Billy the Kid was a notorious outlaw, but history had covered up the fact that he started out as a “lawman” — just one with a serious temper. Director Dugan Bridges and screenwriter Clint Ross tell the Kid’s origin story in Blackwater Draw: The Making of Billy the Kid.
In 1878 in New Mexico, a posse of deputized lawmen known as The Regulators rides out to arrest two men, Morton and Baker, wanted in connection with the murder of their employer, John Tunstall. One member of The Regulators is a young man, Billy Bonney. The warrant is legal, the mission is clear, but what happens on the long trail through Blackwater Draw is anything but. Morton and Baker turn up dead — Morton with nine bullets in him, Baker with five in the chest. A newspaper story sets the version of events the public will remember. But a determined reporter smells something messier than a typical capture gone wrong. He must dig deeper.
His first stop is James Dolan, the powerful rancher who employed Morton and Baker as ranch hands. Dolan had ordered the hit on his chief business rival and pinned it on The Regulators. The reporter then tracks down Dick Brewer, leader of The Regulators, who insists the whole thing is a frame job. Morton makes a grab for one of the men’s guns and tries to bolt. In a sniper position on the high bluff, Billy Bonney (who would later be known as Billy the Kid) drops him before he gets ten feet. The question, though, is whether it was self-defense or a premeditated execution. The reporter eventually gets his sit-down with Billy himself.
“In a sniper position on the high bluff, Billy Bonney drops [Morton] before he gets ten feet.”
Hollywood couldn’t have made a better origin story of Billy the Kid than Blackwater Draw: The Making of Billy the Kid. OK, let’s be real. Tens of millions of dollars could make a better original story. But filmmakers Dugan Bridges and Clint Ross have nothing, yet they’ve produced an engaging Western infused with good old American values.
Hard to believe, but the press at that time was in the habit of hiding the truth. Turner Ross plays the intrepid reporter who believes that investigating both sides of an issue is journalism’s mission. Our protagonist puts himself on the line for the truth in a time when laws meant little, and justice was a fairy tale.
Speaking of not having much money. Director Bridges does a fantastic job building a Western setting. Sure, having a gunfight on a barren mountain location means you don’t have to have a great deal of production value, but this is what movie magic is about. Costumes, weapons, and a good knowledge of shooting action scenes help your dollars go a long way. As we say all the time, writer Clint Ross’ story is solid and engaging, and more than makes up for what a low-budget Western lacks.
Blackwater Draw: The Making of Billy the Kid proves that a compelling story and the conviction to tell it right can outrun a shoestring budget every time. Director Dugan Bridges delivers a scrappy, entertaining Western that sets the record straight on one of America’s most enduring myths.
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"…proves that a compelling story and the conviction to tell it right can outrun a shoestring budget every time."
