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Bad Company (1972)

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Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 11
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 1

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 3
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 0

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Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 2,055

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Movie Info

Set during the Civil War, Bad Company stars Barry Brown as a Northern boy, Drew Dixon, who heads West to avoid getting drafted. He falls under the spell of Jake Rumsey (Jeff Bridges), an easygoing young con artist. Drew joins Jake's gang of boy bandits, who live by their wits and try to avoid confrontation with adult criminals like Big Joe (David Huddleston). It is Drew who must eventually save Jake from hanging, even though he realizes that his intervention could lead to his own execution. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

PG, 1 hr. 31 min.

Western, Drama, Action & Adventure

Directed By: Robert Benton

In Theaters: Oct 8, 1972 Wide

On DVD: Jun 4, 2002

Paramount Pictures

Cast

Jean Allison
Dixon's Mother
Jeff Bridges
Jake Rumsey
Claudia Bryar
Mrs. Clum
Damon Cofer
Jim Bob Logan
Jim Davis
Marshall
Ted Gehring
Zeb
Raymond Guth
Jackson
Monika Henreid
Min
Jerry Houser
Arthur Simms
David Huddleston
Big Joe
Ed Lauter
Big Joe's Gang
Geoffrey Lewis
Hobbs
Todd Martin
Sergeant
John Quade
Nolan
John Savage
Loney
Charles Tyner
Egg Farmer
Ned Wertimer
Dixon's Father
Barry Brown
Drew Dixon
Joshua Hill Lewis
Boog Bookin
John Boyd
Prisoner

Critic Reviews for Bad Company

All Critics (11) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (1) | DVD (6)

Bad Company is an excellent film which combines wry humor and gritty action with in-depth characterizations of two youths on the lam in the Civil War west.

March 26, 2009 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Variety Staff

Variety

Top Critic

A naturalistic, irreverent and sometimes broadly comic view of a largely ignored aspect of the Civil War gives Bad Company a refreshingly good name.

May 21, 2005 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Roger Greenspun

New York Times

Top Critic

The movie is built as a series of more-or-less self-contained episodes, and the episodes that work are worth the effort.

October 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

A highly engaging sleeper.

January 29, 2010 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

TV Guide's Movie Guide

The ironic comical Western prides itself in taking on the Horatio Alger myth.

August 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

[A] smart, character-driven Western that plays a little like the undercover cop genre.

October 6, 2007 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid

| Comment

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Benton's first film, a Western good enough to make everything he has done since seem disappointing by comparison.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Tom Milne

Time Out

An easy watch, except for the annoying demeanour of its lead character.

March 16, 2004 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide

| Comment

Ryan Cracknell

Apollo Guide

Western addicts will find it refreshingly different from the norm, while its quirky comedy should attract non-fans of the genre.

May 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Film4

A smart, character-driven Western.

September 26, 2002 Comment

Jeffrey M. Anderson

San Francisco Examiner

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Audience Reviews for Bad Company

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I first saw this one in 1972 and enjoyed it very much. Now, some 36 years later, I can honestly say that it's stood the test of time. It's a film that's shot mostly, if not entirely, on location so it never has that "studio" feel about it. It's gritty, it's unpolished, and it's wonderfully understated. You don't

April 13, 2009

Randy Tippy

Super Reviewer

Having already lost one son to the War of Northern Aggression, a pious Ohio family sends their remaining son, Drew, west in an effort to avoid his conscription. While waiting to join a wagon train, Drew inadvertently becomes a member in a gang of ne'er-do-wells lead by loudmouth braggart, Jake Rumsey, as they strike

January 16, 2008

Moe E

Super Reviewer

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