BRONCO BILLY: Blu-ray (Warner Bros. 1980) Warner Archive

“It was an old-fashioned theme, probably too old fashioned since the film didn't do as well as we hoped. But if, as a director, I ever wanted to say something, you'll find it in Bronco Billy.”

-        Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood gives one of his most tender-hearted and affecting performances as the ballsy, if occasionally harried proprietor of a waning wild west show in Bronco Billy (1980). Initially budgeted at a meager $5 million, Eastwood was sincerely disappointed when the movie earned back a paltry $25 million. Indeed, the actor/director had poured every last drop of sweat and personal investment into this labor of love and – mostly, it shows in everything from Eastwood’s seemingly effortless pacing, to his genuineness in the lead. Bronco Billy is Eastwood’s clear-eyed (somewhat, sad-eyed) reflection on the changing landscape of America’s heartland, the veritable backdrop where once the cows and the antelopes did actually play, intermingled with the legacies of Annie Oakley, Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp gone to seed. The picture is also something of Eastwood’s send up to all those legendary western stars he grew up admiring; everyone from Tom Mix to John Wayne. Wayne, in fact, died of cancer just before shooting commenced on Bronco Billy, and with his passing, an entire way of viewing the time-honored ‘cowboys and Indians’ milieu that were such a main staple in American movies and television for decades, appeared to instantly pass into the annals with him. Eastwood, groomed to inherit the mantle of the brooding Western star, could likely see this future was limited if he remained steadfast to the iconography and, with considerable ease, made the transition from leading man to indie-producer/director of movies, themed on a broader canvas. By 1980, Eastwood had already directed 6 pictures; all, in which he had also starred. So, Bronco Billy was, in a way, Eastwood’s farewell to the life-cycle of the western loner he had helped perpetuate throughout his early career. It was time to move on. Ironically, Bronco Billy is the story of a man who cannot step beyond his legend and is, likely, doomed to be considered a dinosaur because of it.

Bronco Billy was shot in just six weeks in and around Boise, Idaho, with a few scenes lensed in Oregon and New York.  The picture is an homage to that grand ole tradition of celebrating the Wild West that was, with the rather jaundice-eyed severity given its’ advancing in the modern age, neither impressed, nor as eager to relive it by 1979. Nostalgia is one thing. Beating a dead horse – or at least, one that ought to be put out to pasture – is quite another. Indeed, this Barnum and Bailey-styled big top in which Billy (Eastwood) and his cohorts Doc Lynch (Scatman Crothers), Lefty LeBow (Bill McKinney), Leonard James (Sam Bottoms), Chief Big Eagle (Dan Vadis) and Lorraine Running Water (Sierra Pecheur) toil, is a weathered and moth-eaten throwback to the travelling menageries of yore that used to draw a crowd, simply by lumbering into town. Now, the stands are near empty, the straggle of spectators come, either to imagine what the Old West was like, or be disillusioned by the great chasm between their rose-colored memories and reality. Rather astutely, Lorraine summarizes Billy’s business acumen as, just a big kid in a man’s body, imbued with a certain sage wisdom from having weathered life’s storm once too often, yet still wishing for the past to remain firmly ensconced in the present. Even Billy’s address to the youngest attendees of his show echoes these sentiments, “I've got a special message for you little pardners out there. I want you to finish your oatmeal at breakfast and do as your mom and pa tell you because they know best. Don't ever tell a lie and say your prayers at night before you go to bed. And as our friends south of the border say, 'Adios, amigos.'”

The strain in Billy’s unwillingness to let go is emphasized in the picture’s main title, ‘Cowboys and Clowns’ – a glowing tribute to these circus performers, sung with both pang and twang by country superstar, Ronnie Milsap. “Ladies take to cowboy, like kids take to clown; they both love them without asking why…You're everybody's hero for just a little while. But when the goodbyes are said and the spot light goes dead, there's no one left who cares to hang around to love the cowboys and clowns.” Affectingly, these lyrics are heard under the main titles: an aerial view of Bronco Billy’s big top, set up in the boondocks at sunset, surrounded by farmland with very few cars pulling up to catch the show. The rundown spectacle unfurling inside is headlined by Bronco Billy McCoy – rumored to be ‘the fastest gun in the West’. One by one, ringmaster, Doc Lynch trundles out the oddities. Chief Big Eagle and Lorraine Running Water perform a snake dance that ends badly when Eagle is nipped in the lip by one of his poisonous serpents. Next, is Leonard James and his trick lasso, and finally, the star of our menagerie, Bronco Billy, himself – racing about the sawdust on his trusted steed, shooting plates tossed into the air by his nervous assistant, Mitzi Fritts (Tessa Richarde), whom he accidentally wounds during his grand finale, presumably blindfolded, shooting balloons around Mitzi on a revolving wooden disc, then tossing a knife to puncture the last one between her legs. Mitzi quits. Who can blame her? The show, barely making enough for Billy and his crew to survive on until their next gig, packs up and heads for the next town. Along the way, Eagle begins to have second thoughts. After all, none of them have been paid in well over six months.

Billy pulls over to the side of the road in the middle of a torrential downpour and reads his troop the riot act; part, admonishment for their unwillingness to continue to place their blind trust in him, and, part pep talk, that results in everyone reinvigorated – despite the obvious futility to pursue their way of life. Life has moved on. The show has not.  At their next stop, another dusty backwater with limited possibilities, Billy goes to City Hall to arrange for the necessary permits. Quite by accident, he encounters the haughty and exclusive Antoinette Lily (Sondra Locke) and her fiancée, John Arlington (Geoffrey Lewis).  Arlington is ecstatic to wed this slinky blonde bombshell, despite her glacial façade. As a matter of fact, Antoinette despises her future husband; agreeing to his proposal, only to inherit a large fortune from her own family.  It seems if she does not wed by the age of thirty, everything will go to her older sister, Irene (Beverlee McKinsey). Unbeknownst to Arlington, Antoinette has no intention of consummating their marriage. She needs him to procure her estate and he needs her to live well. Alas, immediately following their nuptials, the rented limo meant to carry them back to New York develops a busted radiator, necessitating an overnight pit stop at a seedy motel overlooking Bronco Billy’s wild west show. After attending the performance alone, Arlington returns to their rented room, only to discover Antoinette will not share his bed as man and wife. By morning’s light, Arlington has had quite enough, abandoning his new bride and departing in the repaired limo for parts unknown – having stolen all her money and clothes.

With little experience in fending for herself, Antoinette swipes a dowdy house dress off a nearby clothesline and hobbles across the road to plead her case to Billy, who offers her a dime to make an important ‘collect’ phone call to Irene. Alas, the line is busy and the dime is lost. So, Billy proposes a détente. She needs cash. He needs a new assistant after Mitzi’s departure. So, she will become ‘Miss Lily’ – a decision Antoinette firmly refuses outright, but then begrudgingly accepts, embellishing the rehearsed script, much to Billy’s chagrin. Nevertheless, Lily’s first night out proves a hit with the audience. Although Billy is outraged, he elects to keep Lily in the show. Meanwhile, in New York, Irene and her aged attorney, Edgar Lipton (William Prince) are conspiring for her to inherit the family fortune by having Arlington tracked down and accused of murdering Antoinette. At their next stop, Antoinette finds a newspaper headlining a nation-wide manhunt for ‘the man’ who killed Manhattan heiress, Antoinette Lily. Unaware of her family’s desire to oust her from the will, and determined to get back at Arlington for leaving her stranded, Antoinette remains silent and rejoins Bronco Billy’s Wild West Show.

The acrimony between Antoinette and Billy is palpable – always a surefire precursor to a better understanding and eventually blossoming of genuine affections. Antoinette learns that no one associated with the show is who they first appear to be. In fact, Billy has cobbled his act together from a brood of good-hearted ex-convicts. Billy was actually a shoe salesman from New Jersey who shot his wife for sleeping with his best friend. Antoinette is touched by Billy’s devotion to charities – donating his free time to entertaining children at a Catholic orphanage. After one of their local shows, Big Eagle and Lorraine announce they are expecting a baby. Delighted by the news, Billy promises everyone a night on the town. Alas, the mood turns ugly when Antoinette begins to wallow in self-pity, getting quietly drunk. A brawl breaks out at the bar after one of the patron’s insults Antoinette; Billy, coming to her honor with a show of fists. Doc stays out of the fray. But Leonard, Big Eagle and Lefty all take their turn, leveling the playing field until the battle is won. Afterward, Leonard decides he would rather go back in and have a few more drinks. He is promptly arrested as one of the instigators of the brawl. Billy receives a phone call from Sheriff Dix (Walter Barnes). A routine background check on Leonard has also revealed he is a deserter from the army – a crime, for which he will have to stand trial.

To spare Leonard his shame, Billy tries to bribe Dix with every last penny the troupe, thus far, has earned. But only after Dix challenges Billy to a display of guns – effectively ordering him to admit he is ‘not’ the fastest gun in the west, is Leonard given his release. Grateful, Billy and his travelling show pack up stakes and move to their next venue, hooking up with an already established carnival midway. Tragically, on opening night, a few young boys in attendance in the audience set off firecrackers in an attempt to spook Billy’s horse. The sparks ignite the dry straw under the bleachers and within minutes the big top is set ablaze. Panicked crowds make for the exits; Billy and his cohorts, doing their level best to escort everyone to safety. Regrettably, the big top cannot be saved. It burns to the ground, seemingly, with every last hope of ever re-establishing the act again. Angry, the group blames Antoinette for their hardship. But Billy defends her. To recoup their losses, Billy now suggests a good ole-fashioned train robbery. But Billy’s idea of a train robbery is no match for this modern age of mechanization and the attempt miserably fails.

Billy recalls that Dr. Canterbury (Woodrow Parfrey), the head of a mental asylum they previously performed for pro bono, is an ardent fan of their show. Appealing to Canterbury now, Billy finds the good doctor most willing, not only to provide them with a stipend, but also to get the inmates to begin to sew together a new big top out of American flags. While these preparations get underway, Billy and Antoinette fall in love and consummate their relationship. One of the inmates is Arlington – having entered into a plea deal on Edgar’s counsel to spare him hard time for Antoinette’s murder. When Arlington realizes he has been duped into serving time for a crime he did not commit, he raises a stink and is promptly cleared of all charges and released. Begrudgingly, Billy and his entourage depart without Antoinette. She returns to her uber-chic Manhattan digs, but is miserable and bored without Billy. Meanwhile, Billy soaks his sorrows in bottles of booze. Reluctant to find himself yet another new assistant, Billy orders Lefty to assume the role. However, on the eve of their first performance since leaving the asylum, Antoinette emerges from behind the curtain instead, signaling her return, both to the show and Billy’s arms.  More genuinely pleased than mildly amused, Billy closes the night’s festivities with his scripted words of ‘encouragement’ and ‘wisdom’ for the tiny tots in the audience. So, everybody does indeed love a cowboy and a clown!

Bronco Billy is a minor programmer in Eastwood’s canon, but with a big heart. This makes all the difference in the world. Eastwood’s chronically beleaguered and aging western superstar, financially bloodied but unbowed, is the antithesis of his solitary man with no name; just a good ole boy with the proverbial heart of gold, who keeps finding himself on the short end of the stick. Eastwood, still macho in spades, finds it in his soul to show us what a real ‘reel’ man is all about: integrity personified, compassionate towards others, and, the sharpest shot of any real Western legend, all rolled into one.  It is a genuine shame co-star, Sondra Locke never comes up to snuff, not even to Eastwood’s boot straps, in fact. When Bronco Billy had its premiere, Locke was the recipient of the first Golden Raspberry Award for worst actress of the year and, it isn’t hard to see why. Locke’s haughty ice princess is such an act – rigid to the point of being an absurd frozen sourpuss, she allows the audience to see the mechanics behind this pantomime, yet affords not a shred of redemption for the character. Antoinette’s sudden conversion to precisely the sort of woman Eastwood’s Billy could love appears extremely far-fetched.  Has she been lying to us all along or is she lying to us now? Interestingly, Eastwood remained supportive of Locke, despite her shortcomings, and would hire her again for 1980’s Any Which Way You Can; then, again, for 1983’s Sudden Impact.  Eastwood gets great mileage from the camaraderie between Billy and the rest of his travelling menagerie. We also get a genuine sense of community, of family, and, despite their always financially precarious position, a real understanding that whatever happens, these friends will never fall out. That warm and fuzzy ‘feel good’ holds the picture together, even when Dennis Hackin’s screenplay seems more intent on the particulars and sincerely less focused on moving the plot along. It works – sort of – and because of Eastwood’s sincerity, results in a picture that as much to say about ‘saying goodbye’ to the Wild West of yore, as it seems – at least in hindsight – to foreshadow the trajectory of Eastwood’s future career.  

Bronco Billy arrives on Blu-ray via the Warner Archive (WAC). The image is smartly turned out in 1080p, showing off David Worth’s minimalist cinematography to its best advantage. Worth uses mostly natural light conditions to achieve his mood. Flesh tones can appear slightly reddish and warm, and, the color palette is subdued on the whole. But Bronco Billy has a genuinely organic and film-like presence on Blu-ray, with moderate film grain looking indigenous to its source. Contrast is a tad dimmer than expected and, to capture the full enjoyment of the experience, we recommend viewing this disc in a completely darkened room. Age-related artifacts are nonexistent. WAC gives us a 2.0 DTS rendering of the original audio that is adequate, but decidedly limited. While Ronnie Milsap and Merle Haggard’s songs sound wonderful, dialogue is usually on the thin side, though clear and audible, with SFX not entirely offering us an immersive experience.  Oh well, I doubt it could look or sound much better. Shamefully, there are NO extras. As with everything WAC touches, this is another quality affair, sure to please Eastwood aficionados, who have waited a long time for this release. Bottom line: recommended!

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

3.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

4

EXTRAS

0