An ex-bounty hunter reluctantly helps a wealthy landowner and his henchmen track down a Mexican revolutionary leader.An ex-bounty hunter reluctantly helps a wealthy landowner and his henchmen track down a Mexican revolutionary leader.An ex-bounty hunter reluctantly helps a wealthy landowner and his henchmen track down a Mexican revolutionary leader.
Joaquín Martínez
- Manolo
- (as Joaquin Martinez)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWriter Elmore Leonard certainly did know something about classic firearms. From Frank Harlan's (Robert Duvall's) Custom Savage 99 (1899), Olin Mingo's (James Wainwright's) Remington-Keene sporter (1880) in .45-70, Lamarr Simms' (Don Stroud's) Mauser C-96 (1896) broomhandle, and Joe Kidd's (Clint Eastwood's) Cased Ross Rifle sporter model M-10 (1910) in .280 Ross. Leonard took special care to ensure all weapons (even the optics) were period accurate for that movie, being set in pre-statehood New Mexico territory (1912).
- GoofsThe movie takes place in New Mexico, but saguaro cactus can be seen in the town (Sinola County) scenes. Saguaro cactus can be found only in the Sonoran Desert of northern Mexico and southern Arizona, with the thickest concentration around Tucson which is where those scenes were actually filmed (at Old Tucson).
- ConnectionsReferenced in McCloud: The New Mexican Connection (1972)
Featured review
Not a great Western, but certainly a decent one.
Perhaps it's expectations regarding the talent assembled here that make one feel somewhat underwhelmed: the screenplay is by Elmore Leonard, the direction by John Sturges, and genre veteran Clint Eastwood is the star. Ultimately, the story never really catches fire, and there's not much in the film that's memorable - save for one amusing bit of business with a train. Overall, "Joe Kidd" lacks distinction, which is too bad. Eastwood is a typically low key and efficient hero, and he's backed up by a strong supporting cast. The film has the look of quality, with lovely scenery, sets & photography. Fans of the genre will find that this kills an hour and a half fairly easily.
Clint plays the title role, a former bounty hunter who's sprung from jail by a ruthless land baron, Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall). Harlan wants a man eliminated: Mexican revolutionary Luis Chama (John Saxon), who wants to dispute land ownership. Joe reluctantly saddles up with Harlans' associates, only to have a change of heart when he sees how cold blooded they are. He and Chama reach an understanding and begin to do battle with Harlan and company.
Duvall is a worthy antagonist, and he does a nice job of underplaying his role. Saxon has a commanding presence, and Stella Garcia is delightful as the feisty Helen Sanchez. Don Stroud, James Wainwright, and Paul Koslo are all great fun as Harlans' goons, especially Stroud as he gets increasingly flustered. It's also nice to see other familiar faces such as Gregory Walcott as the sheriff, Dick Van Patten as the hotel manager, Joaquin Martinez as Manolo, and Ron Soble as Ramon.
Bruce Surtees's cinematography is noteworthy, and Lalo Schifrin contributes an excellent score.
While this doesn't measure up to classic Clint Westerns, it's still reasonably engaging.
Seven out of 10.
Clint plays the title role, a former bounty hunter who's sprung from jail by a ruthless land baron, Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall). Harlan wants a man eliminated: Mexican revolutionary Luis Chama (John Saxon), who wants to dispute land ownership. Joe reluctantly saddles up with Harlans' associates, only to have a change of heart when he sees how cold blooded they are. He and Chama reach an understanding and begin to do battle with Harlan and company.
Duvall is a worthy antagonist, and he does a nice job of underplaying his role. Saxon has a commanding presence, and Stella Garcia is delightful as the feisty Helen Sanchez. Don Stroud, James Wainwright, and Paul Koslo are all great fun as Harlans' goons, especially Stroud as he gets increasingly flustered. It's also nice to see other familiar faces such as Gregory Walcott as the sheriff, Dick Van Patten as the hotel manager, Joaquin Martinez as Manolo, and Ron Soble as Ramon.
Bruce Surtees's cinematography is noteworthy, and Lalo Schifrin contributes an excellent score.
While this doesn't measure up to classic Clint Westerns, it's still reasonably engaging.
Seven out of 10.
Helpful•213
- Hey_Sweden
- Apr 30, 2014
- Permalink
- How long is Joe Kidd?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $6,330,000
- Gross worldwide
- $6,330,000
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
![Clint Eastwood in Joe Kidd (1972)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMWEyNDFhOWMtMDdiMy00NzQyLWI1NDktNGZjMTE3Y2Y1MDAyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUzMDUzNTI3._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,1,90,133_.jpg)