User Reviews

There are few top ranked stars who take on less important roles or films which offer little return. Gregory Peck, playing Arch Deans is perhaps one of the few who occasionally do. This film " Billy Two Hats " has him staring with a very young Desi Arnaz Jr. as Billy. Also acting in supporting roles is Jack Warden playing a determined Sheriff Henry Gifford and David Huddleston as Copeland, the Saloon Owner. The simple but dramatic story is of two outlaws on the run after a less than profitable bank robbery in which an accidental killing took place. With the relentless sheriff tracking the men, Peck playing an aging Scotsman, tries to give his young partner every chance possible to escape clear of the law and start a new life in California. Things become complicated when Billy stays to care for his injured friend, while becoming enamored with a married Mail-order Bride. Renegade Apaches do not make it any easier for the two, in fact, things get desperate when Peck is shot and left for dead. An interesting movie and one which could become a foundation vehicle for Arnaz. The film is worthy of notice, mostly due to Pecks' notorious reputation for selecting interesting roles. ***

This is a very different type of western film although the main premise of the story sounds very routine. One has to wonder why it was filmed over in the Middle East instead of a closer location here in America. If anyone finds out please let me know. This story is about a bank robber named Arch Deans (Gregory Peck) who has an accomplice that is half Indian named Billy (Desi Arnaz Jr.) and Billy has been captured by Sheriff Henry Gifford (Jack Warden) who plans on taking him back to be hanged even though it was Arch who killed someone during the hold-up. Arch sneaks up on Henry one morning and shoots him in the shoulder to wound him. He and Billy ride off to Mexico but they are unaware that Henry's friend Copeland (David Huddleston) has a buffalo rifle and he uses it to shoot Arch's horse that collapses and breaks Arch's leg.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Because of his shoulder it takes a day or two before Henry can ride and this gives Arch and Billy a head start but with his broken leg they are slowed down as well. They come across a home owned by a man named Spencer (John Pearce) who is abusive to his stuttering wife Esther (Sian Barbara Allen) and Arch tells him he'll pay him 100 dollars for a ride in his wagon. Spencer agrees and Billy is told to stay with Esther until her husband comes back. While on the road Arch and Spencer are ambushed by Indians and Spencer gets killed while Arch is mortally wounded. Meanwhile, Billy and Esther get very friendly and sleep together until Henry comes barging in and handcuffs him to take him back for his hanging.

This film was directed by Ted Kotcheff who is a very good and capable director in both film and television. Somehow this film ended up in Israel to be made and even though you can say all deserts look the same the truth is that it does look a bit off and different. Some of the clues that it's not America is that there are no cactus to be found and whatever vegetation that is seen is definitely not from our region. The lack of other actors and extras in small roles also is missing and the whole film has a very remote and distant feel to it. This isn't meant as criticism but the mood and tone of the film is not like any other western I have seen. Peck seems to be genuinely having fun in his role and it's probably because he's getting a rare opportunity to play a character that can be described as a cad and a rogue. Arnaz doesn't have to do much since his character is suppose to remain relatively stoic. Warden is well cast as the hard and tough racist sheriff but for me the best performance in the film comes from Allen as the lonely wife. We understand her loneliness completely and Allen shows some real despair in her beautiful brown eyes. Even for a western this film moves along very slowly and there are several gaps where Peck and Arnaz are separated. This is definitely a different film for the genre but I found the uniqueness compelling for some reason. I am recommending it although if your tempted to view it just be reminded that this is definitely a curio.

This unknown Western deals about a Scottish bandit named Deans(Gregory Peck) along with the mestizo Billy Two Hats, both participate on a robbery which goes wrong. Meanwhile an accomplice is killed by sheriff Gifford ( Jack Weston), after that he tracks the thieves and capturing Billy(Desi Arnaz Jr). Then grizzled Deans is shot while breaking Billy out. But Deans is wounded and must rely on Billy . The half-breed not wishing to abandon his veteran partner builds an Indian cot to drag him. Meantime they're pursued by the Sheriff and Copeland (David Huddleston) and hot on the trail. They spend most of it running throughout the desert, being pursued and chased.

This is a Western-pursuit, in that a pair of bandits pull off a failed heist ,confronting many obstacles and risks threatening their lives . The two leading men are quite well in the hostile environment with the flick is set in. There are still nice scenes to watch such as the final images when Gregory Peck is besieged below a cart by Indian warriors that hold a remarkable resemblance to Burt Lancaster surrounded in 'The Ulzana's raid (1972)' by Robert Aldrich. The actors supporting the lead roles are very fine as Jack Weston , David Huddleston and Barbara Allen playing a stuttering young wife. However , the cinematography ,filmed in Israel, is lousy and in faded colors, for that reason is urgent a necessary remastering. Atmospheric and rare musical score , including some of guitar sounds by John Scott. This first Western shot in Israel is professionally directed by Ted Kotcheff and skillfully written by Alan Sharp. Kotcheff got great success on action cinema ( First blood, Uncommon valor, The shooter ) and comedy (Switching channels, Fun with Dick and Jane ). Nevertheless , today he only realizes TV episodes (Law and order, Family of cops, Red shoes diaries). Rating : Acceptable and passable. If you are fan of Gregory Peck, you will want to see this one.

Billy Two Hats was not a major film when it was released in 1974. In fact it had hardly any release at all.

It was produced by Norman Jewison, directed by Ted Kotchoff, written by Alan Sharp. (all TOP names in film & television) & stars Gregory Peck with a Scot brogue & full beard. He is great as usual.

The cast is small but all are first rate

One wonders what the problem was.

Simple. it is an Art house western that was improperly released. It also has the distinction of being made in the Negrev desert in Isreal. (It looked like the American Southwest to me).

It co-stars Desi Arnaz Jr.( Lucille Ball's son_). They tried to make a movie star out of him, He was not too bad in fact he was quite good.

Peck & Arnaz are outlaws on the run,being pursued by nasty MarshalL expertly portrayed by Jack Warden. This is a first rate production all the way.

This is a very good but minor western that deserved a better fate. I saw it on the Western Television cable channel & am glad I did.

I think you all will enjoy it as well.

Ratings: *** (out of 4) 87 points (out of 100) IMDb 8 (out of 10)

It's two against two in this intense western about a law enforcer and saloon keeper stalking the survivors of a bank robbery, the culprits Gregory Peck and Desi Arnaz Jr., and it's ironic that most of the dialog comes from the first two. Jack Warden and David Huddleson are desperately tracking down Peck and Arnaz after their partner was killed. Arnaz is the title character, part native and only really speaking when he needs to which completely satisfies Peck.

In spite of the lack of dialog, a lot is said just through the looks Peck and Arnaz give each other, and when they do talk, it's obvious that silence has done wonders in making them constantly looking out for each other. A great moment has Warden firing off a shot at them, and the viewer seems to be getting perspective via the bullet's point of view. This is definitely more character driven, but the action does keep things moving and scenes of just conversation all have points. A very interesting if flawed film, but not all films of this kind need to be labeled as classics to be worth checking out.

I evoke the name `Slim Pickens,' because it is both slang for what best describes `Billy Two Hats' and is the name of the actor who could have done the most to improve the movie. As fine an actor as Jack Warden is, substituting Slim Pickens for Warden as the racist Marshal obsessed with capturing Billy (Desi Arnaz, Jr.) and Arch (Gregory Peck) would have provided a more proper sense of menace. Pickens would also have made the dialogue which bogs down the first third of the film, a lot more palatable.

However, as presented, nothing would have made `Billy Two Hats' any more than a routine western. Omitting the bank robbery, which motivates the story's action, was a major miscalculation. Having Peck and Arnaz spend so much time apart, without providing better motivation for their friendship, was another. The bland Israeli desert is a poor substitute for the American West and the music is inappropriate and forgettable.

Fine performances by Gregory Peck, Jack Warden, David Huddleston and Sian Barbara Allen don't entirely compensate for Arnaz, who seems out of his depth. I felt neither conviction nor consistency in his performance.

WARNING: SPOILERS

TWO BEST SCENES: 1) Peck and Arnaz hearing the discharge of the buffalo rifle at least a second or two before Peck's horse is knocked out from under him. I don't know if there is that much delay between the sound and the arrival of such a high caliber, low velocity round; but, hey, all those unrealistic ricochets in the Italian westerns were neat, too.

2) Peck near death hearing the muffled, distant sounding conversations around him. BOTH of these major accomplishments belong to the sound department of `Billy Two Hats'. I just wish the rest of the movie rose to the same standards.

Given the fact that it doesn’t have much of a reputation, I had missed out on this Western countless times on Italian TV; however, since the film stars Gregory Peck, I was interested in it regardless – and, having last year caught up with SHOOT OUT (1971), another minor genre outing from him, it was high time that I got round to this one as well. Most Westerns made during this time were Revisionist and elegiac in tone; in this respect, screenwriter Alan Sharp seemed like the ideal choice (having had already contributed THE HIRED HAND [1971] and ULZANA’S RAID [1972]): however, the end result is merely a pleasant-looking and oddly pointless affair!

The plot develops into one long chase as an elderly Scottish bank-robber (Peck) and his young half-breed companion/associate (Desi Arnaz Jr. playing the titular character) are doggedly pursued by Sheriff Jack Warden. Along the way, they meet up with a reformed criminal and his squaw (the former, seemingly indebted to Warden, willingly joins him on the trail of the fugitive Scotsman – while the latter has compassion for the boy, who’s been caught but subsequently freed by Peck), a band of renegade Apaches, and an unhappy prairie couple (having been wounded, the star requires the man’s help to procure a buck-board to travel in – while Arnaz stays behind to look after the farm and the owner’s nervous mail-order bride). The latter relationship is quite movingly handled: the two innocents fall in love, a situation which Warden can’t bring himself to understand when he turns up; eventually, the trio take off to reach Peck – whose journey has been beleaguered with a raid by the traditionally hostile Apaches, and which has left him for dead. Ultimately, only the young couple survive: the woman pleads with the half-breed to be taken along, in spite of the intolerance this will undoubtedly provoke.

Old-fashioned and essentially dreary, the film is nonetheless fairly tolerable while it’s on. Incidentally, Norman Jewison served as co-producer on this one: curiously enough, he would never tackle the genre in his more regular capacity as director!