Joe Kidd (1972)

Another good addition to the great Clint Eastwood's filmography. Eastwood has a lot of westerns, most of them good, and Joe Kidd is no exception, well-acted, fast paced and fairly entertaining. Though it doesn't bother much with story and character development, director John Sturges creates a terrific atmosphere that will surely put a smile on some people's face, most notably, fans of the genre.The basic plot revolves around Joe Kidd played very well by Eastwood, an ex-bounty hunter, who apparently knows a rich landowner called Frank Harlan played well by Robert Duvall, Frank pays his bail to get him released from 10 days of sentenced prison time for multiple charges that include being disorderly, then Joe agrees to help Frank put a stop to a Mexican revolution leader called Luis Chama also played well by John Saxon, during their pursuit, Joe has a change of heart, seeing how bad Frank and his men are, which leads them to lock him up, along with the residents of the church they take refuge at. There's some good shootouts and so forth afterwards, and that's pretty much there plot, it only works however as a fun, western. Because there's no backstory for Frank and his buddies, nor is there any for Joe Kidd, who apparently has a past that the screenwriters didn't feel was worth mentioning.The supporting cast includes Stella Garcia as Helen Sanchez, Chama's woman, Dick Van Patten as a hotel manager, Gregory Walcott as sheriff 'Mitchell' and Don Stroud as Lamarr, Frank's right hand man, the performances are all quite respectable. There's a small hint of romance between Frank's maid Elma played by Lynne Marta and Eastwood, but nothing truly detailed, just random moments and there's a couple of amusing moments, and some decent lines of dialogue, but overall the dialogue was fairly forgettable for the most part. I admired the cinematography, the look, and mood of the picture too, and the pretty good, well suited score composed by Lalo Schifrin. Leonard Elmore's screenplay has its moments, and there is one truly brilliant scene where Eastwood takes a shot from miles out and hit's one of Frank's men, that scene was both memorable with a good build-up and well directed. All in all Joe Kidd is not a great western, but it has some good shootouts, adequate pacing and an enjoyable feel to it, it's worth seeing for fans of the genre and fans of Eastwood.

Dear John Sturges,you had Elmore Leonard writing your movie. Lalo Schifrin scoring it. Clint, Duvall and Saxon facing off against each other. Yet you still managed to make an average film.I don't know what went on behind the scenes. Leonard did come up with some great dialogs especially at the beginning. The film was off to a great start with Eastwood running circles around the judge, mouthing some tongue in cheek responses to his questions. And then Duvall and his gang make a great entry at the train station, decked up in suits. But it sort of fell apart after that. Some of the plot resolutions were quite uninteresting. The ending was nonsensical.Lalo Schifrin's tense electronica tinged main theme was unlike anything composed for a Western. But its variations used over the rest of the film were quite tuneless. The title sequence was also quite unimaginative.Clint had some great scenes but his character was quite badly etched. I mean, he is introduced as a hard drinking ruffian. But he soon turns into an upholder of the law. I guess you selected John Saxon to play the Mexican revolutionary after watching him in The Appaloosa. He was damn good in that one.The film looks great on blu ray. And it does get over pretty soon. But so much more could have been done with it.Best Regards, Pimpin.(6/10)

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). He was a great choice to bring this story to life. We might question why Saxon was cast as a Mexican, but I have to admit he pulls it off fairly well.The New York Post praised the actors' performances while criticizing the film, calling the actors "diamonds set in dung". This is more than a little harsh and probably uncalled for, but it does have a pebble of truth -- the three core actors are more powerful than the story they were given to tell.

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. If just for that classic Eastwood squint.Eight stars. And for future reference, never upset a man holding a pot of stew.