I don’t like no kind of law breaker, breed. But the kind I hate worse is a cheap one. And cheaper than you and your friend, they just don’t come! After a bank robbery goes wrong, half-breed outlaw Billy Two Hats (Desi Arnaz Jr.) is captured by Sheriff Gifford (Jack Warden). Billy’s ageing partner, Arch Deans (Gregory Peck), rescues him, but during the escape Deans gets shot in the leg. The wound leaves Deans unable to ride a horse, but Billy refuses to leave him behind. Instead, he builds a horse-drawn cot for him, and they continue together. The apparatus slows them down, making them more vulnerable to capture from Sheriff Gifford. They take shelter at a ranch owned by Spencer (John Pearce) married to much younger mail-order bride Esther (Sian Barbara Allen) who falls for Billy … You’re old enough to be half as stupid. Coincidentally released on this very day 45 years ago, this is a striking if flawed work from Scottish novelist and screenwriter Alan Sharp (Luke Perry’s father-in-law). Shot in Israel by director Ted Kotcheff, it brings together what might be called a mis-cast and gives them all terrific vignettes. Arnaz shines as the half-white, half-Indian protagonist with Peck’s grumpy older sidekick a fascinating foil. And who doesn’t love Jack Warden?! Perhaps the political point about race gets muddied by the usual chase/revenge tropes but it might best be appreciated as an operatic work, focussing on feeling. Look out for renowned stuntman Vic Armstrong as Harry Sweets Bradley. He’s fancy all right. Thinks this old man of his is comin’ to cut him loose
mondomovies 