Amazon.com essential video: A genteel Northerner during the Civil War (Barry Brown) is robbed by scalawag Jeff Bridges--and winds up teaming up with him. Together, they become a criminal duo (although with one member more reluctant than the other) in this entertaining, realistic tale of what the West was really like. Bridges has a gangly, easy-going demeanor, as well as a sense of playfulness that even extends to moments of extreme jeopardy. He makes an interesting team with the stiff, proper Brown, creating comedy seemingly out of thin air. Film directing debut of Robert Benton, who had cowritten Bonnie and Clyde, and who would go on to win an Oscar for Kramer vs. Kramer. --Marshall Fine
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Rating: - Who's Barry Brown?
For me the impact of "Bad Company" was onset of the mystery of the actor playing Drew Dixon. I was surprised to see this talented, handsome kid holding his own (if not upstaging) Jeff Bridges. I saw it first on cable and had to wait until the end credits to discover the name Barry Brown. That sent me on the quest for an explanation of why this kid did not go on to continued stardom.
That led to the discovery that the beautiful and talented Barry shot himself in 1978. And further that his 2 years younger sister jumped off a Los Angeles overpass in 1995, having never recovered from Barry's unceremonious exit or the family dysfunctions that they shared. Younger brother Jim's book ("Los Angeles Diaries") blames parents and alchoholism (but who doesn't?)
My fascination with a guy who had everything (looks, 170 IQ, shining talent) but checked out anyway leads also to "Daisy Miller" where Sybil Sheperd ... Read More
Rating: - Entertaining revisionist western with great cast
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, more and more westerns came along that tried to show the Wild West as it really was. Some were better than others obviously, and Bad Company is one of the best. In 1863, young Drew Dixon is sent west by his family to avoid being conscripted into the U.S. army during the Civil War. In St. Joseph, Missouri, Dixon meets Jake Rumsey, a young man who has deserted from his outfit. Dixon joins Rumsey and his gang of young, inexperienced "desperadoes" traveling into the untamed west looking for riches and a new life. But on the trail, the group of six realize how inexperienced they are, especially when they run across a band of outlaws. This isn't a well-known movie, but it should be. The story is beautifully told and doesn't rush to any conclusions. The movie takes it's time moving along and developing the plot full of humor, double crosses, and startling violence that caught me ... Read More
Rating: - One of the very best westerns I've ever seen...
An impeccable re-enactment of a cruel barbarous & exhilarating time. The story is like a blend of Mark Twain & Cormac McCarthy. The imagery is Charles Russell, Winslow Homer & innumerable breathtaking 19th century painter-chroniclers. The costumes, the acting & above all the direction are divine.
Truly a one-of-a-kind splendid film.
Rating: - Innocents abroad
Some films just never seem to build up much support or reputation no matter how much they affect many of those few who see them. Case in point Bad Company - no, not the Jerry Bruckheimer turkey but the undervalued Robert Benton semi-Western from 1972 with Barry Brown's upstanding young man on the run from the Union press gangs during the Civil War finding himself in 'rough company' with Jeff Bridges and his band of juvenile delinquent outcast would-be desperadoes (John Savage among them) in a bleak and harsh West. Not the easiest of sells even in a healthier box-office climate than the early 70s, it holds up much better than many of its more revered contemporaries, avoiding the increasing trend towards political allegory in the genre for a more underplayed 'this is how it was' approach, complete with all the pettiness, spite, bravado and delusions of youth in a world that really has no place or use for them. In many ... Read More
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- Who's Barry Brown?
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