Bronco Billy (1980)

Clint Carries on the Classic Tradition of the West

Bronco Billy is a character in the tradition of classic westerns of the 20th century. Billy is fair and honest, and he watches out for children. Except for some of the things he does, Bronco Billy bears some resemblance to Roy Rogers. However, when Billy does not get his way, which seems to happen a lot, he can be manipulative.

One of Bronco Billy's biggest problems is getting a young woman to be an assistant. Being an assistant for Billy involves being a target for knives, holding up plates so Billy can shoot them, and jumping on the back of a horse ridden by Billy. Billy's latest assistant just quit at the same time that obnoxious Antoinette Lilly's husband abandons her in the same town Bronco Billy's wild west show is playing. Antoinette needs help, since all her husband left her was a nightgown, and
Billy needs an assistant.

Antoinette turns out to be a huge pain in the behind. She is smart-mouthed, cynical, obnoxious and arrogant (I may have missed a few adjectives, but you can fill those in yourself). On the other hand, Antoinette can shoot and other than being a snob, she can handle the assistant part.

Even though I am not a big fan of Sondra Locke, part of what makes this movie work is how Antoinette's observations of Billy slowly change her attitude toward the world. She sees that Billy is honest and caring. She also sees how selfless Billy and his team are. Between the jokes, the changes in Antoinette as the movie progresses are important to the end of the movie.

Whenever I look at my DVD collection for a movie to watch, I somehow seem to always pass over this movie. Yet, when I finely get around to watching it, I am always glad I did. I am unable to explain exactly why that is the case. Regardless, this movie is a charmer and one of my favorite Clint Eastwood comedies. If you have enjoyed Clint Eastwood's other comedies, I believe you will like this one.

Enjoy!
February 17, 2008

A real charmer

Despite its mixed reception and disappointing box-office, Eastwood's Bronco Billy may not be the blockbuster the studio pitched it as (it was released on the largest number of screens ever at the time) but it's certainly not the disaster it's sometimes painted. A Thirties-style screwball comedy about an ex-shoe salesman and his band of misfits and dreamers whose travelling show becomes the hideout for a runaway heiress (a miscast and very unsympathetic Sondra Locke, whose conversion to proletarian good naturedness is the film's most unconvincing note). With a strong supporting cast including a scene-stealing Geoffrey Lewis as Locke's money-grabbing husband and a genuine warm-hearted affection for its characters that's only enhanced by its awareness of their failings, it remains one of his most winning and certainly his most underrated films. February 16, 2008

A charming sleeper.

I've always liked this film a great deal and I can't honestly say why. It's hardly a memorable achievement in terms of filmmaking. However, there is something so true and honest about Clint's Bronco Billy that has never failed to grab me. He plays the everyday man dragging along his childhood dream and wanting to be, at the very least, someone with something to offer, regardless of how silly it may be. There's this open sincerity in both his performance and direction, that though the latter sometimes slips into corny territory, manages to elevate the film into more than respectable territory; the cheesy elements never overwhelm the film as much as they punctuate it. Frankly, I like Sondra Locke and don't really understand what all the negative comments are about. She plays the ultimate New York socialite snob to perfection: Bored, bitter, with the uncanny ability to dismiss anyone and everyone with equal indifference. The rest of the rag-tag crew is uniformly adept at communicating their disparate, yet somehow common, pasts.

August 15, 2007

A charming film, though a little too much corn, but I can forgive that...

This film is quite corny at times, but it's sincere, and that makes up for a lot of the corn. Clint (who also directs) plays a cowboy in charge of an old fashioned, travelling rodeo show. He has a bunch of rag tag people in his company, but they have a deep sense of community, and they do care for each other. Billy ends up in many jams in this film, but his "family" stick it out, with a little help from the people around the country that Bronco Billy has performed for before. They even take in a rich "b**tch" character (played by Sondra Locke, then Clint's girlfriend), and she's a bit much at times, but she isn't nearly as bad as others have said she is. The film is shot on location in the upper Northeast (specifically Idaho), and it really enhances the film. There isn't a trace of "irony" or any smugness here, which really helps the film in the long run. Clint has said in many interviews that he really liked this film, and that it is one of his personal favorites. He thought it could combat the prevailing cynicism of the day. The song over the end credits is really cheesy, but the film itself is nicely done.

A funny note. Scatman Crothers did this film shortly after completing his work on Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. For those who don't know, Scatman played the chef who has the power of shine like Danny. Kubrick was notorious for doing many takes in all his films, but on The Shining the take ratio was astronomical. In reading about the filming, take totals went as high as 148 on some of Scatman's shots. I read that on the first day of shooting on Bronco Billy, Scatman got his scene on the first take, and Clint said "let's move on", and Scatman almost broke down in tears because he was so happy and relieved. I like that story, and this film. June 23, 2007

I really wanted to see Beverlee McKinsey!

Since daytime actress Beverlee McKinsey has left daytime in 1992, I needed to get my Beverlee fix. She appears briefly in this film as the wicked stepmother of course to Sondra Locke's character. She has a few scenes but other than that I didn't care for the movie in general. Beverlee has a lot of fans who want to see more of her but she is a reclusive retiree in Southern California of all places where the film, television, and theatre industry could use her nowadays. June 6, 2006

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