Friday 6 February 2009

Joe Kidd 1972

Clint Eastwood stars as Joe Kidd, a cryptic stranger who arrives in the New Mexican town of Sinola, where Mexican bandito/revolutionary Luis Chama (John Saxon) has organized a peasant revolt against the local landowners, who are throwing the poor off land that rightfully belongs to them. When a posse — financed by wealthy landowner Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall) — is formed to capture Luis, Kidd is invited to join but prefers to remain neutral. Harlan persists and Kidd finally relents when he realizes that Luis's band has raided his own ranch and attacked one of the workers. The posse capture five Mexicans hostages and threaten to kill them unless Luis surrenders to them.

Below: How Joe Kidd would have opened when seen in UK cinemas with its original AA certificate
Click below for original Trailer
            
Joe Kidd 1972 Clint Eastwood John Saxon UK QUAD poster 30x40
Joe Kidd 1972 Clint Eastwood John Saxon Original Belgium poster
Joe Kidd 1972 Clint Eastwood John Saxon Original German poster
Joe Kidd 1972 Lobby set x 12 French
Joe Kidd 1972 Lobby set x 8 Spain (4 shown)
Joe Kidd 1972 FOH set x 8
Joe Kidd 1972 Original US flyer with artwork cover
Joe Kidd 1972 original UK 4 page information booklet from Rank
Joe Kidd 1972 Original 7” Vinyl ultra rare from Universal containing 6 original radio spots
Joe Kidd 1972 U.S. Widescreen Laserdisc from Universal MCA includes Original Trailer
Joe Kidd 1972 DVD Region 2 Widescreen 16:9
Below: Joe Kidd Blu-Ray
Joe Kidd 1972 Original Japan Fully illustrated program
Joe Kidd 1972 Original Large French press sheet
Joe Kidd 1972 Original rolled U.S. Half sheet poster stunning artwork
Joe Kidd 1972 Original trailer Super 8mm (To view trailer see above)
Joe Kidd 1972 10 x 8 Press Stills b/w x 19 + 2 Colour
Joe Kidd 1972 this is a rare German Texas western novel that uses Joe Kidd artwork on the front cover
Joe Kidd 1972 UK Original Publicity Press Book
Joe Kidd 1972 U.S. Lobby set x 8 14 x 11
Joe Kidd 1972 U.S. Original press book
Some great images collected from around the world:
A couple of rare pictures with Director John Sturges:
Below: The Joe Kidd U.S. 1 Sheet poster 41x27
The Joe Kidd U.S. Insert poster
Below: The Superb French Grande poster, for me, the best designed poster art for Joe Kidd
Below: The rare French 8 panel poster Size approx. 160” x 127” inch
Below: From Japan the Joe Kidd B2 poster
Below: The unusual Joe Kidd Polish poster
Below: The Spanish 1 sheet poster for Joe Kidd
Below: Joe Kidd Australian Daybill poster
Below: The Italian locandina poster for Joe Kidd
Below: Joe Kidd Italian 2 Sheet poster 39x55
Below: Joe Kidd Original Italian Fotobusta set
Below: Joe Kidd (Universal 1974) Original Czech Poster (22.75 X 32.5)
Here's a great set of rare shots I found on the web
These 2 bw shots show Clint signing autographs for the locals and there seems to be a card on the table which appears to be dated 21st Dec 1971 (as far as I can make out)
Below: Here's a very rare Original Joe Kidd theatre Standee
Below: The Japanese version of the Laserdisc
Below: The U.S. Disco Vision Laserdisc released in 1979 - thought to be the first LD release
Below:  Original stills
Below: A couple of great Joe Kidd behind the scenes shots
Original Reviews
Joe Kidd (1972)
July 20, 1972
Film: Eastwood Western
By ROGER GREENSPUN, New York Times
Published: July 20, 1972

For perhaps its first half-hour, John Sturges's new Western, "Joe Kidd," looks surprisingly good. It seems restrained, relaxed, unfashionably out of the current mode in its commitment to people and horses rather than to sadistic monsters and machines. Nothing remarkable, but modestly decent—a feeling that persists, with continually diminishing assurance, almost until the climax, when everything is thrown away in a flash of false theatrics, foolish symbolism and what I suspect is sloppy editing.
That "everything" is indeed a fairly conventional story about land rights in New Mexico at the turn of the century. There is an evil land baron (Robert Duvall), a leader of the people (John Saxon), a beautiful woman of high principle (Stella Garcia) and an enigmatic loner (Clint Eastwood) who really determines the action. In a very mild way, the film supports the rights of a dispossessed Mexican minority. But no matter what the particular sympathies, politics in Westerns tends toward autocracy, and "Joe Kidd" ends with Clint Eastwood as judge, jury, and executioner in a killing that is of course supposed to change the moral nature of the world.


Like so many Western heroes, Joe Kidd figures even in his own time as an anachronism — powerful through his instincts mainly, and through the ability of everybody else, whether in rage or gratitude, to recognize in him a quality that must be called virtue. The great value of Clint Eastwood in such a position is that he guards his virtue very cannily, and in the society of "Joe Kidd," where the men still manage to tip their hats to the ladies, but just barely, all the Eastwood effects and mannerisms suggest a carefully preserved authenticity.

I think it is a very good performance in context. Ultimately, it is the only real point of interest to "Joe Kidd," and especially interesting because in recent years the Eastwood point of view has appeared mostly as ancillary to the larger vision of the director Don Siegel ("Dirty Harry," "Beguiled," etc.). What emerges here is a kind of authoritative normalcy, an actor's gift to an ordinary film that at least gives him reasonable space to breathe.

"Joe Kidd," which also offers the good cinematography of Bruce Surtees, and a quite notable collection of bad guys, beginning with Don Stroud, who are set up only to be put down by Clint Eastwood, opened yesterday at three Trans-Lux theaters.
The Cast
JOE KIDD directed by John Sturges; written by Elmore Leonard; director of photography, Bruce Surtees; film editor, Ferris Webster; music by Lalo Schifrin; produced by Sidney Beckerman; released by Universal Pictures.
At the Trans-Lux East Theater, Third Avenue and 58th Street; Trans-Lux West Theater, Broadway at 49th Street and the Trans-Lux 85th Street Theater, at Madison Avenue.
Running time: 88 minutes.
This film is rated PG.
Joe Kidd . . . . . Clint Eastwood
Frank Harlan . . . . . Robert Duvall
Luis Chama . . . . . John Saxon
Lamarr . . . . . Don Stroud
Helen Sanchez . . . . . Stella Garcia
Mingo . . . . . James Wainwright
Roy . . . . . Paul Koslo
Mitchell . . . . . Gregory Walcott
Elma . . . . . Lynne Marta
Below: Writer Elmore Leonard on the Joe Kidd publicity trail
Below Swedish VHS cover for Joe Kidd which seems to include Bronco Billy
US Video Sleeve
Below: Rare Joe Kidd double page advert from Universal
Below: A nice new shot that recently surfaced of Clint on location during the filming of Joe Kidd
Below: Here's a fantastic selection of stills from Joe Kidd
 
 
 
 
Below: Robert Duvall as Frank Harlan in Joe Kidd
 
 
 
Below: Clint with the late, great Gregory Walcott in Joe Kidd
Below: Some great, recently discovered shots of Clint and director John Sturges during the shooting of Joe Kidd in Old Tucson 
Below: A Wonderful shot of John Saxon chatting to director John Huston (who was also in Old Tucson shooting a movie) during Joe Kidd
Below: The extremely rare, digitally restored ABC UK 60 x 40 poster for Joe Kidd - A big thank you to our friend Davy Triumph for supplying the original scan. 
Below: Joe Kidd, original poster from Denmark
Below: Original TV Spot from 1972
Below: Here's a very recently discovered (and very rare) piece, the original U.S. banner for Joe Kidd
Below: Here's another cracking shot of Clint taken during the filming of Joe Kidd. My thanks to Davy Triumph for sending this one in. 
Below: Some wonderful rare artwork from Bill Gold, my thanks to Davy Triumph
Below: Joe Kidd original German film program

1 comment:

Mark said...

I live in Carmel California where Mr. Eastwood lives. 2 years ago at their centennial he was the grand marshal. He wore the hat from Unforgiven, the poncho from the dollar trilogy, the shirt from High Plains Drifter and the Andy Anderson gun belt and holster from all but one western. Great website!