Bad Company

Very good and realistic - very underrated.

A bit slow in places, amusing and comical in places, - well worth watching.

This was the first feature film directed by Richard Benton, the man who wrote 'Bonnie and Clyde', 'What's up Doc?' and later 'Kramer vs. Kramer'. It is a little gem which gave the opportunity to see a young Jeff Bridges flexing his full acting potential as Jake Rumsey, ace juvenile delinquent and aspiring cowboy.

As leader of a bunch of assorted ragamuffins, most of whom are trying to dodge the draft in the American Civil War; Bridges plays a lad who relies on a mixture of guile and animal magnetism to motivate his band.

The attention to detail is very good and to those of us who still remember the Vietnam War, with its fair share of draft dodgers, the irony in the parody is evident. The boy from a good home, Drew Dixon (Barry Brown) counters Jake’s influence in some cases, even so he falls under the spell of tales told of the wealth to be had by heading ‘Out West’.

The party of young tearaways led by this colonial Artful Dodger run into a series of adventures and misadventures and you are never quite sure which is which.

I never saw this film in the cinema at the time it came out, which was a pity, but I am glad that through the magic of DVD I was able to rectify the mistake.

This is a tale well told in the up and coming gritty era of westerns when you were never sure who the good guys really were and everyone was dusty on the trail.

I enjoyed this moderate tale of the rites of passage for this group of scallywags, told so that whatever they got up to you could not help but like them.

With a script that was golden with quotes such as ' No, I ain't lying to you, son. We tried farming the first year and a twister wiped us out. Next year it was the cattlemen, then just pure-D rotten soil. There ain't nobody got no money excepting a few. And even if you do have, there ain't a thing worth having. It rains so much it will give you the chilblains. A dry spell comes along and you choke to death on dust. That is if a bushwhacker don't come along and take your last damn dollar. No, I mean it boys, turn around and go back!' from a farmer who later sold the favours of his wife at rock bottom prices, how could it fail?

Well worth the money and only its modest budget prevented the film from being a Blockbuster! It stands shoulder to shoulder with such classics as ‘Soldier Blue’, ‘Little Big Man’ and ‘McCabe and Mrs Miller’.

Low key western that may explain why Clint Eastwood made Outlaw Josey Wales and played along Jeff Bridges in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. It has some beautiful moments.

Bad Company is an underrated and often overlooked western probably due to the fact that this movie avoids the clichés of other more famous westerns.This is a truly original picture and a far more authentic western than anything I have ever seen.Beautifully directed and well paced with great performances from all cast members this film should be seen by more people and in my opinion held up there as a classic.

i enjoyed this movie but then i lovvve jeff bridges