Bronco Billy
Encyclopedia
Bronco Billy is a 1980 American film starring Clint Eastwood
and Sondra Locke
. It was directed by Eastwood and written by Dennis Hackin.
, the star of which is Bronco Billy McCoy (Clint Eastwood), the "fastest gun in the West." For the show's finale, a blindfolded Bronco Billy shoots balloons around a female assistant on a revolving wooden disc, and for the last balloon, he throws a knife. However, the assistant's leg is nicked, so she quits. The show is not making any money, and nobody has been paid for months.
The show moves on to a new town and Bronco Billy goes to city hall
to get a permit. While there, he bumps into Antoinette Lily (Sondra Locke) and John Arlington (Geoffrey Lewis), who are there to be married. Antoinette despises her future husband, but has to marry before she is thirty in order to inherit a large fortune. Afterwards, their car breaks down at the motel opposite the Wild West Show. The next morning, Arlington steals all her money and their repaired car. She is left to fend for herself.
Bronco Billy eventually talks Antoinette into becoming his new assistant, "Miss Lily", though she only agrees to do one show. The show of her first performance is unusually successful, although Miss Lily irritates Billy by not sticking to the script.
Leaving the show, Antoinette discovers that Arlington has been arrested for her murder (framed by Antoinette's stepmother and her scheming lawyer friend, who stand to gain her inheritance). Seizing the chance to get even with Arlington, Antoinette rejoins the Wild West Show.
She discovers that none of the performers are real cowboy
s: they are mostly ex-convict
s or alcoholics (or both). Bronco Billy was a shoe salesman who shot his wife for sleeping with his best friend. Nevertheless, Miss Lily begins to warm to the troupe.
Two of the show's performers announce that they are going to have a baby. The crew goes to a bar to celebrate. One of them gets himself arrested by police who discover that he is a deserter from the Army. Bronco Billy uses the show's meager savings to bribe the sheriff into letting the man go, swallowing his pride and enduring the sheriff's verbal humiliations for his friend's sake. Then the circus tent burns down. Everyone blames Miss Lily for their bad luck, but Bronco Billy defends her and proposes that they rob a train. They try to do this in the standard Western way (riding alongside and jumping on), but a modern train proves to be resistant to such an approach and they give up.
Next, the troupe travels to a mental institution at which they have previously performed pro bono
. The head of the institution, who is obsessed with the Wild West, agrees to provide them with accommodation and to supply a new tent, and the inmate
s sew one out of American flags. Miss Lily and Bronco Billy spend the night together. By chance, one of the inmates turns out to be Arlington (he had been paid by the crooked lawyer to confess to being mentally disturbed when he "murdered" Antoinette). When he sees her, he raises a fuss and gets himself released. Bronco Billy and the show depart without Miss Lily.
Antoinette returns to a luxurious lifestyle, but she is bored and misses Billy, who drowns his loneliness with alcohol. The two reunite when Miss Lily returns to the circus.
. The film was shot in five and a half weeks in Boise, Idaho
in the fall of 1979. Additional filming took place in Oregon and New York. Filmed on a low budget of $5 million, it finished two to four weeks ahead of schedule.
of The New York Times believed the film was "the best and funniest Clint Eastwood movie in quite a while", and praised Eastwood's directing and the way he intricately juxtaposes the old West and the new.
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
and Sondra Locke
Sondra Locke
Sondra Locke is an American actress, singer and film director.She made her film debut in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter , for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress...
. It was directed by Eastwood and written by Dennis Hackin.
Plot
The film revolves around "Bronco Billy's Wild West Show", a run-down traveling circusCircus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
, the star of which is Bronco Billy McCoy (Clint Eastwood), the "fastest gun in the West." For the show's finale, a blindfolded Bronco Billy shoots balloons around a female assistant on a revolving wooden disc, and for the last balloon, he throws a knife. However, the assistant's leg is nicked, so she quits. The show is not making any money, and nobody has been paid for months.
The show moves on to a new town and Bronco Billy goes to city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
to get a permit. While there, he bumps into Antoinette Lily (Sondra Locke) and John Arlington (Geoffrey Lewis), who are there to be married. Antoinette despises her future husband, but has to marry before she is thirty in order to inherit a large fortune. Afterwards, their car breaks down at the motel opposite the Wild West Show. The next morning, Arlington steals all her money and their repaired car. She is left to fend for herself.
Bronco Billy eventually talks Antoinette into becoming his new assistant, "Miss Lily", though she only agrees to do one show. The show of her first performance is unusually successful, although Miss Lily irritates Billy by not sticking to the script.
Leaving the show, Antoinette discovers that Arlington has been arrested for her murder (framed by Antoinette's stepmother and her scheming lawyer friend, who stand to gain her inheritance). Seizing the chance to get even with Arlington, Antoinette rejoins the Wild West Show.
She discovers that none of the performers are real cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
s: they are mostly ex-convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
s or alcoholics (or both). Bronco Billy was a shoe salesman who shot his wife for sleeping with his best friend. Nevertheless, Miss Lily begins to warm to the troupe.
Two of the show's performers announce that they are going to have a baby. The crew goes to a bar to celebrate. One of them gets himself arrested by police who discover that he is a deserter from the Army. Bronco Billy uses the show's meager savings to bribe the sheriff into letting the man go, swallowing his pride and enduring the sheriff's verbal humiliations for his friend's sake. Then the circus tent burns down. Everyone blames Miss Lily for their bad luck, but Bronco Billy defends her and proposes that they rob a train. They try to do this in the standard Western way (riding alongside and jumping on), but a modern train proves to be resistant to such an approach and they give up.
Next, the troupe travels to a mental institution at which they have previously performed pro bono
Pro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...
. The head of the institution, who is obsessed with the Wild West, agrees to provide them with accommodation and to supply a new tent, and the inmate
Incarceration
Incarceration is the detention of a person in prison, typically as punishment for a crime .People are most commonly incarcerated upon suspicion or conviction of committing a crime, and different jurisdictions have differing laws governing the function of incarceration within a larger system of...
s sew one out of American flags. Miss Lily and Bronco Billy spend the night together. By chance, one of the inmates turns out to be Arlington (he had been paid by the crooked lawyer to confess to being mentally disturbed when he "murdered" Antoinette). When he sees her, he raises a fuss and gets himself released. Bronco Billy and the show depart without Miss Lily.
Antoinette returns to a luxurious lifestyle, but she is bored and misses Billy, who drowns his loneliness with alcohol. The two reunite when Miss Lily returns to the circus.
Cast
- Clint EastwoodClint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
as Bronco Billy - Sondra LockeSondra LockeSondra Locke is an American actress, singer and film director.She made her film debut in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter , for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress...
as Antoinette Lily - Geoffrey Lewis as John Arlington
- Scatman CrothersScatman CrothersBenjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician known for his work as Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, and as Dick Hallorann in The Shining in 1980...
as Doc Lynch - Bill McKinneyBill McKinneyBill McKinney is an American character actor whose most famous role was the sadistic mountain man in the movie Deliverance...
as Lefty LeBow - Sam BottomsSam BottomsSamuel John "Sam" Bottoms was an American actor and producer.-Personal life:Bottoms was born in Santa Barbara, California, the third son of James "Bud" Bottoms and Betty , both of whom survive him...
as Leonard James - Dan VadisDan VadisDan Vadis was an actor of Greek descent with lineage tracing back to the infamous island of Chios in the Aegean Sea. This former U.S...
as Chief Big Eagle - Sierra Pecheur as Lorraine Running Water
- Walter BarnesWalt BarnesWalter Lee Barnes born January 26, 1918 in Parkersburg, West Virginia died January 6, 1998 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, was an American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at Louisiana State University as...
as Sheriff Dix - Woodrow ParfreyWoodrow ParfreyWoodrow Parfrey was an American film and television actor from the 1950s to the early 1980s. e appeared on Broadway in Advise and Consent .-Biography:...
as Dr. Canterbury - Beverlee McKinseyBeverlee McKinseyBeverlee McKinsey was an American actress.Beverlee McKinsey was born as Beverlee Magruder in McAlester, Oklahoma on August 9, 1935. She was the daughter of Warren and Jewell Magruder of McAlester, Oklahoma....
as Irene Lily - Doug McGrathDoug McGrathDoug McGrath, born in Nova Scotia, Canada on Aug 21,1939 is a Canadian actor whose most notable role was of "Peter" in the acclaimed Canadian film Goin' Down the Road. He also played in acclaimed Canadian films Wedding in White, The Hard Part Begins and Black Christmas...
as Lt. Wiecker - Hank WordenHank WordenHank Worden was an American cowboy-turned-character-actor who appeared in many Westerns.-Biography:...
as Station Mechanic - Tessa RichardeTessa RichardeTessa Richarde is an American actress mainly cast as likable dumb blondes. She is probably best known as playing Miss Mitzi Fritts in Clint Eastwood's Bronco Billy and Malcolm McDowell's girlfriend in the remake of Cat People...
as Miss Mitzy - William PrinceWilliam Prince (actor)William LeRoy Prince was an American actor who appeared in numerous soap operas and made dozens of guest appearances on primetime series as well as playing villains in movies like The Gauntlet and Spontaneous Combustion.-Biography:Prince was born in Nichols, New York, the son of Myrtle , a nurse...
as Edgar Lipton - Merle HaggardMerle HaggardMerle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
as Himself - Alison EastwoodAlison EastwoodAlison Eastwood is an American film director, Hollywood actress, fashion model, and fashion designer. She made her directorial debut with Rails & Ties , starring Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden.-Early life and education:...
as Child at orphanage (uncredited) - Kyle EastwoodKyle EastwoodKyle Eastwood is an American jazz musician. He studied film at the University of Southern California for two years before embarking on a music career. After becoming a session player in the early '90s and leading his own quartet, he released his first solo album, From There to Here, in 1998...
as Orphan (uncredited) - Danny Jensen as Reporter (uncredited)
Production
Eastwood received Dennis E. Hackin and Neal Dobrofsky's script and decided to join the film with Sondra LockeSondra Locke
Sondra Locke is an American actress, singer and film director.She made her film debut in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter , for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress...
. The film was shot in five and a half weeks in Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
in the fall of 1979. Additional filming took place in Oregon and New York. Filmed on a low budget of $5 million, it finished two to four weeks ahead of schedule.
Critical reception
Eastwood has cited Bronco Billy as being one of the most affable shoots of his career, and biographer Richard Schickel has argued that the character of Bronco Billy is his most self-referential work. The film was a commercial failure, but was appreciated by critics. Janet MaslinJanet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
of The New York Times believed the film was "the best and funniest Clint Eastwood movie in quite a while", and praised Eastwood's directing and the way he intricately juxtaposes the old West and the new.
Box office performance
Although the film grossed 4-5 times its cost (some $25 million) during its United States theatrical release, Eastwood considered it insufficient. In a French interview, Eastwood spoke about the film's financial reception, "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 film director, I ever wanted to say something, you'll find it in Bronco Billy.Awards and nominations
- 1st Golden Raspberry Award
- Nominated: Worst Actress (Sondra LockeSondra LockeSondra Locke is an American actress, singer and film director.She made her film debut in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter , for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress...
)