Dirty Little Billy is a 1972 American revisionist western film co-written and directed by Stan Dragoti and starring Michael J. Pollard and Richard Evans. Set in Coffeyville, Kansas, the film was influenced by the darker, more sinister style of Spaghetti Westerns and offered a unique insight into the beginnings of the titular notorious outlaw. It is notable for Nick Nolte's film debut, along with a background appearance for experimental filmmaker/artist William Ault.
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Plot
A tough and violent portrait of a psychopathic, yet fresh-faced youth—the infamous Billy the Kid in his grimy early days.
Cast
Michael J. Pollard as Billy Bonney
Richard Evans as "Goldie"
Lee Purcell as Berle
Charles Aidman as Ben Antrim
Dran Hamilton as Catherine McCarty
Willard Sage as Henry McCarty
Mills Watson as Ed
Alex Wilson as Len
Ronny Graham as Charles Nile
Josip Elic as "Jawbone"
Richard Stahl as Earl Lovitt
Gary Busey as Basil Crabtree
Dick Van Patten as Berle's Customer
Scott Walker as "Stormy"
Rosary Nix as "Louisiana"
Frank Welker as Young Punk
Craig Bovia as Buffalo Hunter
Severn Darden as Jim "Big Jim" McDaniel
Henry Proach as Lloyd
Len Lesser as "Slits"
Ed Lauter as Tyler
Nick Nolte as Town Gang Leader (Uncredited)
Release
The film premiered at the San Francisco Film Festival on October 20, 1972, before opening at the Vogue Theatre in San Francisco five days later.
Reception
Steven Puchalski wrote in Shock Cinema magazine:This is not typical, Tinseltown western though. It's more like The Making of a Sociopath, with Michael J. Pollard starring as displaced, 17-year-old Billy Bonney, in the days leading up to his evolution into the notorious Billy the Kid ... this is the perfect role for Pollard. And though a little old to play a teenager (he was 33), he hands us a Billy who's perpetually victimized by bad luck, until he finally blows a gasket at the very end and sparks his future.