A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Bad Company is directed by Robert Benton and Benton co-writes the screenplay with David Newman. It stars Jeff Bridges, Barry Brown, Jim Davis, David Huddleston and John Savage. Music is by Harvey Schmidt and cinematography by Gordon Willis.Young men dodging the Union Army draft for the Civil War escape to the West in the hope of finding fortune and freedom. What actually awaits them is something completely different.The 1970s saw a slew of Westerns released that were a far cry from the golden frothy production line of the 1950s. Film makers big into the genre were quick to latch onto more sombre stories or quirky non conformist pieces. The climate of the World was changing and so directors and writers were comfortable in portraying the Wild West as not being romantic or heroic at all. One such gem is Bad Company.Benton's film quickly sets out its stall with its opening salvo, as Union soldiers round up young boys in child snatching fashion, all that is missing is big chins and lollipops. Enter one young man named Drew Dixon (Brown), a God fearing youngster packed off by his Mum to the West to start a richer life. Soon enough he is falling in with bad company, company fronted by Jake Rumsey (Bridges), the main man for a ragtag band of young thieves.The West painted here is a dour place, Rumsey's gang think nothing of robbing young children of their pocket money, or tormenting a feral feline. We are often throughout the picture reminded that folk come West for fame and fortune etc, but have found nothing but misery. A man quickly spies an opportunity to solicit his wife out to the young gang for $10 a pop, an elder gang think nothing of robbing the younger upstarts. Weapons have to be traded just for a meal (slop really...), and of course there is no honour among thieves, doing each other over will come naturally. And naturally pain, death and rude awakening are just a heartbeat away.And yet the pic is not without humour, much needed humour as it bears out the naivety of youth, or misplaced cockiness, or just in fighting camaraderie. There are laughs to be had here, some choice dialogue or a put-down, but given the nature of the story, a shock or heartache scene is never far away. A Technicolor production, the colours are however stripped down to autumnal filters, this perfectly aids the naturalistic flavours of this particular Western broth. Schmidt offers up a range of piano dirges, flitting between perky and morose as per the scene it accompanies. Cast are great, Bridges and Brown hold court in believable fashion, the other youngsters guided well by their director. Big Joe's (Huddleston excellent) gang consists of reliable character actors who Western fans will be pleased to see, such as Geoffrey Lewis (The Culpepper Cattle Co. High Plains Drifter), Charles Tyner (Jeremiah Johnson, The Outlaw Josey Wales) and Ed Lauter (Breakhart Pass, Dirty Little Billy).Myths of the West debunked, Bad Company is a must see for Western fans seeking the more earthy approach to Western story telling. 8/10

Drew Dixon is help by his parents to escape Union recruiters for the west. In Missouri, Drew is robbed by Jake Rumsey (Jeff Bridges) who leads a group of young thieves. While Drew finds refuge in the minister's home, he runs into Jake again who's hoping to steal from the minister. Drew demands his money back but Jake wins the fight and convinces him to join his gang.It's a revisionist 70s western. The story is a rambling series of episodes. The group never really attains any chemistry. Only Bridges has the charisma. The violence isn't shocking enough although they do shot up a rabbit really good. The movie has some compelling moments but it doesn't maintain the tension from beginning to end. First time director Robert Benton allows the movie to mosey too much.

Released in 1972, "Bad Company" is an atypical Western about a young man from a Christian family (Barry Brown) who leaves home in Ohio and goes West to flee the Civil War draft. In Kansas he foolishly falls-in with the wrong crowd, led by Jeff Bridges, and things go from bad to worse. You know what the proverb says: "Bad company corrupts good character." This is a raw and realistic Western that shows the awful truth about naïve people in strange places and how easy it is to get on the wrong track. It's outstanding on every level.Star Barry Brown committed suicide in 1978, five years after the film was released. He came from a dysfunctional family and said, "The only time I'm not unhappy is when I'm acting." His sister committed suicide 20 years after his death.The film was shot in Kansas and runs 93 minutes.GRADE: A

The movie opens with a horse-drawn wagon parked in front of a house. The wagon has bars, like a prison cell. Then we see several uniformed soldiers carrying what looks like a girl from the house towards the wagon. Are they kidnapping her for their own pleasures? No, they actually are carrying a young man, dressed in a dress to look like a girl so that he won't be taken to fight. It is 1863 and the North and the South are at war. This represents how they enforced the draft. That opening scene not only establishes the mood of the times, it also provides the impetus for the story. Several young men who want to avoid the draft band together to travel west to save their skins and seek their fortune.Jeff Bridges is Jake Rumsey, the smartest and toughest of the boys, and who becomes their defacto leader. They need funds to start their trek west, so they systematically hold up kids, other young men their ages, or mature ladies to get a few pennies or a few dollars. Barry Brown, fine young actor who cut his own life short before he reached 30 is Drew Dixon. Drew is different from the other young men, he grew up in a good family and crime was not his natural inclination. He not only had to accept that as his ticket west, but had to participate.One of the other young men was John Savage as Loney. Savage grew up to a successful career as a character actor, and was the menacing Lydecker in the TV series "Dark Angel." Good movie, showing how the trip west in the 1860s was not the lark the young men expected it to be. Saw it on TCM.