Don’t Cry For Me, Billy

Cliff Potts plays opposite his wife in the film. She runs around naked in most of the movie when not covered by a blanket or his  shirt.

This is an independent Western shot in the early 70s with two worthy performances by Cliff Potts, who is terrifically good in this movie but whose career never reached the heights he seemed capable of, and Harry Dean Stanton. It was produced by Elliot Kastner, who did some interesting independent films. He produced Tom McGuane’s modern revisionist Western, Rancho Deluxe, and the hilarious classic, Missouri Breaks (great dialogue).

The story is stark, the dialogue is scarce, but good, and the villains are a troop of US Army cavalry who hunt down an Indian girl and rape her. Earlier, Potts’ character befriends the girl and they fell in love. After witnessing the rape, he sets out to revenge her death. He’s a convincing gunslinger who meets the fate of a lot of gunslingers: he’s shot in the back. Harry Dean appears in key scenes at the beginning and end. Good performances by James Gannon (who stared in several Sam Shepard plays) and others. It was a time when a lot of talent was underused in Hollywood, and this film shows what can be done on a small budget when in the hands of good filmmakers.

Some critics faulted the filmmakers for not having a “payoff” for viewers at the end. The girl is raped, dies, and the hero is shot dead. That’s real storytelling. The film fails because you want a happy ending? Spare me…