''Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here'' is a 1969 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film based on the true story of a

Chemehuevi The Chemehuevi are an indigenous people of the Great Basin. They are the southernmost branch of Southern Paiute.Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Paiu ...

Native American named Willie Boy and his run-in with the law in 1909 in

Banning, California Banning is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 29,505 as of the 2020 census, down from 29,603 at the 2010 census. It is situated in the San Gorgonio Pass, also known as ''Banning Pass''. It is named for Ph ...

, United States. The film is an adaptation of the 1960 book ''Willie Boy: A Desert Manhunt'' by Harry Lawton. The film was written and directed by the once blacklisted Abraham Polonsky, who, due to his

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...

ing, had not directed a film since ''

Force of Evil ''Force of Evil'' is a 1948 American crime film noir starring John Garfield and directed by Abraham Polonsky. It was adapted by Polonsky and Ira Wolfert from Wolfert's novel ''Tucker's People''. Polonsky had been a screenwriter for the boxing ...

'' in 1948.

Plot

The film's story revolves around the Paiute Native American

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill th ...

Willie Boy ( Robert Blake), who escapes with his lover, Lola (

Katharine Ross Katharine Juliet Ross (born January 29, 1940) is an American film, stage, and television actress. Her accolades include one Academy Award nomination, one BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. A native of Los Angeles, Ross spent most of her ...

), after killing her father in

self defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

. According to tribal custom Willie can then claim Lola as his wife. According to the law, Deputy Sheriff Cooper (

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Cec ...

) is required to charge him with murder. Willie Boy and Lola are hunted for several days by a posse led by Cooper. Willie manages to repel the posse's advance when he ambushes them from the top of Ruby Mountain. He only tries to shoot their horses, but ends up accidentally killing a

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...

, resulting in another murder charge. Days later, as the posse closes in, Lola dies by a gunshot wound to the chest. It is left deliberately ambiguous whether Lola shot herself so that she wouldn't slow Willie down or whether Willie killed her to keep her out of the posse's hands. Cooper is inclined to believe the latter and then goes off ahead of the posse to bring in Willie dead or alive. As soon as Cooper catches up, he comes under fire from Willie, who is positioned at the top of Ruby Mountain. Cooper narrowly avoids being shot on several occasions. In the film's climax, Cooper maneuvers behind Willie, who has donned a

ghost shirt Ghost shirts are shirts, or other clothing items, worn by members of the Ghost Dance religion, and thought to be imbued with spiritual powers. The religion was founded by Wovoka (Jack Wilson), a Northern Paiute Native American, in the late nine ...

, and tells him he can turn around if he wants to, which he does. The two pause before Willie raises his rifle at Cooper, who beats him to the draw and shoots him. Fatally struck in the chest, Willie tumbles down the hillside. Cooper picks up Willie's gun and finds that it wasn't even loaded, making it apparent that Willie deliberately chose death over capture. Abashed, Cooper carries the slain outlaw the rest of the way down Ruby Mountain and delivers him to other

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Paiu ...

s, who carry the corpse away and burn the remains. When confronted by the county sheriff, Cooper is told that the burning of Willie's body will ruin the people's chance to see Willie in the (now-dead) flesh, denying them the ability "to see something". Cooper retorts: "Tell them we're all out of souvenirs".

Cast

as Cooper *

as Lola * Robert Blake as Willie * Susan Clark as Liz *

Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to: *Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor *Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia *Barry Sullivan (lawyer) Barry Sullivan is ...

as Calvert *

John Vernon John Keith Vernon (born Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz; February 24, 1932 February 1, 2005) was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada. He was best known for playing Dean Wormer ...

as Hacker *

Charles Aidman Charles Leonard Aidman (January 21, 1925 – November 7, 1993) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Early life Aidman was born in Frankfort, Indiana, the son of George E. and Etta (Kwitny) Aidman. Aidman graduated from Frank ...

as Benby *

Charles McGraw Charles McGraw (born Charles Crisp Butters; May 10, 1914 – July 29, 1980) was an American stage, film and television actor whose career spanned more than three decades. Early life McGraw was born to Beatrice (née Crisp) and Francis P. B ...

as Wilson * Shelly Novack as Finney * Robert Lipton as Newcombe * Lloyd Gough as Dexter *

Ned Romero Ned Romero (December 4, 1926 – November 4, 2017) was an American actor and opera singer who appeared in television and film. Early childhood and education Romero was born on December 4, 1926 in Franklin, Louisiana, the seat of St. Mary Pa ...

as Tom * John Wheeler as Newman * Erik Holland as Digger (as Eric Holland) *

Garry Walberg Gerrit Christian Walberg Jr. (June 10, 1921 – March 27, 2012) was an American character actor primarily known for his work on television. He performed in numerous TV shows from the early 1950s until the early 1990s, including ''Johnny Staccat ...

as Dr. Mills * Jerry Velasco as Chino *

George Tyne Martin Yarus (February 6, 1917 – March 7, 2008), better known by the stage name George Tyne, was an American stage and film actor and television director. He was blacklisted in the 1950s, and was indicted for contempt of Congress but subsequen ...

as Le Marie *

Lee de Broux Lee de Broux (born May 7, 1941) is an American character actor of film and television who is best known for his roles in such films and television series as ''Chinatown'', ''RoboCop'', '' The Gun'', '' Geronimo: An American Legend'', ''Norma Ra ...

as Meathead (as Lee De Broux) * Wayne Sutherlin as Harry * Jerome Raphael as Salesman (as Jerome Raphel) *

Lou Frizzell Lou Frizzell (June 10, 1919 – June 17, 1979) was an American actor and music director who worked on Broadway productions, television shows and films. He was perhaps best known for playing Dusty Rhodes in the American western television seri ...

as Station Agent

History

As depicted in the movie, Willie Boy and Lola (her actual name was Carlota, though she was also called Isoleta and Lolita in various accounts) did run through the

Morongo Valley Morongo Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) on State Route 62 in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 3,552 at the 2010 census, up from 1,929 at the 2000 census. The town is bordered by Yucca Valley, Californ ...

. Carlota was found shot in the back in an area known as The Pipes in northwest Yucca Valley. Willie Boy was blamed for her death, but a 1994 book detailing Carlota's autopsy proved that the bullet had been shot from a long distance away, implicating the posse. Willie Boy did ambush the posse at Ruby Mountain, killing several horses and accidentally wounding a posse member. He ended his 'last stand' by suicide on the flanks of Ruby Mountain west of the current site of

Landers, California Landers is an unincorporated community in the High Desert region of the Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County, Southern California. Landers' population, as of 2017, is 2,982 people. Its residents are sometimes referred to as "Landroids"—a ...

. Willie Boy's grave monument can be found at . The monument itself bears the inscription “The West’s Last Famous Manhunt”, alluding to the notion that this was the last effort of its type before the use of a posse was generally replaced by modern, 'fully' staffed and empowered law enforcement agencies.

Awards

References

External links

* * * * {{AllMovie title
Pictures of Willie Boy's monument and a map to the monument location
1969 films 1969 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films 1960s English-language films 1960s chase films Films about Native Americans Films based on non-fiction books Films set in Riverside County, California Films shot in California Banning, California Universal Pictures films Films scored by Dave Grusin Revisionist Western (genre) films 1960s American films