Wild Bill (film)
Encyclopedia
Wild Bill is a 1995 Western
film about the last days of legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickok
. Wild Bill, portrayed by Jeff Bridges
has drifted to Deadwood, Dakota Territory.
Jack McCall
, played by David Arquette
is a young man whose mother and family have been slighted by Bill in the past, and is out for revenge. Troubled by his on-again, off-again relationship with a woman called Calamity Jane
(Ellen Barkin
), haunted by the ghosts of his past, and struggling with failing eyesight, Wild Bill faces with grave concern the arrival of this dangerous newcomer to town.
The motion picture was distributed by United Artists
. It was written and directed by Walter Hill, with writing credits also going to Pete Dexter
, author of the book Deadwood, and Thomas Babe
, author of the play Fathers and Sons.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film about the last days of legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickok
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach...
. Wild Bill, portrayed by Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
has drifted to Deadwood, Dakota Territory.
Jack McCall
Jack McCall
John "Jack" McCall , known by the nickname "Crooked Nose Jack or Broken Nose Jack, was the killer of James "Wild Bill" Hickok, shooting him from behind, an act that among admirers of Hickok and students of Hickok's history has given rise to the phrase "the coward Jack McCall."-...
, played by David Arquette
David Arquette
David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
is a young man whose mother and family have been slighted by Bill in the past, and is out for revenge. Troubled by his on-again, off-again relationship with a woman called Calamity Jane
Calamity Jane
Martha Jane Cannary Burke , better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, and professional scout best known for her claim of being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok, but also for having gained fame fighting Native Americans...
(Ellen Barkin
Ellen Barkin
Ellen Barkin is an American film, television and theatre actress.-Early life:She was born Ellen Rona Barkin in Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York, the daughter of Evelyn , a hospital administrator who worked at Jamaica Hospital, and Sol Barkin, a chemical salesman...
), haunted by the ghosts of his past, and struggling with failing eyesight, Wild Bill faces with grave concern the arrival of this dangerous newcomer to town.
The motion picture was distributed by United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
. It was written and directed by Walter Hill, with writing credits also going to Pete Dexter
Pete Dexter
Pete Dexter is an American novelist. He was the recipient of the 1988 National Book Award for Fiction for his novel Paris Trout.-Biography:Dexter was born in Pontiac, Michigan...
, author of the book Deadwood, and Thomas Babe
Thomas Babe
Thomas Babe was an American playwright, writing mainly during the mid 70s and 80s. He was the son of Thomas James and Ruth Ina Babe. He died of lung cancer on December 6, 2000, in a hospice in Stamford, Connecticut. .Babe's work brought together many elements of American history and cultural...
, author of the play Fathers and Sons.
Cast
- Jeff BridgesJeff BridgesJeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
as James Butler "Wild Bill" HickokWild Bill HickokJames Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach... - Ellen BarkinEllen BarkinEllen Barkin is an American film, television and theatre actress.-Early life:She was born Ellen Rona Barkin in Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York, the daughter of Evelyn , a hospital administrator who worked at Jamaica Hospital, and Sol Barkin, a chemical salesman...
as Calamity JaneCalamity JaneMartha Jane Cannary Burke , better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, and professional scout best known for her claim of being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok, but also for having gained fame fighting Native Americans... - John HurtJohn HurtJohn Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
as Charley Prince - Diane LaneDiane LaneDiane Lane is an American film actress.Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at the age of 13 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film A Little Romance, starring opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. Soon after, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine...
as Susannah Moore - Keith CarradineKeith CarradineKeith Ian Carradine is an American actor who has had success on stage, film and television. In addition, he is a Golden Globe and Oscar winning songwriter. As a member of the Carradine family, he is part of an acting "dynasty" that began with his father, John Carradine.-Early life:Keith...
as Buffalo Bill Cody - David ArquetteDavid ArquetteDavid Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
as Jack McCallJack McCallJohn "Jack" McCall , known by the nickname "Crooked Nose Jack or Broken Nose Jack, was the killer of James "Wild Bill" Hickok, shooting him from behind, an act that among admirers of Hickok and students of Hickok's history has given rise to the phrase "the coward Jack McCall."-... - Christina ApplegateChristina ApplegateChristina Applegate is an American actress. She is best known for playing Kelly Bundy on the Fox sitcom Married... with Children. Since then, she has established a film and television career, winning a Primetime Emmy and earning Tony and Golden Globe nominations...
as Lurline Newcomb - Bruce DernBruce DernBruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
as Will Plummer - James GammonJames GammonJames Richard Gammon was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series.-Early life:...
as California Joe - Marjoe GortnerMarjoe GortnerHugh Marjoe Ross Gortner, generally known as Marjoe Gortner , is a former revivalist who first gained a certain fame in the late 1940s when he became the youngest ordained preacher at the age of four...
as Preacher - James RemarJames RemarJames Remar is an American actor and voice artist. He has appeared in movies, video games, and TV shows. He is perhaps best known as Richard, the on-off tycoon boyfriend of Kim Cattrall's character in Sex and the City, as Ajax in The Warriors, as the homicidal maniac Albert Ganz in the 1982...
as Donnie Lonigan - Karen Huie as Song Lew
- Steve ReevisSteve ReevisSteve Reevis is a Blackfoot Native American actor. His best known role as Shep Proudfoot in the Academy Award-winning film Fargo .He grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation...
as Sioux Chief - Pato HoffmannPato HoffmannPato Hoffmann is a Bolivian actor and theater director who has performed in such films as Geronimo: An American Legend, Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee, and Cheyenne Warrior. The nickname "Pato" was given to him as a child. Hoffmann was named the 1999 Indian Celebrity of the Year...
as Cheyenne Leader - Robert Knott as Dave Tutt
- Dennis HaydenDennis HaydenDennis Hayden is an American actor. He was one of five brothers and one sister born in Girard, Kansas on a pig and soybean farm....
as Phil CoePhil CoePhil Coe , born Phillip Houston Coe, was a soldier, and Old West gambler and businessman from Texas. He became the business partner of gunfighter Ben Thompson in Abilene, Kansas...