InformationRap
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Philippa
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Scarlet
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
FightingWesterner
Deadwood '76 tells the half-baked tale of young Billy May, a Civil War vet who in three days time is mistaken for Billy the kid, buys and sells a gold mine, captured by Indians, reunited with his estranged (and strange) Confederate father, avenges the rape of his new girlfriend, forced by the town of Deadwood to square off with none other than Wild Bill Hickock, and hung by an angry mob!This was the final film of Arch Hall Jr., who is fondly remembered by fans for starring in half a dozen fairly entertaining drive-in movies of the early to mid-sixties, his best being the titular character in the taut thriller, The Sadist.Despite some bad acting by mostly bit players, this is entertaining at times and it tries hard to create a tale of western mythology but it's done in by a very (and I mean VERY) unsatisfying ending.I would have preferred that the end have Billy's father and his Indian followers massacre the town in response to Billy's death, as it was stated earlier in the film that it was his plan to do just that as part of the elder May's plan to resurrect the Confederacy!Co-stars Robert Dixon (Bill Hickock) and John "Bud" Cardos (Hawk Russell the rapist cowboy) were reunited along with cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond five years later in another drive-in western, Five Bloody Graves.
c532c
This movie was playing in grind houses to unsuspecting kids and half-sleeping winos at about the same time EL TOPO was playing at college-area theaters to earnest young students and drug-addled hippies. Oddly, both films make the same point about the futility of death. Or something. While the lack of continuity and coherence here is probably unintentional, the parallels are striking: Like EL TOPO, DEADWOOD '76 offers a mythical gunfighter prompted into a series of challenges that maybe prove something to somebody, but are ultimately meaningless to the central character.Just thought I'd mention it.
classicsoncall
The end of the picture really made me think about how this Western turned the traditional good guy/bad guy story on it's head, ending in the death of the hero in a virtually non-climactic finale with the saving posse arriving just a little too late. It's probably how a lot of real life stories ended in the old West, ignominiously and largely forgotten to history. Up till then, the film was strangely devoid of any real action, other than Billy's (Arch Hall, Jr.) confrontations with members of the Sam Bass gang. Even Wild Bill Hickok knew better, but you know, I thought he might have been right around the corner to make the save. Oh well.I had the feeling the film was stretching for legitimacy with it's liberal name dropping of true Western legends like Texas John Slaughter, Wyatt Earp, Clay Allison, Red Cloud and Crazy Horse. None of them ever showed up, but you wondered if they would. Sam Bass (Rex Marlow) did, but again, the movie had him leading a lynch mob instead of facing down Billy on a dusty street. He didn't care much for Psalm 22 either.Hey, I got a kick out of the sign in Poker Kate's saloon - 'Gentlemen Do Not Spit On Floors'. The punishment couldn't be worse than death.Not really an altogether bad flick as the limited reviews on this board suggest. The ballad of Billy May even gave the story some additional atmosphere as it popped up from time to time in synch with the story. At least it's nowhere near as campy awful as the Arch Hall (Sr. and Jr. both) flick from 1962 - this one doesn't make you go "Eegah"!
ethylester
I could easily not have watched this movie and been fine. Take it or leave it. Cheezy western flick with pretty stereotypical characters. More like a Disney movie than anything else. It is about a guy, who everyone thinks is Billy The Kid, who can shoot really fast. People bet on him and force him to duel with other guys like Wild Bill Hiccock. He makes friends with some Natives because he is also trying to mine for gold. He finds out that his father is an Indian Chief. But he doesn't care and goes on shooting people. It's a pretty boring story.Not recommended unless you love Arch Hall Jr. and shots of his manly cleft chin. Good movie to fall asleep to.
