The Left Handed Gun (1958)

100% of critics liked it
(7 reviews)
51% of users liked it
(543 ratings)

The Left Handed Gun was adapted by Gore Vidal from his own TV play, The Death of Billy the Kid. 33-year-old Paul Newman stars as 21-year-old William Bonney, the hotheaded gunslinger known as Billy the Kid. Avoiding the usual Hollywood glamourization of this controversial character, Newman portays… More The Left Handed Gun was adapted by Gore Vidal from his own TV play, The Death of Billy the Kid. 33-year-old Paul Newman stars as 21-year-old William Bonney, the hotheaded gunslinger known as Billy the Kid. Avoiding the usual Hollywood glamourization of this controversial character, Newman portays Bonney pretty much as he was: an illiterate, homicidal cretin. Treated with kindness for the first time in his life by rancher Tunstall (Colin Keith-Johnston), Bonney becomes devoted to the rancher; in fact, it is virtually a love affair. Soon after, however, Tunstall is killed, prompting Bonney to go on a murderous spree. In the end, Bonney must face down the other important father-figure in his life, Pat Garrett (John Dehner). In case anyone should miss the Freudian subtext in The Left Handed Gun, the closeups of Bonney fondling his six-shooter will make things crystal clear. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Arthur Penn
Written By: Leslie Stevens, Gore Vidal
Genres: Western, Classics

In Theaters: May 7, 1958 Limited
On DVD: Nov 14, 2006
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Critic Reviews

Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice
Penn's training in theater and live-TV drama (e.g. Playhouse 90) shows; the central performance is rehearsed into an anxious stir, every line matched to an actorly decision, a blocking cue.
Variety Staff, Variety
The picture is a smart and exciting western paced by Paul Newman's intense portrayal.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Boasting a strong turn by Paul Newman as Billy the Kid, this disturbingly psychological, technically innovative deconstructive Western marks the impressive debut of Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde), signaling the beginning of the New American Cinema.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
A close, inspired study of Ford and Nicholas Ray, and a decisive source of inspiration to Peckinpah, Malick, and Penn himself, who looked at it again and saw Bonnie and Clyde.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A good but disturbing psychological western, well directed by Penn and acted in a strangely fascinating style by Newman.
, Film4
The character has rarely been portrayed as well as he is by Newman.
Tom Milne, Time Out
Penn's first film, it is in many ways a key stage in the development of the Western.

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jim H

Billy the Kid seeks revenge for the killing of a cattle rancher who showed him kindness. I've never found the Western genre that compelling. Sure, there are some Westerns that use the lawlessness of the place/era as a way to debate the formation of laws in some kind of modern… More
Billy the Kid seeks revenge for the killing of a cattle rancher who showed him kindness. I've never found the Western genre that compelling. Sure, there are some Westerns that use the lawlessness of the place/era as a way to debate the formation of laws in some kind of modern Locke vs. Rousseau discussion, and there are others that are characters studies of a different sort. But overall, macho violence and loud action scenes usually dominate the genre, and I fail to connect to any of the characters. Aside from Paul Newman's performance, <I>The Left Handed Gun</i> is everything I don't like about Westerns. It's predictable, and Billy the Kid holds no great aura for me - he's a snide, hot-headed, illiterate fuck-up, and though he comes to realize this by the end, I have trouble understanding why he holds so much pull for people in general and filmmakers specifically. Within the context of the film, I don't see any motivation for a woman to sleep with him (in the lamest seduction sequence ever - "With you. With you. With you.") or for Garrett to take him under his wing. Overall, the film gets strong reviews from friends and reviewers alike, but there must be something I'm missing about this genre.
Conner R

While this is one of the many inferior Billy the Kid stories, it still has Paul Newman as a bizarre and crazy version of the character. The movie mainly fails on the lack of scope and story, which is completely mind boggling to me. When it's a character like Billy the Kid, you… More
While this is one of the many inferior Billy the Kid stories, it still has Paul Newman as a bizarre and crazy version of the character. The movie mainly fails on the lack of scope and story, which is completely mind boggling to me. When it's a character like Billy the Kid, you have no excuse to tell a weak story. I'm assuming this also had a lower budget, so some things are excused. However, it should really only be seen for Paul Newman; nothing else
Burger S

Any fan of the Young Guns movies that our generation grew up with should check this out. Obviously the production value was not as good and Hollywood license runs rampant with Gore Vidal's classic non-fiction. This movie was erroniously titled at a time when most historians… More
Any fan of the Young Guns movies that our generation grew up with should check this out. Obviously the production value was not as good and Hollywood license runs rampant with Gore Vidal's classic non-fiction. This movie was erroniously titled at a time when most historians mistakenly assumed that Billy the Kid was left handed based on a reversed image.