Year of Eastwood #19

Bronco Billy (1980)

Starring: Eastwood, Sondra Locke,
Scatman Crothers
Directed by Eastwood

Clint is the fastest draw in all the land … in a traveling Wild West revue. Not exactly what we’ve come to expect from Mr. Clint, but Bronco Billy was made during the Every Which Way But Loose heyday. Clint knows when he’s got a product that’s selling so there’s no reason not to dip into the trough every now and then because it’s gold, Jerry, gold.

Clint is Bronco Billy, the leader of a ragtag group of performers going from town to town ... performing at various county fairs, King Corn Carnivals, and PaMiDa grand openings to upwards of 10-12 paying customers every night. There’s an Indian snake dancer (who gets bit a lot), a lasso artiste, a guy with hook for a hand (not sure exactly what he does for an act), and Scatman as the Master of Ceremonies. That Scatman is such a nice guy - always smiling and helping out - don’t see how it would be possible not to like Scatman, unless you were Jack and just as soon put a big ol’ axe in his chest.

Clint’s collected most of the same Loose cast here, with exception to the monkey. Would it be that hard to fit an orangutan into a Wild West show? Come on, slap a black hat on him and give him a six-shooter and he could easily be Snidely Whiplash. I heard that Clyde was extremely upset that he didn’t get a part in this movie and he was quite cold to Clint during the shooting of Any Which Way You Can, often throwing an exorbitant amount of feces even after Cut was called.

Bronco Billy’s Wild West Show isn’t exactly packing ‘em in like the Blue Man Group, but Clint isn’t in it for the money. He’s really doing it for all those little pardners out there, so they can enjoy the pleasures of watching a cowboy flip around on a horse and shoot plates out of the air. Clint isn’t even really a cowboy (actually he’s a shoe salesman from New Jersey but that would require a SPOILER alert). In reality Clint was born in San Francisco (weighing 11 lbs. 6 oz. at birth!) and worked as a gas station attendant, fire fighter, and piano player before making it big in Hollywood - but did you know that Clint Eastwood is an anagram for Old West Action?

Well, we all know that during this period if Clint was doing a movie, he was “obligated” to include Sondra - and Bronco Billy is no exception. Sondra is a high-class, snobby, allegedly hot little number. She’s abandoned by her husband on their honeymoon and through necessity of plot continuation, she ends up joining Clint’s sideshow. At first, she is disgusted by Clint (say what?) but she realizes this man, who always stops to give free performances to orphanages and insane asylums, has a heart of gold and before you can say Eddie Rabbit, Clint has turned this cold fish into one hot potato. Now, it might not make much sense to allow emotionally disturbed inmates to see a show involving guns, knives, and rattlesnakes - but then that wouldn’t allow for the story resolution in the final act.

Bronco Billy is like comfort food. There’s something relaxing about the mindless entertainment of the films of the late 70’s and early 80’s. It’s nostalgia for a time when car chases and bar room fights were harmless fun. And dammit, sometimes it’s hard to always be such a cynic ... I liked this movie.