Ten-Cent Hero

Although Wild Bill Hickok did not start growing his reputation as a fast gun until after the Civil War, this apocryphal tale from The Young Riders tells how it started.

A dime novelist played by Gerrit Graham started it after witnessing Josh Brolin handle himself in a saloon brawl. He writes that Brolin took out notorious outlaw M.C. Gainey and now Gainey is looking to take out a kid trying to make his reputation with a lie.

Hickok was a tough enough guy without all the dime novel embellishments from folks like Ned Buntline in real life and Gerrit Graham. But if Hickok's name didn't get notorious in the way shown here others did.

Gerrit Graham does well as the dime novelist and M.C. Gainey as the swaggering bandit. There's also a poignant performance by Billy Jayne as a kid who believes everything he reads.