Whenever people get into talking about the Easy Riders, Raging Bulls era of Hollywood, Robert Benton rarely gets mentioned. Yet he, along with his writing partner David Newman lit the fuse for the era with their script for Bonnie and Clyde. The duo went on to write Peter Bogdanovich’s screwball smash What’s Up, Doc? with Buck Henry. I’m not going to say that Benton was overlooked by all. Benton has respect within movie industry. He received three Oscars: two for writing and directing Kramer Vs. Kramer and another for his Places In the Heart script. Benton had enough clout at Paramount that he was able to get into the director’s chair with a western script Bad Company written with Newman. This was not an epic John Wayne wannabe Western script. The duo had written a small movie about a young man who enters the frontier and deals with the wildness of the wilderness. Benton knew the first rule of being a good first-time director is to hire a great director of photography. Gordon Willis had already shot The Landlord for Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude) and Alan J. Pakula’s Klute. He frames and lights Bad Company so it’s an unvarnished visit to the prairie.
Union soldiers are roaming around the town with a cage wagon looking for the young men who didn’t show up for their draft day appointment. The Civil War needs more troops. He they drag a guy in dress out of his house and puts him behind bars. When the soldiers arrive at the Dixon’s house, they claim they don’t know what happened to their son Drew. They do protest him being called up since they’re already lost a son to the war. When the troops are gone, Drew (Daisy Miller‘s Barry Brown) gets a $100 and told to escape to the west to avoid the dangers of wartime military life. He gets to St. Joseph, Missouri with a simple dream of getting out to Virginia City, Nevada to take part in the mining business. Getting a stagecoach out of town isn’t easy. There’s not a free seat anytime soon. While roaming the streets, Drew runs into Jake Ramsey (Starman‘s Jeff Bridges). The two seem to hit it off as Jake lets him know that it’s not safe to take the stagecoach because they are looking for young men fleeing the draft. Along with the bit of wisdom, comes a mugging. Jake makes off with some of Drew’s money. Drew recovers at a minister’s house. While there, Jake shows up with the wife’s “lost purse” and proceeds to swipe stuff while waiting for his reward. Drew wants his money back and gets into a fight with Jake. The two flee the house and Jake gets Drew to join his gang of runaway youth that’s going out West. He’s down for it and even proves he can be part of this young crew by robbing a hardware store. Although we learn that Drew isn’t wanting to go the full wild west outlaw. He still has a bit of morality in him. They get their horses and begin to cross the Kansas prairie as they head towards the real west. Things don’t seem too bad at first including meeting a relocating farmer and his wife where the farmer turns into a pimp to make a little money to fund their trip. But then badness hits hard when they wake up and find Big Joe (Blazing Saddles‘ David Huddleston) and his crew (Every Which Way But Loose‘s Geoffrey Lewis, Cujo‘s Ed Lauter and Any Which Way You Can‘s John Quade). The grown-up outlaws aren’t happy with the youngsters working their turf. Very quickly the Drew, Jake and the others learn that a Civil War battlefield might have been safer.
Bad Company was originally written during the time when the U.S. was using the draft to build up troop numbers during the Vietnam War. Although I doubt any man fleeing over the border to Canada had to deal with the same frights as Drew, Jake and the gang. When the film went into production during the Fall of 1971, Nixon had announced that they were going to stop using the draft. But men were still having their birthdays called until a month into 1973. When Bad Company hit theaters in the Fall of 1972, being drafted was still an active fear. The film struck a nerve at the time.
What makes Bad Company so compelling to watch is the work of Gordon Willis. He continues develop his reputation as the Prince of Darkness with interior shots that reflect a time before light bulbs. There is a special richness to the colors within the limited lighting. He’d push this even more in his upcoming work on The Godfather. The outdoor scenes feel like he’s put Andrew Wyeth paintings into motion. There are so many shots that look like a continuation of Christina’s World with the brown fields behind Jake and Drew. The camera operator was Michael Chapman who would go on to shoot Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. This movie is blessed with greatness in lighting and framing. Brown, Bridges, David Huddleston and the rest of the cast deliver performances that add to the imagery.
I’m positive of two major fans of Bad Company: the Coen Brothers. Why? Because in The Big Lebowski, they had Jeff Bridges and David Huddleston face off nearly a quarter of a century later. They both played different characters named Jeffery Lebowski. Bridges played “The Dude.” Huddlestone is back to “Big” although not a Joe. In Bad Company, Jake was Big Joe’s “little achiever” as he teaches him a lesson on how to draw a gun on a man. Think of Bad Company as the spiritual prequel to Bad Company.
Ultimately, Bad Company is a gripping Western that doesn’t sell us on the mythology of cowboy life. There’s nothing wonderfully noble about the characters. There’s no Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid friendship between Drew and Jake. Robert Benton doesn’t make things bright and cheerful. There’s no singing cowboy action. Bad Company is about what it takes to survive in an untamed land. If you want to deep dive on this period of Hollywood, you can’t skip the impact of Benton.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer brings out the glory of Gordon Willis’ cinematography. Pause on any frame and it feels like you have a western painting on the wall. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono. You’ll hear the feet on the wooden planks and odd outdoor noises clearly. The movie is subtitled.
Audio Commentary by Walter Chow has him go deep on a theory about where things pop up on the screen. He did a lot of research and quotes from Robert Benton’s writing about making the film. When Benton did a “director’s test” at the studio, he shot with Barry Brown and John Ritter (Three’s Company). Could John Ritter have been the Big Lebowski if he’d been cast?
Radio Spots (1:56) also includes a montage of color lobby cards and black & white press photos.
Trailer (3:42) is Paramount’s original trailer that really outlines the film.
Booklet has an essay on the film by Margaret Barton-Fumo and production photos. The cover and back have two different movie posters for the original release.
Fun City Editions present Bad Company. Directed by Robert Benton. Screenplay by Robert Benton & David Newman. Starring Jeff Bridges, Barry Brown, Jim Davis, David Huddleston, John Savage, Jerry Houser, Damon Cofer, Joshua Hill Lewis, Geoffrey Lewis, Raymond Guth & Ed Lauter. Running Time: 93 minutes. Rating: Rated PG. Release Date: August 20, 2024.
