Black Bart Reviews

A precursor to George Roy Hill's BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969), BLACK BART stars Duryea and Lynn as two likable, but nonetheless violent, outlaws who make no apologies for their life of crime. Kilbride rescues the pair from a hanging party and all go their separate ways. Later the trio meet up again in California where Duryea has established himself as a wealthy, respected rancher who robs Wells Fargo trains, disguised as Black Bart, just for kicks. The three friends decide to go form a gang together, but Kilbride is jailed and Duryea and Lynn go down in a blaze of gunfire supplied by the sheriff's posse. BLACK BART is a ground-breaking western from a characterization standpoint. The villainous characters are made the central figures and, therefore, the most sympathetic to an audience. These men go to their deaths as outlaws who never make apologies for their crimes, nor do they ever give any hint of wanting to reform. This kind of unregenerate character is used most frequently by Sam Peckinpah, especially in THE WILD BUNCH (1969). Loosely based on the life of Charles E. Bolton, the real Black Bart.