Movie Review: Joe Kidd (1972)

This is a classic Clint Eastwood Western.  He portrays Joe Kidd, an ex bounty hunter who is convinced to come out of retirement by Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall) and because Luis Chama (John Saxon) and his men attacked his estate, stole or killed his horse, and tied up his man with barbed wire.  Chama is a local hero to the Mexican residents who are trying to fight for their property rights against Harlan.  Harlan is determined to kill Chama, and anyone else who gets in his way.  Kidd helps him to a point, but realized quickly he is with the wrong wide.  There are some scenes here I remember from my youth, like opening the hatch and the bad guy falling to his death.  A classic bit of action is taking the locomotive into town and smashing into the bar, so as to get a drop on Harlan's men.  Another classic scene is when he tells the sheriff (Gregory Walcott) to "Get out of here."  And later when he punches him in the nose and says, Next time I'll knock your head off."  This refers back to the sheriff having punched Kidd early, and using the same line.