Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here

Genre: modern western

With: Robert Blake (Willie Boy), Katharine Ross (Lola), Robert Redford (Deputy Sheriff Christopher ‟Coop” Cooper), Susan Clark (Dr. Elizabeth Arnold), Barry Sullivan (Ray Calvert), John Vernon (George Hacker), Charles Aidman (Judge Benby), Charles McGraw (Sheriff Frank Wilson)

Director: Abraham Polonsky

Screenplay: Abraham Polonsky (based on a book by Harry Lawton)

Release: 1969

Studio: Universal Pictures

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.2/10





‟I didn't think they'd want me that bad. Maybe they're like me. Maybe it's you they want.”





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Story-line: the California desert, 1909. On his return to Banning after a work stint in another town, a young Paiute Indian gets involved in an altercation for which he must answer to white authorities.  

Pluses: strong performances by Robert Blake (the independent and taciturn Willie Boy), Katharine Ross, Susan Clark and Robert Redford (as a Deputy Sheriff you can like and dislike in equal amounts), a realistic screenplay that lays bare racist attitudes and ingrained stereotypes while developing an interesting subplot about President Taft, dialogues that are both terse and evocative, appropriate direction and production values, attractive cinematography and Dave Grusin’s fresh musical score.  

Minuses: none, except that the dialogues, in keeping with the story-line, are often demeaning.  

Comments: Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, an atypical but appealing Western, has a bit of everything for movie buffs: a history lesson, cultural clashes, racial abuse, an extended chase and stormy characters who lack civility even in the throes of love. It commands respect for its efficiency (not one frame is wasted) and its well-structured story of defiance that leads to a stunning denouement. Another fine production from a golden era in American cinema. 





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