Dirty Little Billy (1972)

I was only nine or ten then, but I remember seeing the poster for Dirty Little Billy at a theater and I'm pretty sure I saw a trailer for it with the announcer stating that "Billy the Kid was a punk."

Now, just fifty years later, I've finally seen the movie. I bought the DVD and I think I'll resell it. I'm not going to watch it again.  

It didn't have much plot. The picture was very dark most of the time but I don't know if it was just my TV, and it had little to do with the actual Billy the Kid who, if Wikipedia is to be believed, was probably okay at least compared to those other guys, like Jesse James. In real life, he was an orphan. His mother died and his stepfather abandoned him and his brother. The first time he was arrested, it was for stealing food.

Michael Pollard plays Billy the Kid in his early days. He was in his 30's but was a more plausible teenager than a lot of them. He mostly hangs around in a shack they call a saloon. Two women get in a knife fight and there was a perfectly nice flurry of gun violence at the end.

Lots and lots of mud.

Stars Michael J. Pollard, Richard Evans and Lee Percell.

With a young Gary Busey and Nick Nolte who was uncredited.

With Dick Van Patten in a surprising role. 

Directed by Albanian-American Stan Dragoti, perhaps best known for Mr Mom and She's Out of Control.