Billy Two Hats (1974)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Billy Two Hats is directed by Ted Kotcheff and written by Alan Sharp. It stars Gregory Peck, Desi Arnaz Junior, Jack Warden, David Huddleston and Sian Barbara. Music is by John Scott and cinematography by Brian West.Interesting. Peck plays a grizzled Scottish outlaw and Arnaz Jr. the half-breed Indian of film's title. They rob banks and have a sort of father and son relationship as they try to escape from vengeful racist Sheriff Gifford (Warden). So in essence it's a buddy Western, albeit one that's a bit off-beat and has grand ideas to be a religio parable of sorts.Unfortunately away from the unusual casting decisions which happen to entertain, it's immeasurably dull on narrative terms and blandly photographed (in Israel) into the bargain. It's not hard to see why it flopped upon release to theatres.The sporadic action passages are adequately performed, and the intentional humour hits the required mark, but by the time the boorish inter-racial relationship comes to the fore, you may find it hard to stay awake. 5/10

At the end of this movie, I wasn't sure that I'd enjoyed it. But as the day wore on, I found myself continually thinking about it. Often, I leave a movie thinking I've enjoyed it and never give it a second thought. I wasn't sure for a lot of the film exactly what the point is other than the relationship between Peck (An outlaw with Scottish descendancy) and Billy (A half-breed Native Indian). But actually, this is the point and the characters are what make this movie work. Gregory Peck could never be accused of being type cast and he gave a valiant attempt at pulling off a Scottish accent. A lot of the words he nailed but then the accent completely disappeared for run of the mill dialect. A little more direction and time and his language would have matched an otherwise strong performance. Billy seemed a straightforward character to start with but layer upon layer are revealed as the movie progresses including an explanation for an otherwise daft movie title and you really find a sense of his history and upbringing. The sheriff gave a worthy performance but I was particularly impressed with the Apache gang and the stuttering wife. The Apache were made all the more terrifying by their random nature and personality so far removed from stereotypical Apache. The guy with the white parasol was the best of the bunch. The parasol is mentioned but no reference is made to how he obtained this. Some things are best unsaid, had he massacred a previous wagon and removed this as a trophy from some poor unsuspecting traveller? The stuttering wife was beautifully played. Her husband's answer to this disability was to slap her round the face. To her and her guests, this was nothing more than abuse but the husband clearly thought he was 'Rattling her brain box' and helping her out. Her vulnerability, loneliness and desire for love were superbly portrayed and I wish her love for Billy had been explored more fully. The movie reached a stand-off climax and there is a moral about how we treat our dead at the end which again leaves you thinking. Give this movie a chance, you may well draw a different conclusion but it is a little gem worth giving a chance.

I haven't seen this movie since I saw it in its initial release where it was playing to a nearly empty theater. It was shot in widescreen, the format appropriate to the genre and the movie would undoubtedly suffer if seen on TV. Granted that the foreign location gave it an odd quality but the desert vistas are no less magnificent. I'm not a particular fan of the western film genre but this one seems to have clung to my memory. Peck's Scottish burr seems forced at times but it does not detract from what is essentially a visually compelling entertainment. If it becomes available in DVD(widescreen) format, I'll certainly buy a copy.

I evoke the name `Slim Pickens,' because it is both slang for what best describes `Billy Two Hats' and is the name of the actor who could have done the most to improve the movie. As fine an actor as Jack Warden is, substituting Slim Pickens for Warden as the racist Marshal obsessed with capturing Billy (Desi Arnaz, Jr.) and Arch (Gregory Peck) would have provided a more proper sense of menace. Pickens would also have made the dialogue which bogs down the first third of the film, a lot more palatable.However, as presented, nothing would have made `Billy Two Hats' any more than a routine western. Omitting the bank robbery, which motivates the story's action, was a major miscalculation. Having Peck and Arnaz spend so much time apart, without providing better motivation for their friendship, was another. The bland Israeli desert is a poor substitute for the American West and the music is inappropriate and forgettable.Fine performances by Gregory Peck, Jack Warden, David Huddleston and Sian Barbara Allen don't entirely compensate for Arnaz, who seems out of his depth. I felt neither conviction nor consistency in his performance.WARNING: SPOILERSTWO BEST SCENES: 1) Peck and Arnaz hearing the discharge of the buffalo rifle at least a second or two before Peck's horse is knocked out from under him. I don't know if there is that much delay between the sound and the arrival of such a high caliber, low velocity round; but, hey, all those unrealistic ricochets in the Italian westerns were neat, too.2) Peck near death hearing the muffled, distant sounding conversations around him. BOTH of these major accomplishments belong to the sound department of `Billy Two Hats'. I just wish the rest of the movie rose to the same standards.