Dirty Little Billy (1972)

Pre fame mud and rags telling of Billy The Kid.

Directed by Stan Dragoti, co-written by Dragoti and Charles Moss, and starring Michael J. Pollard, Richard Evans and Lee Purcell. Music is by Sascha Burland and cinematography by Ralph Woolsey.

Dirty Little Billy firmly de-glamourises the Billy The Kid legend, well sort of. This is a portrayal of the infamous outlaw before he became just that. Film is telling of what he was before he made his first kill, his weak standing in society, his turbulent family life, and is tentative steps to making friends - where he is clingy extreme. The backdrop is one of mud and rags, there is no showy Wild West here, it very much operates as an Anti-Western, an independent picture firmly offering up a flip side to some of the legends printed as fact. Technically it is just ok, where things are strongly hindered by Pollard simply being too old. Asking a 33 year old man to play a teenager is a stretch, it is with much credit that Pollard gives it his all and nails at the least the village idiot side of Billy pre his fame.

Not a hidden gem by any stretch of the imagination, it does however show up a side to Billy The Kid not often told in the history of film and literature. Worth seeking out for that point of reference, but as entertainment or a viable Western film of note? I'm not sure. 5/10