" [2007]  Edited by Frederick Nolan Univ OK Press 9¾x6½ hardcover [11/2007] for $19.77 |
Other Media
"Billy The Kid" 1906 Broadway play
Written by Walter Woods & Joseph Santley; credits at IBDb
"The Beard" 1965 off-off-Broadway play
Written by beat poet Micheal McClure; main characters outlaw Billy The Kid & actress Jean Harlow
1966 movie of the play: Directed by Andy Warhol: video/DVD not available;
full credits from IMDb
"The Last Escape of Billy the Kid"
America's Longest Running Folk Pageant [performed in August since 1940]
2003 article on SouthernNewMexico.com's website
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"Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" movie soundtrack [1973] by Bob Dylan Sony soundtrack CD [8/89] for $9.98 |
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"Billy The Kid: AudioBiography" [1997] Written by Wymon Windsor, narrated by Donnie Blanz Readio Theatre audio CD [2/2005] for $12.95 |
Aaron Copland's "Billy the Kid: Ballet Suite" [opened in Chicago Oct 1938]
'Billy the Kid' ballet [1942] entry at Internet Broadway Database
'Billy the Kid' ballet entry at Wikipedia
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"Billy the Kid" & "Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes"
Leonard Bernstein & the New York Philharmonic Sony audio CD [10/90] for $9.98 Leonard Slatkin & the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Angel Records audio CD [10/90] out of stock/used |
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"Billy the Kid", "Rodeo", "Appalachian Spring" & other Copland works
Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Pops & Boston Symphony R.C.A. audio CD [11/94] for $10.98 |
Movies & TV About
Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid portrayals listed on Internet Movie Database
"Billy The Kid" [Vitagraph 1911 silent short]
Directed by Laurence Trimble; starring Tefft Johnson {as Billy};
credits from IMDb
"Billy The Kid"
aka "The Highwayman Rides" [M.G.M. Oct 1930]
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Based on the hit W.N. Burns novel (above); the first sound film about Billy; well-acted melodrama with a {no kidding} happy ending!
Directed by King Vidor [1894-1982]; starring John Mack Brown {as Billy}, Wallace Beery, Kay Johnson, Warner Richmond & James A. Marcus
video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $9.99 |
"Billy The Kid Returns" [Republic Sept 1938]
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After Garrett kills Billy, a look-alike singing cowboy rides into town and conspires with Garrett to continue the homesteaders' fight against the big ranchers.
Directed by Joseph Kane; starring Roy Rogers {as himself & Billy}, Smiley Burnette, Wade Boteler {as Garrett}, Mary Hart & Trigger
R.O.A.N. double feature DVD [11/99] for $12.99 with "Hands Across The Border" [1944] Hollywood Select b&w VHS [2/94] out of prodn/used R.O.A.N. Spanish-dubbed? b&w VHS [7/2001] for $9.45 full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $9.99 |
Billy The Kid movies starring Bob Steele [1940-41]
Bob Steele [1907-88] credits from IMDb
explore Bob Steele's videos/DVDs
Bob Steele entry at Chuck's Old Corral
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11"x17" Bob Steele poster available at AllPosters.com
"Billy The Kid Outlawed" [P.R.C. July 1940] Remotely based on the Bonney legend. • full credits from IMDb "Billy The Kid In Texas" [P.R.C. Sept 1940] Billy is appointed sheriff to tame the Lazy A galoots, who bring in a gunslinger that turns out to be Billy's brother. United American Video b&w VHS [7/98] out of prodn/used • full credits from IMDb "Billy The Kid's Gun Justice" [P.R.C. Dec 1940] Billy rides into the middle of a land scam, where ranches are sold and water streams diverted, so that the ranches fail, and are then resold again and again. United Home Video b&w VHS [11/97] for $9.49 • full credits from IMDb "Billy The Kid's Range War" [P.R.C. Jan 1941] Billy sees wanted posters accsuing him of deeds he never committed, so he rides in to clear his name. • full credits from IMDb "Billy The Kid's Fighting Pals" [P.R.C. April 1941] Billy, Jeff & Fuzzy ride into a new town, where Fuzzy is made town marshall; then they find out that the Hardy Gnng has killed the town's previous lawmen. United Home Video b&w VHS [11/97] out of prodn/used • full credits from IMDb "Billy The Kid In Santa Fe" [P.R.C. July 1941] Billy is framed for murder on the paid-for testimony of a cowboy; Billy escapes to Santa Fe, where that cowboy is soon also framed for murder. • full credits from IMDb |
Billy The Kid movies starring Buster Crabbe [1941-43]
Buster Crabbe [1907-83] credits from IMDb
explore Buster Crabbe's videos/DVDs
Buster Crabbe entry at Chuck's Old Corral
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"Billy The Kid Wanted" [P.R.C. Oct 1941]
Fuzzy sends for Billy & Jeff to help fight a land swindle; when a gang of outlaws show up, Billy devises a plan to have the two gangs shoot it out. • full credits from IMDb "Billy The Kid's Round-up" [P.R.C. Dec 1941] Billy rides into a town to find a sheriff friend murdered and the newspaper wrecked by henchmen; Fuzzy runs for sheriff and the good guys hurry to restore the printing press before election day. • full credits from IMDb "Billy The Kid Trapped" [P.R.C. Feb 1942] After false accusations put Billy, Jeff & Fuzzy in jail, someone mysteriously breaks them out. The reason becomes clear when Fuzzy has a shootout with an imposter dressed just like himself. 11"x17" poster {left & below} from Amazon for $9.99 • full credits from IMDb "Billy The Kid's Smoking Guns" [P.R.C. May 1942] Doc Hagen and his gang are running small ranchers off their land. • full credits from IMDb "Billy The Kid in Law and Order" [P.R.C. Aug 1942] The Crawford gang schemes to take over the fortune of a rich widow; they kill her Army officer nephew, who looks just like Billy, so Billy takes on the man's identity. • full credits from IMDb "Sheriff of Sage Valley" [P.R.C. Sept 1942] Billy becomes sheriff; the leader of the local gang resembles Billy, so he ties Billy up and takes his clothes, planning to run the town from behind a badge. United Home Video b&w VHS [11/97] out of prodn/used • full credits from IMDb "The Mysterious Rider" [P.R.C. 1942] aka "Panhandle Trail" The Sykes gang has run everyone off from a mining town while they hunt for the gold mine of a man that they killed. United Home Video b&w VHS [11/97] out of prodn/used • full credits from IMDb "The Kid Rides Again" [P.R.C. Jan 1943] Outlaws want a mortgage held by the bank in Sundown, so they rob the bank and then orchestrate a run on the bank. Alpha Video b&w DVD [12/2004] for $7.98 • full credits from IMDb "Billy The Kid in Fugitive of The Plains" [P.R.C. April 1943] Someone has been impersonating Billy around Red Rock, and he soon learns that the gang leader is a woman. • full credits from IMDb "Western Cyclone" [P.R.C. May 1943] aka "Frontier Fighters" Bag guy Randall frames Billy for murder, part of his plan to impeach the Governor & take over the state. • full credits from IMDb "Cattle Stampede" [P.R.C. Aug 1943] The Dawson ranch foreman is secretly working for rustlers during a range war; the gang stampedes the cattle herd and then kidnaps Dawson's comely daughter. Alpha Video b&w DVD [11/2004] for $7.98 • full credits from IMDb "The Renegade" [P.R.C. Aug 1943] The mayor schemes to close down the bank so that he can scoop up the nearby ranches, where only he knows that there are oil deposits. • full credits from IMDb "Billy The Kid in Blazing Frontier" [P.R.C. Sept 1943] Two railroad officials are defrauding the settlers of Red Rock Valley without the railroad's knowledge. • full credits from IMDb |
"Billy The Kid" [M.G.M. May 1941]
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Embittered cowhand Billy fights back when his cattleman boss is murdered.
Directed by David Miller; loosely based on the W.N. Burns novel (above); starring Robert Taylor {as Billy}, Gene Lockhart, Ian Hunter, Brian Donlevy & Mary Howard; Oscar nomination for Best Color Cinematography Warner/M.G.M. color VHS [4/94] out of print/used full credits from IMDb |
"The Outlaw: The Story of Billy The Kid"
[United Artists Feb 1943]
![classic publicity photo of Jane Russell for "The Outlaw" [1943]](covers/pHRHoutlawAP.jpg) |
Gunfighter Doc Holliday arrives in Lincoln, New Mexico, looking for his stolen horse. Sheriff Pat Garrett finds it in the possession of cowboy outlaw Billy the Kid. Doc and Billy become friends, the sheriff wounds Billy, and Doc asks his girlfriend Rio to hide Billy. Romance ensues, Billy assumes possession of both the girl and the horse, and the final showdown is expectedly tragic (and non-historical).
Produced & co-directed by Howard Hughes, co-directed by Howard Hawks; cinematography by Gregg Toland; starring Jack Buetel {as Billy}, Jane Russell, Thomas Mitchell, Walter Huston, Ben Johnson & Mimi Aguglia
Platinum Disc b&w DVD [6/99] for $6.99 R.O.A.N. b&w DVD [10/99] for $12.99 Madacy Ent. b&w VHS [9/97] out of prodn/used Starcuts b&w VHS [4/2002] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb 16"x20" Jane Russell art print available at AllPosters.com |
"Return of The Bad Men" [R.K.O. July 1948]
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In the excitement of the Oklahoma Land Rush, a town beleaguered by bandit gangs hires a marshal to stop them; the (unhistoric) collection of bad men includes Billy The Kid, Sundance, the Youngers, the Daltons & Wild Bill Doolin's gang.
Directed by Ray Enright; starring Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Jacqueline White, Steve Brodie, Tom Keene, Robert Bray, Lex Barker, Walter Reed, Michael Harvey, Dean White {as Billy}, Robert Armstrong, Tom Tyler, Lew Harvey & Jason Robards Sr.
Turner b&w VHS [9/90] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"Son of Billy The Kid" [Sept 1949]
video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
"The Kid From Texas" [Universal June 1950]
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Plot is close to the historical tale.
Directed by Kurt Neumann; starring Audie Murphy {as Billy}, Gale Storm, Albert Dekker, Shepperd Strudwick, Will Geer, William Talman, Robert Barrat, Frank Wilcox {as Garrett} & Ray Teal
video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $9.99 |
"I Shot Billy The Kid"
[Lippert Pictures July 1950]
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Low-budget 'B-movie' version of the myth, with lots of action.
Directed by William A. Berke; starring Don 'Red' Barry {as Billy}, Robert Lowery, Wally Vernon, Tom Neal, John Merton & Wendy Lee
V.C.I. b&w double feature DVD [5/2006] 2 disks for $13.99 with "The Dalton Gang" [1949] full credits from IMDb |
"Captive of Billy The Kid" [Republic Jan 1952]
Directed by Fred C. Brannon; starring Allan 'Rocky' Lane & Black Jack, Penny Edwards, Grant Withers, Roy Barcroft, Clem Bevans, & Clayton Moore Timeless Multimedia b&w VHS [1/99] for $14.99 • full credits from IMDb |
"The Law vs. Billy The Kid" [Columbia Aug 1954]
|
Rancher Tunstall hires & befriends Billy, who soon is vying with the foreman over Tunstall's niece.
Directed by William Castle; script by [blacklistee] Bernard Gordon, based on a play by Janet & Philip Stevenson; starring Scott Brady {as Billy}, Betta St. John, James Griffith {as Garrett}, Alan Hale Jr., Paul Cavanagh, William 'Bill' Phillips, Steve Darrell, George Berkeley, William Tannen & Richard H. Cutting; Spanish title "El Ultimo Renegado" video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
"Last of The Desperados"
[Associated Film Releasing Nov 1955]
video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
"The Parson and The Outlaw" [Columbia Sept 1957]
|
Billy and Pat Garrett fake Billy's death, so that he can retire to his homestead, but he lands in the middle of a range war; when the town's newspaperman is murdered, Billy and the local parson step in to lead the fight for the small ranchers.
Co-written & directed by Oliver Drake; co-produced by & starring Charles 'Buddy' Rogers; also starring Anthony Dexter {as Billy}, Sonny Tufts, Marie Windsor, Jean Parker, Robert Lowery, Madalyn Trahey, Bob Steele, Joe Sodja & Bob Duncan {as Garrett}
video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
"The Left Handed Gun" [Warner Bros. May 1958]
 |
James Dean was cast as the rebellious teenage outlaw, but died in a car crash; young cowhand Billy vows revenge when his peaceful rancher boss is murdered, escalating the Lincoln County War.
Directed by Arthur Penn; script by Leslie Stevens, from the play by Gore Vidal; starring Paul Newman {as Billy}, John Dehner {as Garrett}, Denver Pyle, James Congdon, James Best, Hurd Hatfield & Lita Milan
Warner b&w VHS [1/94] out of prodn/many used full credits from IMDb DVD available only as part of Paul Newman Boxed Set [2006] Warner DVD box set [11/2006] 7 disks for $29.99 |
"The Tall Men" [Revue/N.B.C. 75 b&w episode TV series 1960-62]
Starring Barry Sullivan {as Pat Garrett} & Clu Gulager {as Billy};
full credits from IMDb
"One-Eyed Jacks" [Paramount March 1961]
though often listed as a Billy The Kid film, the script changed
into a tale of betrayal and revenge between two unapologetic Western-era crooks
"A Bullet For Billy The Kid" [Mexico Nov 1963]
Directed by Rafael Baledón; starring Gaston Sands; video/DVD not available;
full credits from IMDb
"A Bullet For Billy The Kid" novel [1950] by Nelson C. Nye
Jove mass pb [1/88] out of print/used
"Fuera de la Ley {Outside The Law}"
aka "Billy le Kid" [Spain July 1967]
Directed by León Klimovsky of Argentina; video/DVD not available;
full credits from IMDb
"El Hombre que mató a Billy el Niño"
aka "The Man Who Killed Billy The Kid" [Spain May 1964]
 |
A grim & cynical version of the legend. Co-written & directed by Julio Buchs; starring Peter Lee Lawrence {as Billy}, Fausto Tozzi (as Garrett}, Dyanik Zurakowska & Gloria Milland video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
"Chisum" [Batjac/Warner Bros. June 1970]
 |
Lincoln County cattlemen Chisum and Tunstall fight off corrupt businessman Murphy with the help of gunfighter Billy Bonney.
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, script by Andrew J. Fenady; starring John Wayne, Forrest Tucker, Christopher George, Ben Johnson, Glenn Corbett {as Pat Garrett}, Andrew Prine, Bruce Cabot, Patric Knowles, Richard Jaeckel, Lynda Day George, Geoffrey Deuel (as Billy}, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, Pedro Armendáriz Jr. & Christopher Mitchum
Warner color DVD [5/2007] for $9.69 Warner color DVD [6/2003] out of prodn/used Warner color VHS [5/98] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb |
"Dirty Little Billy" [Columbia Nov 1972]
 |
The flip side of the legend: This Billy is a dysfunctional New York City teenager lost among the cowboy toughs of the wild & dangerous & barely-civilized Western territories.
Co-written & directed by Stan Dragoti; starring Michael J. Pollard {as Billy}, Richard Evans, Lee Purcell, Charles Aidman, Dran Hamilton, Willard Sage, Gary Busey & Severn Darden video/DVDs not available; full credits from IMDb |
"Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" [M.G.M. May 1973]
 |
The new sheriff is ordered to capture a former pardner, who is now the outlaw Billy the Kid.
Directed by Sam Peckinpah; starring James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson {as Billy}, Richard Jaeckel, Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, Barry Sullivan, Jason Robards, Bob Dylan, R.G. Armstrong, Rita Coolidge, Jack Elam, Paul Fix, L.Q. Jones, Slim Pickens & Harry Dean Stanton
Warner widescreen restored 237-min. version color DVD [1/2006] 2 disks for $14.99 Warner color VHS [10/89] out of prodn/used Sony soundtrack CD [7/73] for $9.98 full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster available at AllPosters.com |
"Wild West Show: Billy The Kid" [BBC TV series 1975]
credits from IMDb
"Young Guns" [Morgan Creek/Fox Aug 1988]
 |
Six cowboys, led by Billy The Kid, avenge the murder of their fatherly rancher employer, and are then outlawed.
Co-produced & directed by Christopher Cain; co-produced & written by John Fusco; starring Emilio Estevez {as Billy}, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney, Casey Siemaszko, Terence Stamp, Jack Palance & Patrick Wayne (as Garrett}
Lionsgate widescreen color Special Edition DVD [4/2003] for $10.49 Vestron Video widescreen color DVD [10/2001] out of prodn/many used Lionsgate/Live Home Video widescreen color VHS [3/98] out of prodn/used Vestron Video color VHS [10/99] out of prodn/many, many used full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster available at AllPosters.com |
sequel "Young Guns II" [Morgan Creek/Fox July 1990]
 |
A cattle baron hires Pat Garrett and others to chase down outlaw Billy The Kid, who has fled with his gang for the Mexico border.
Directed by Geoff Murphy; co-produced & written by John Fusco; starring Emilio Estevez {as Billy}, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christian Slater, William Petersen, Alan Ruck, R.D. Call, James Coburn, Balthazar Getty, Jack Kehoe, Robert Knepper & Viggo Mortensen
Warner widescreen color DVD [6/2004] for $9.98 Warner color VHS [6/99] out of prodn/used Fox color VHS [9/95] out of prodn/many used Island/Mercury soundtrack CD [6/94] for $7.97 full credits from IMDb |
"Gore Vidal's Billy The Kid" TV movie [May 1989]
 |
Lavish production that concentrates more on the relationships than on action.
Directed by William A. Graham, script by Gore Vidal; starring Val Kilmer {as Billy), Duncan Regehr {as Garrett}, Rene Auberjonois, Wilford Brimley, Julie Carmen & Tom Everett Warner color VHS [3/93] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb |
"The Legend of Billy The Kid" [Disney documentary 1994]
Written & directed by Todd Robinson; won Emmy for script;
credits from IMDb
"Billy The Kid's New Mexico" [indep docufilm 2004]
not listed at IMDb;
official movie site
"Investigating History: Billy The Kid"
[A&E TV documentary 2004]
 |
History Channel color DVD [4/2007] for $21.99 series credits at IMDb |
"Requiem For Billy The Kid" [France 2006]
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English-language investigation into the life & legend of Billy the Kid, and the mythology of The Old West. Co-written & directed by Anne Feinsilber; narrated by Kris Kristofferson
Kino Video widescreen color DVD [7/2007] for $26.99 full credits from IMDb |
"The Guns of Billy The Kid" [indep 2007]
 |
Describes & compares the various known weapons used by Billy the Kid and modern replicas.
Directed by Tim Evans & Susan Lutz; hosted by Peter Sherayko Varmint Media color DVD [3/2007] for $29.95 no listing at IMDb • official movie site |
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