The Left-Handed Gun

"The semi-legendary, semi-historical figure Billy Bonney is the American equivalent of the German poet Kleist's innocent abroad, Michael Kohlhaas, only transposed to a Western milieu. Billy's amok run is triggered by the murder of a rancher named Tunstall. The rancher once helped Billy, earning him Billy's love. Unfortunately, the local sheriff has had a part in the dirty dealings and so Billy is forced to take the law into his own hands. (...) Penn's aim was to create a psychological Western; he wanted to unravel his figures in all of their emotional complexity, stirring up a palette of black-and-white to grey in his bid to avoid cliché. (...) In addition, his hero takes a severe physical and mental beating. The plot too is unusual and breaks the mould." (Lucie Schauer, Die Welt, 18.11.1967)
by Arthur Penn
with Paul Newman, Lita Milan, John Dehner
USA 1958 102’ empfohlen ab 16 Jahren

Additional information

Download additional information