Billy the Kid (1911 film)

1911 film

Billy the Kid

Directed by| Laurence Trimble
Written by| Edward J. Montagne
Produced by| Vitagraph Company of America
Starring| Tefft Johnson
Edith Storey
Distributed by| The General Film Company, Incorporated

Release date

* August 9, 1911 (1911-08-09)[1]

Running time

| One reel / 305 metres
Country| United States
Languages| Silent
English intertitles

Billy the Kid is a 1911 American silent Western film directed by Laurence Trimble for Vitagraph Studios. It is very loosely based on the life of Billy the Kid. It is believed to be a lost film.

## Plot

[edit]

The following is one of the only reviews of the 1911 short film from The Moving Picture World:[2]

> The duties of the sheriff as performed by "Uncle Billy" were not a matter of pleasure. His son-in-law is a member of the posse; lie and "Uncle Billy" leave the house hurriedly to join their comrades in pursuit of the outlaws. Two hours later the son in-law is carried back to his home, the victim of the gang. A little daughter is born to the widow and left an orphan. "Uncle Billy" is anxious that the child should be a boy, but through the secrecy of the Spanish servant. "Uncle Billy" never knew that "Billy, the Kid." was a girl. The sheriff brought her up as a young cowboy, although he noticed there was a certain timidity in the "Kid" that was not at all becoming a boy. When "Billy, the Kid," is sixteen years of age, her grandfather sends her to a town school. Lee Curtis, the foreman of "Uncle Billy's" ranch, was the "Kid's" pal; they were very fond of each other, and it was hard for Lee to part with his young associate, when he accompanied her to the cross roads where they meet the stage. The stage is held up by the outlaws. The "Kid" is taken captive and held as a ransom; they send a note to "Uncle Billy" saying: "If he will grant them immunity, they will restore the 'Kid.'" When the sheriff gets this message, he is furious, and the Spanish servant who well knows that the "Kid" is a girl, is almost frantic with apprehension lest the "Kid's" captors discover this fact. She tells "Uncle Billy" why she has kept him in ignorance of the truth. Lee Curtis overhears the servant's statement, and with the sheriff, rushes out to get the posse in action. "Billy the Kid" has managed to escape from the outlaws and meets the sheriff and his posse. Her grandfather loses no time in getting her back home and into female attire. This time "Uncle Billy" Is going to send the "Kid" to a female seminary and he is going to take her there himself. She tells her grandfather she just wants to be "Billy the Kid" and have Lee for her life companion. "Uncle Billy" has nothing more to say, and it is not long before she changes her name to Mrs. Lee Curtis.

## Cast

[edit]

* Tefft Johnson as Lee Curtis
* Edith Storey as Billy the Kid
* Ralph Ince as Billy's Uncle
* Julia Swayne Gordon as Billy's Mother
* William R. Dunn
* Harry T. Morey

## Production

[edit]

* Directed by Laurence Trimble, this film was shot in a standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
* Edith Storey, who had played male characters prior in such films as Oliver Twist and A Florida Enchantment, portrays the "first 'cowgirl' film star" as Billy the Kid.[2]

## Preservation status

[edit]

This is presumed a lost film.

## See also

[edit]

* List of American films of 1911
* List of lost silent films (1910–14)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Slide, Anthony (1976). The Big V: A History of the Vitagraph Company. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 150\. ISBN 9780810809673.
2. ^ a b "When Billy the Kid Was Billie the Kid". October 9, 2014. Archived from the original on October 16, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* Billy the Kid at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Billy the Kid

* Legend of Billy the Kid
* List of works about Billy the Kid

Films|

* Billy the Kid (1911)
* Billy the Kid (1930)
* Billy the Kid Returns (1938)
* Billy the Kid (1941)
* The Outlaw (1943)
* Son of Billy the Kid (1949)
* The Kid from Texas (1950)
* The Left Handed Gun (1958)
* Billy the Kid Versus Dracula (1966)
* Dirty Little Billy (1972)
* Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
* Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire (1985)
* Young Guns (1988)
* Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid (1989)
* Young Guns II (1990)
* The Kid (2019)

| Billy the Kid
film series
(1940-46)|

* Billy the Kid Outlawed (1940)
* Billy the Kid in Texas (1940)
* Billy the Kid's Gun Justice (1940)
* Billy the Kid's Range War (1941)
* Billy the Kid's Fighting Pals (1941)
* Billy the Kid in Santa Fe (1941)
* Billy the Kid Wanted (1941)
* Billy the Kid's Round-Up (1941)
* Billy the Kid Trapped (1942)
* Billy the Kid's Smoking Guns (1942)
* Law and Order (1942)
* Sheriff of Sage Valley (1942)
* The Mysterious Rider (1942)
* The Kid Rides Again (1943)
* Fugitive of the Plains (1943)
* Western Cyclone (1943)
* Cattle Stampede (1943)
* The Renegade (1943)
* Blazing Frontier (1943)
* Devil Riders (1943)
* Frontier Outlaws (1944)
* Valley of Vengeance (1944)
* The Drifter (1944)
* Rustlers' Hideout (1944)
* Wild Horse Phantom (1944)
* Oath of Vengeance (1944)
* His Brother's Ghost (1945)
* Thundering Gunslingers (1945)
* Shadows of Death (1945)
* Gangster's Den (1945)
* Fuzzy Settles Down (1945)
* Stagecoach Outlaws (1945)
* Border Badmen (1945)
* Fighting Bill Carson (1945)
* Prairie Rustlers (1945)
* Lightning Raiders (1945)
* Terrors on Horseback (1946)
* Gentlemen with Guns (1946)
* Ghost of Hidden Valley (1946)
* Prairie Badmen (1946)
* Overland Riders (1946)
* Outlaws of the Plains (1946)

|

TV|

* The Tall Man (1960)
* The Legend of Billy the Kid (1994)

Music|

* "The Ballad of Billy the Kid"
* Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (album)
* "Billy the Kid"
* "Las Cruces Jail"

Stage|

* Billy the Kid (ballet)

Comics|

* Billy the Kid (Charlton Comics)
* Billy the Kid (Lucky Luke)
* L'Escorte
* Billy the Kid's Old Timey Oddities

Literature|

* The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid

Art|

* Dick Brewer, Billy the Kid and the Regulators

Related|

* Brushy Bill Roberts
* Lincoln County Regulators

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template