Dirty Little Billy is a 1972 American revisionist western film co-written and directed by Stan Dragoti and starring Michael J. Pollard and Richard Evans. Set in Coffeyville, Kansas, the film was influenced by the darker, more sinister style of Spaghetti Westerns and offered a unique insight into the beginnings of the titular notorious outlaw. It is notable for Nick Nolte's film debut, along with a background appearance for experimental filmmaker/artist William Ault.
Dirty Little Billy | |
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Directed by | Stan Dragoti |
Screenplay by | Charles Moss Stan Dragoti |
Story by | Charles Moss Stan Dragoti |
Produced by | Jack L. Warner |
Starring | Michael J. Pollard Richard Evans Charles Aidman Lee Purcell |
Cinematography | Ralph Woolsey |
Edited by | David Wages |
Music by | Sascha Burland |
Color process | Eastmancolor |
Production company | WRG/Dragoti Productions Ltd. |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
A tough and violent portrait of a psychopathic, yet fresh-faced youth—the infamous Billy the Kid in his grimy early days.
The film premiered at the San Francisco Film Festival on October 20, 1972 before opening at the Vogue Theatre in San Francisco five days later.[1][2]
Steven Puchalski wrote in Shock Cinema magazine:
This is no typical, Tinseltown western though. It's more like The Making of a Sociopath, with Michael J. Pollard starring as displaced, 17-year-old Billy Bonney, in the days leading up to his evolution into the notorious Billy the Kid ... this is the perfect role for Pollard. And though a little old to play a teenager (he was 33), he hands us a Billy who's perpetually victimized by bad luck, until he finally blows a gasket at the very end and sparks his future.[3]
Films directed by Stan Dragoti | |
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