Joe Kidd

Plot synopsis:
Set in the early 1900s, Clint Eastwood stars as Joe Kidd, a former bounty hunter who is in jail for hunting on Indian land and disturbing the peace in the New Mexican town of Sinola. Mexican bandito/revolutionary Luis Chama (John Saxon) has organized a peasant revolt against the local landowners, who are throwing the poor off land that rightfully belongs to them.
When a posse — financed by wealthy landowner Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall) — is formed to capture Chama, Kidd is invited to join, but prefers to remain neutral. Harlan persists and Kidd finally relents when he learns that Chama's band has raided his own ranch and attacked one of the workers.
The posse rides into a village and forces the villagers into the church at gunpoint. They threaten to kill five Mexican hostages unless Chama surrenders. Harlan throws Kidd into the church to prevent him from helping Helen, a female captive who is also Chama's lady love (unbeknownst to Harlan), and the other Mexican hostages.
Kidd manages a daring escape and saves the hostages, determined to find Chama on his own and see that justice is done, but when he does capture Chama and delivers him to Sheriff Mitchell (Gregory Walcott) Harlan is already waiting for them in town.
To get to the jailhouse, Kidd drives a steam engine through the town saloon. A gunfight then ensues between Kidd and Harlan's men. Kidd manages to kill Harlan in the courthouse by hiding in the judge's chair. Chama then surrenders to Mitchell, but not before Kidd punches the sheriff for not standing up to Harlan and his murderous plan. Kidd then collects his things and leaves town with Helen.

Tags: cult, humor, violence

Review:
This is a pretty good though very simple Western and I am sure that the somewhat low ratings are due, in part, to the movie not being exactly what Clint Eastwood fans expected.
In this film, he plays Joe Kidd--a decent sort of guy but not exactly as super-human as "the man with no name" in his Spaghetti Westerns.
The character Joe Kidd shows off his abilities here and there, but he isn't the amazing man with a 6-shooter as you'd expect from Eastwood either--though he sure does pretty well with a rifle or train (you'll have to see what I mean by seeing the picture).
So overall, this film is very good but a bit subdued and more realistic than most of Eastwood's Westerns--plus at under 90 minutes, it's pretty short as well.
Clint Eastwood plays the title role in Joe Kidd a former bounty hunter and tracker hired by big rancher Robert Duvall to bring in John Saxon.
Saxon's a local hero among the Mexican population in this southwestern based film for standing up to the Anglo ranchers like Robert Duvall who've robbed them of their lands both gunfighters and with bought justice in the courts.It doesn't take Clint long to decide he's made a big mistake as Duvall's hired bully boys intimidate the local Chicano population.
Still he's one of the good guys for better or worse.I don't think Joe Kidd measures up to Clint Eastwood westerns like The Unforgiven or Pale Rider or The Outlaw Josey Wales.
Joe Kidd (Clint Eastwood) is a former gunman and bounty hunter, hired by the landlord Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall) to chase Luis Chama (John Saxon), a Mexican-American fighting for land reform.
Joe Kidd is discreditable ex-bounty hunter who's facing a couple days in jail, but a well-known big flier landowner Frank Harlan pays his fine hoping that he would join his group of hunters in tracking down the revolution leader Louis Chama.
Maybe that's because I knew very little about it and I wasn't expecting anything revolutionary, but I found this little slam-bang western to be an earnest vehicle for Eastwood, which has a capable supporting cast in Robert Duvall, Don Stroud and John Saxon and in the director's chair is John Sturges.
After "Dirty Harry," Eastwood returns to the West to work for the first time and the last with John Sturges...With quality Westerns like "Bad Day at Black Rock," "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral," and "The Magnificent Seven", Sturges would be the right filmmaker to accelerate Eastwood's cowboy career...
In the event he wasn't...The excellent sketching of characters and the poignancy of the dilemma of the peasants which made "The Magnificent Seven" such a classic Western were deplorably absent in "Joe Kidd" and the film never escaped from the weakness of its own screenplay...Eastwood brought some of the qualities of Leone Stranger, but lacked his style, his wit and his class...The film is set in the small town of Sinola, New Mexico, at the turn of the century...
The peasants find a charismatic leader in Luis Chama (John Saxon), who takes them before a biased judge to defend their land rights...Upon learning the judge's nature, the Mexicans turn to violence and nearly kill the judge whose life is saved by Joe Kidd (Clint Eastwood), a prisoner jailed for drinking too much...This action endears Kidd to Harlan, who recruits him as a tracker for the posse he has hired to annihilate the poor Mexicans who oppose him...However, Kidd's commitment to Harlan's cause grows weaker the more he observes the landowner's methods...
Kidd considers the action cowardly, and decides to change sides and join Chama's forces...If you are happy to see Eastwood back in the saddle, and you want to watch him with Robert Duvall, don't miss this highly forgettable Western...
Here you've got Clint Eastwood co-starring with Robert Duvall (in one of his first post-"Godfather" roles), to say nothing of an excellent supporting cast that includes John Saxon, in a western directed by John Sturges whose name I will always utter with reverence because he gave us "The Great Escape." And it's based on an Elmore Leonard novel.
Besides the fact that this movie has two great actors, Clint Eastwood and Robert Duvall.6.4/10.
Perhaps it's expectations regarding the talent assembled here that make one feel somewhat underwhelmed: the screenplay is by Elmore Leonard, the direction by John Sturges, and genre veteran Clint Eastwood is the star.
Fans of the genre will find that this kills an hour and a half fairly easily.Clint plays the title role, a former bounty hunter who's sprung from jail by a ruthless land baron, Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall).
This time round, Clint plays the title role  an individualist, of course, and one with a sense of justice not unlike Dirty Harry; where Joe Kidd differs is that he has no truck with the law and prefers the hunter's life on the range.Which, in turn, causes him to wind up in jail because, in the opener, we find Joe in jail having been charged with hunting deer on reservation land.
After the bandits run, Joe settles down to work off his jail term of ten days  only to be hauled out of that predicament by Robert Duvall's nasty business tycoon, Frank Harlan, who wants to hunt down, with his own band of killers, the leader of the Mexican band, Luis Chama, as portrayed by John Saxon.Thereafter follows an inventive narrative and denouement as written by one of America's best writers, Elmore Leonard, involving a hunt to the high sierras and a Mexican standoff  and a Mexican standoff - between the Mexican bandits, the American bounty hunters and finally Joe who escapes the clutches of the bounty hunters to try to persuade Chama to plead his case in a court of law.To say more would ruin the plot for you.
Clint was already a veteran of many westerns by the time he made "Joe Kidd" and, though many don't find it among his best, it shows Clint as the Joe of the title doing what he does best.As a ne'er-do-well who ends up siding with Luis Chama (Saxon), a wanted Mexican bandito, Kidd does battle with a group of bounty hunters (led by a suitably villainous Duvall) out for Chama's blood."Joe Kidd" is leisurely but not uninteresting; after all, any film written by Elmore Leonard has interesting points (just look at his later work).
Clint was already a veteran of many westerns by the time he made "Joe Kidd" and, though many don't find it among his best, it shows Clint as the Joe of the title doing what he does best.As a ne'er-do-well who ends up siding with Luis Chama (Saxon), a wanted Mexican bandito, Kidd does battle with a group of bounty hunters (led by a suitably villainous Duvall) out for Chama's blood."Joe Kidd" is leisurely but not uninteresting; after all, any film written by Elmore Leonard has interesting points (just look at his later work).
And when I saw Clint eye that train, I knew something was going to happen (you'll have to see that one yourself).Overall, "Joe Kidd" may not be as big as "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" or as profound as "Unforgiven", but it's a good film nonetheless and bears watching.
And when I saw Clint eye that train, I knew something was going to happen (you'll have to see that one yourself).Overall, "Joe Kidd" may not be as big as "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" or as profound as "Unforgiven", but it's a good film nonetheless and bears watching.
An ex-bounty hunter (Clint Eastwood) reluctantly helps a wealthy landowner (Robert Duvall) and his henchmen track down a Mexican revolutionary leader (John Saxon).John Sturges is a capable director and had directed acclaimed westerns such as "The Magnificent Seven" (1960).
The locations and cinematography are fine too while Robert Duvall is okay as the baddie, enlisting maverick Kidd to track down a Mexican bandit with whom he's at war, before he does that totally idiotic thing you don't do to Eastwood in one of his films, which is to double-cross him.The weaknesses of the film are firstly the narrative, as I struggled to believe that an amoral character as Kidd would get involved in a turf-war like this, secondly, the casting of the supporting parts, in particular John Saxon completely lacks menace, never mind the charisma to control his gang as the scurrilous but selfish rebel and thirdly, the score by Lalo Schifrin, which seems to belong better to some of the cops and robbers TV shows and films he was also scoring at the time.The plot is fairly predictable, enlivened by a "OK Corrall"-style shoot-out at the end, but for me the film never really takes off.
I enjoyed the under-the-radar humorous references to Eastwood's recent success with "Dirty Harry" but there was little other humour to report which might have helpfully pepped up proceedings.Instead, Kidd's dour personality and Duvall's unrelenting thirst for revenge make for a stolid movie, directed adequately, no better, by John Sturges, who like Eastwood and Duvall, made better movies than this.It's no disaster mind you, just a bit predictable and run-of-the-mill.
Wealthy landowner (Robert Duvall) wants to hire cavalier former bounty Joe Kidd (Clint Eastwood) to guide a posse searching for a Mexican revolutionary (John Saxon).
I saw the plot outline, and an amazing cast including such names as Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall, John Saxon, Don Stroud, Paul Koslo, Gregory Walcott, and Dick Van Patten, and a direction by John Sturges.
Clint played a very good former bounty-hunter Joe Kidd, Robert Duvall was great as the wealthy landowner Frank Harlan, John Saxon was excellent as the hispanic revolutionary Louis Chama, Don Stroud was very well cast as the sadistic Lamarr Simms, James Wainwright was perfect as the sniper Olin Mingo, Paul Koslo was also well-cast as the goofy Roy Gannon, Gregory Walcott was wonderful as the outspoken sheriff Bob Mitchell, and Stella Garcia was good as Helen Sanchez.The music was pretty well done, and there were some good scenes although nothing extraordinary.
Thankfully, this isn't entirely the case as Leonard wants to try and explore a story of a Mexican man (played by John Saxon, yes, he can play just about anything) who wants his proper land rights back and is up against a ruthless killer (Robert Duvall) with Clint playing the title character a the hired man who is conflicted on both sides.
But luckily Duvall is really excellent in his part as this determined villain and Eastwood is sturdy as always as a man who knows how to shoot and knows his sense of justice well, which is actually kind of gray.Minor characters, like Duvall's woman and Saxon's guy, are less developed, though they're supplemented by some good suspense scenes, a shoot-out over a very wide range of space between mountains, and that climactic train rolling into the bar.
It's fairly predictable and not anyone's best work, but it's not as sub-par as you might have heard: Joe Kidd is like Elmore Leonard (and by proxy Clint Eastwood) almost lite..
Truth is is that with Eastwood starring, Robert Duval and John Saxon supporting, John Sturges directing and Elmore Leonard writing, well this resally should have turned out far better than it did.In short order it has Eastwood as gunslinger/bounty hunter Joe Kidd who somehow finds himself helping a wealthy landowner and his henchmen to track down a Mexican revolutionary leader - it's a land issue we think....
If you take Eastwood at his prime, add John Sturges who made some great westerns like "O.K. Corral", "Bad Day at Black Rock", "Escape from Fort Bravo", and add a story by Elmore Leonard you are bound to have something very good.
Everything in this western is excellent, you have the blending of two styles, Sturges' and Eastwood's, the great performance of Robert Duvall, and some fantastic shootouts, specially the scene of the train..
In Joe Kidd, Robert Duval's character states something like "I hear you used to hunt men - and were pretty good at it" Joe Kidd looks up and replies "That was a long time ago...." hmmmm sounds like "the man with no name" to me....
Joe Kidd does have a lot going for it though with Clint Eastwood, a good score, good support cast and tight direction by John Sturges.
Clint Eastwood, Director John Sturges, and Writer Elmore Leonard are Not At There Best.The Result is a Tepid, Turgid, Tale of Land Rights and Oppressed Mexicans.
This is not one of John Sturges' or Clint Eastwood's best films; "Joe Kidd" is not more than a Western with a lousy script and poor story by Elmore Leonard.
What easily could be a good and descent Western, since Clint Eastwood's character Joe is a typical cool cowboy not too different from his other characters (which is by no means a problem), is in the end just a poor and uneven film without much suspense or atmosphere.
Clint Eastwood plays Joe Kidd, a former bounty hunter in the American Southwest who is approached by a wealthy landowner(Robert Duvall) to help him fight a band of Mexicans(led by John Saxon) who are irate that their land claims have been denied(destroyed in a courtroom fire apparently) and so have taken up arms.
With his marquee name, well respected director John Sturges at the helm, and novelist Elmore Leonard scripting, the 1972 release Joe Kidd would seem likely to be another feather in Eastwood's Western cap.
Like the other leads, Saxon is held back by the thin script, there isn't a lot of meat on the bones of Chalma for him to sink his teeth into.Standardized genre films can sometimes provide reasonably entertaining vehicles, but Joe Kidd is so lackluster and rote, and also lacking much in the way of suspense or action, that it can't really manage to summon up enough entertainment value to help transcend it's boilerplate plotting and characters to make it stand out.
In this film "Joe Kidd" (Clint Eastwood,) tries to do just that.
Eastwood is joined by notables such as Robert Duvall as Frank Harlan, John Saxon as Luis Chama and Don Stroud playing Lamarr Simms.
Joe Kidd (1972)Plot In A Paragraph: Joe Kidd (Eastwood) an ex-bounty hunter, reluctantly helps a wealthy landowner (the always brilliant Robert Duvall) and his henchmen track down a Mexican revolutionary leader (John Saxon).Written by Elmore Leonard (Yes that Elmore Leonard) this is a bit of a mismatch, as it has good performances Eastwood and Duvall.
The man who brought you The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape, John Sturges, comes a cropper with Elmore Leonard writing and Clint Eastwood zombie-ing in Joe Kidd.
It's all so very topical and typical of the late 60s and early 70s, with Clint playing an ex-bounty hunter who is hired by Robert Duvall (sporting a ridiculous cowboy hat and non-geographical Southern twang) to hunt down a sort-of Junior Varsity Mexican revolutionary (John Saxon, sporting a non- geographical Mexican accent) because he's "cutting fences and stirring up the Mescans about land reform."Duvall has a girl in tow for amusement, and his crew of sociopaths (James Wainright, Paul Koslo, and Don Stroud) all try to look menacing, but they only get to boredom.By the end of the movie, there's been a lot of shootin' and land-reformin' and double-crossin,' but mostly just yawning.
I suspect the strengths are due to two main things: The basic story by Elmore Leonard where some of his tough-guy language and character interactions managed to filter through into the final product and the cast, especially Eastwood and Duvall who act like the Pros they are in consistently professional performances.
The film has Joe Kidd (Clint Eastwood) having to decide what side to be on as a bunch of Mexican bandits claim to own the land which a rich ruthless businessman owns.
Basically Joe Kidd (Clint Eastwood) is a former bounty hunter and tough guy in the American Southwest, and he is caught in between a battle for claims of the land.
Actually, the role of Chama's woman seemed to be oddly attracted to Joe Kidd whenever he was around as if to tease a relationship of sorts, so the viewer needs to make up their own mind on that score.You know, it's interesting to see Robert Duvall as a villain, he's pretty much the ultimate bad guy here but never quite allowing his hands to get dirty unless push came to shove.
She isn't the love interest for Eastwood, in fact there isn't one, but she makes for a strong female in the film.I was a little surprised when I saw the director for Joe Kidd was John Sturges who had done some epic films like The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven.
Joe Kidd is an average film, not bad but nothing special.I don't really see the draw of watching a western with Clint Eastwood in it, as he is just better than everyone else and no harm will come to him.
Land owner Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall) and his posse of professional shooters come gunning for Chama, hiring Joe Kidd (Eastwood) to track Chama.
I think that's unfortunate because the movie has the likes of Robert Duvall and John Saxon(not to mention Don Stroud who is always a great heavy and was also Eastwood's adversary in Coogan's Bluff)as hunter and hunted respectively.
Eastwood's Joe Kidd is perhaps a more "ordinary" hero lacking the mythic quality often displayed in other westerns.Mr. Harlan(Duvall)and his hired killers, cocksure Lamarr(Stroud), crackshot rifleman Mingo(James Wainwright)and cocky wisecracking Roy(Paul Koslo), real bad hombres(all quite confident in their abilities), are preparing to hunt down and kill wanted Mexican outlaw Luis Chama(John Saxon)who is stirring up his people to reclaim the land stolen out from under them by the likes of Harlan who deals in territory.
Maybe, it could be because Eastwood made so many memorable western classics that it is inevitable one like JOE KIDD simply falls to the back of the pack due to the list being so long?