Joe Kidd is a 1972 Western film directed by John Sturges and written by Elmore Leonard, starring Clint Eastwood and Robert Duvall.
Joe Kidd (Eastwood) is in prison for several minor offences. When he is brought to trial, a Mexican revolutionary, Luis Chama, bursts into the building with his gang and attacks the judge. Chama claims that the title deeds of his people are unjustly put into question by rich landowners. In the mêlée that follows, Kidd kills a member of Chama's gang, Naco. Chama leaves the town. Later, Frank Harlan (Duvall), a rich landowner comes to town and tries to convince Joe Kidd to track down Chama with his posse.
Joe Kidd provides examples of:
- Anti-Hero: Joe Kidd is not a perfect hero. He gets involved in the events only because Chama wants to kill him. First, he becomes allied with Frank Harlan, who is a corrupt landowner and the main villain of the film. He is perfectly OK with the plan to kill Chama at first. It is only because Harlan's methods are too brutal that he finally confronts Harlan and his posse.
- Black-and-Gray Morality: The big bad, Frank Harlan, has no redeeming quality, but Luis Chama is quite ruthless too (see The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized). He also threatens to kill Joe Kidd because Kidd shot down Naco, a member of his gang, in self-defence. Joe Kidd is not a perfect hero either: he does not hesitate to become allied with the big bad to track down Luis Chama.
- Chair Reveal: In the end, Frank Harlan enters the courthouse looking for Joe Kidd. Suddenly, the chair of the judge revolves. Joe Kidd is sitting in it and he shoots Harlan down.
- Cold Sniper: One of Harlan's gunfighters, Mingo, is an expert with a scoped rifle and guns down revolutionaries with cold detachment.
- Felony Misdemeanor: In the beginning, Joe Kidd is in jail for poaching and disturbing the peace. But it is the The Wild West, and when Joe Kidd is brought to trial, even the judge is surprised that the sheriff puts people in jail for such minor offences.
- Hostage Situation: Frank Harlan and his men take villagers hostage to force Chama to surrender. Frank Harlan theatens to shoot them down by groups of five people.
- Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: Frank Harlan and his men pretend to go on a hunting trip. Actually, they intend to track down Chama and to murder him.
- Killing in Self-Defense: Joe Kidd kills Naco in the saloon in self-defense: Naco was going to shoot him down.
- Posse:
- Just after the raid on the courthouse, the sheriff gathers a posse to track down Chama. It comes back empty-handed.
- Later, Frank Harlan gathers a posse to track down Chama. Joe Kidd finally accepts to be part of it.
- Protagonist Title: Joe Kidd is the protagonist.
- Retired Gunfighter: Joe Kidd is a disaffected former bounty hunter.
- The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: Luis Chama, the leader of the peasant revolt, would rather let the innocent hostages be shot down one by one than surrender.
- The Sheriff: Bob Mitchell is the sheriff of Sinola County. He is ineffectual when Chama attacks the courthouse. In the final gunfight between Joe Kidd and Harlan's men, he does not intervene.
- Those Two Guys: Marshal Mitchell's two deputies are used for a little comic relief and usually, if not always, appear alongside each other.
- Token Good Teammate: Joe Kidd in Frank Harlan's posse. He is the only one shocked when Harlan orders to kill Chama's allies in cold blood.
- We Can Rule Together: Harlan tries to convince Joe Kidd to track down Chama with his posse. Initially, Joe Kidd refuses, but when he hears that Chama is after him because he killed Naco, he accepts Harlan's offer.
- You Always Hear the Bullet: Averted: when Kidd and a band of Mexican revolutionaries come under fire at extreme range by a sniper using a scoped buffalo rifle the sequence is shown in proper order (muzzle smoke - bullet sound - gunshot) reflecting the relative speeds (light, bullet, sound) involved.
