IMDb RATING
6.2/10
1.1K
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At the turn of the century, with the Old West fading away, Texas train robber Kid Blue goes straight and takes a factory job but old habits die hard.At the turn of the century, with the Old West fading away, Texas train robber Kid Blue goes straight and takes a factory job but old habits die hard.At the turn of the century, with the Old West fading away, Texas train robber Kid Blue goes straight and takes a factory job but old habits die hard.
José Torvay
- Old Coyote
- (as Jose Torvay)
Jack Starrett
- Tough Guy
- (as Claude Ennis Starrett Jr.)
Howard Hesseman
- Confectionary Man
- (as Howard Hessman)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
The "Kid" has always been a recurring character in western lore. Here he gets a whole movie to himself. Hopper is excellent as the train robber trying to settle down. An unpredictable storyline starts with a very funny robbery and never goes entirely where you'd expect. (Good stuff: 7/10)
This very pointed satire on the end of the "old west" and the concurrent growth of capitalism is set in Dime Box, Texas at the beginning of the 20th century. Dime Box is a real town in central Texas but here it is set on the Mexican border, where the new industry in town is a factory manufacturing ashtrays with a Mexican flag and an American flag stuck into them, symbolizing hands across the border (when a buck is concerned.) One of the funny bits I remember is Dennis Hopper asking what an ashtray is for, and he is told for putting cigarette and cigar ashes in, and he replies that people smoke outdoors, why do they need something to put the ashes in?
So he is something of an innocent, even though a former outlaw who has decided to go straight, move to town, and join the 20th century. He gets many lessons in capitalism, Native American spirituality vs Christianity, modern sexuality, and, since this was made in the early 70s, the attitude of law enforcement toward young, long-haired males. I haven't seen this in over 30 years but saw it several times in theater then and laughed every time.
It has such a great cast, particularly the males, Hopper, Boyle, Oates, Ben Johnson, all as adept at comedy as drama. Sure would like to see this get a DVD release!
So he is something of an innocent, even though a former outlaw who has decided to go straight, move to town, and join the 20th century. He gets many lessons in capitalism, Native American spirituality vs Christianity, modern sexuality, and, since this was made in the early 70s, the attitude of law enforcement toward young, long-haired males. I haven't seen this in over 30 years but saw it several times in theater then and laughed every time.
It has such a great cast, particularly the males, Hopper, Boyle, Oates, Ben Johnson, all as adept at comedy as drama. Sure would like to see this get a DVD release!
This film really clicked with me. One of the first times I had seen Peter Boyle and Dennis Hopper. Really enjoyed it. I had just graduated from college. I got to see it in a sneak preview. I have looked for it ever since to see it again.
Typically weird Dennis Hopper early 1970s film. Maybe he was tripping on LSD making this off beat movie. If you are a fan of Mr. Hopper you might like this, if not, it is a curiosity to be seen once.
I saw this movie when it first came out in the theater in 1973. Everyone I knew who saw it loved it. Then it disappeared. Vanished. Gone. Never available on VHS nor DVD, so your chances of ever seeing this great movie are nil. However, as I write this in November 2005, the movie is available on Comcast On-Demand Free Movies!
With a memorable supporting cast including Peter Boyle, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson and the beautiful, young Lee Purcell, Dennis Hopper turns in one of his best performances. You'll never forget Ben Johnson as Mean John Simpson. Nor Peter Boyle as the ascetic high-tech, high-flying Preacher. Although it is set in Texas around the turn of the century, the social commentary that is critical of religion, racial prejudice, the establishment's compulsion to force conformity on everyone, the inequality in the workplace, and the hypocrisy of the elite ruling class and their control of law enforcement, is still relevant today. Perhaps even more so than when it was released in 1973. With comedic undertones, the movie manages to combine action/violence, drama and an implied steamy sex scene without ever becoming too serious. It pits the individual against the mores and values of the group (in this case the town of Dimebox, Texas and it's biggest employer, the All American Western Novelty Company). And guess who wins?
Don't miss this movie if you have Comcast Digital. It's available until March 2006.
With a memorable supporting cast including Peter Boyle, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson and the beautiful, young Lee Purcell, Dennis Hopper turns in one of his best performances. You'll never forget Ben Johnson as Mean John Simpson. Nor Peter Boyle as the ascetic high-tech, high-flying Preacher. Although it is set in Texas around the turn of the century, the social commentary that is critical of religion, racial prejudice, the establishment's compulsion to force conformity on everyone, the inequality in the workplace, and the hypocrisy of the elite ruling class and their control of law enforcement, is still relevant today. Perhaps even more so than when it was released in 1973. With comedic undertones, the movie manages to combine action/violence, drama and an implied steamy sex scene without ever becoming too serious. It pits the individual against the mores and values of the group (in this case the town of Dimebox, Texas and it's biggest employer, the All American Western Novelty Company). And guess who wins?
Don't miss this movie if you have Comcast Digital. It's available until March 2006.
Did you know
- TriviaKid Blue (1973) was shot in Chupaderos, Mexico, a town of 400 people, which had become a popular filming location in the 1960s. Eleven films had been shot there prior to Kid Blue and it had become a permanent movie set with false fronts on the villagers' adobe huts.
- GoofsDime Box Texas is fairly flat farmland, not mountainous desert.
- Quotes
Reese Ford: Money don't make no difference. You can live a whole beautiful life inside your head. A lot of these folks, they can't do that.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Saddle Up!: Kid Blue (2024)
- How long is Kid Blue?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 1h 40m(100 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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