These are brief excerpts from one of 23 films and television series ostensibly about Billy the Kid. Below the analysis of this source are links to clips from and a bit of analysis of other dramas about the outlaw/hero. Less important than any facts or legends that may be found or debunked in these sources is the suggestion that our views of Billy have evolved through the years and that these media may tell us as much or more about the eras in which they were produced than about the historical characters and times portrayed.

The only facts of Billy Bonney's life offered in "Old Henry" are in a a prologue voiceover, telling us of his family's trek west from New York. "Henry" seems a mild-mannered, widowed Oklahoma farmer in 1906 when he takes in a fugitive and then takes on a lawless posse threatening not only their prey but Henry and his teenaged son. Only then is it confirmed that mellowed, middle aged Henry is Billy the Kid, who somehow avoided his long advertised death and is still capable of dispensing justice from the barrels of his guns. Now the fugitive is confirmed in his suspicion of Henry's identity and hopes to gain reflected celebrity as the famous outlaw's killer.

Especially moving are Henry/Billy's dying words to his son, who he hopes can find a place in a world to which Henry no longer belongs.

Tim Blake Nelson's Billy tells us he doesn't believe in redemption, and he's clearly grown out his youthful infatuation with renown. The film's message that fame is fleeting is welcome in a culture that entices too many to seek momentary acclaim at the expense of actual accomplishment.

Billy the Kid (1930)    • Billy the Kid  - 1930  
Billy the Kid Returns (1938)    • Billy the Kid Returns (1938)  
Billy the Kid Outlawed (1940)    • Billy the Kid Outlawed (1940)  
Billy the Kid (1941)    • Billy the Kid (1941)  
Fugitive of the Plains (1943)    • Billy the Kid in Fugitive of the Plai...  
The Outlaw (1943)    • The Outlaw (1943)  
I Shot Billy the Kid (1950)    • I Shot Billy the Kid (1950)  
The Law vs. Billy the Kid (1954)    • The Law vs  Billy the Kid (1954)  
The Parson and the Outlaw (1957)    • The Parson and the Outlaw (1957)  
The Left Handed Gun (1958)    • The Left Handed Gun (1958)  
The Tall Man (1960-62)    • The Tall Man (1960-62)  
Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (1966)    • Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (1966)  
Chisum (1970)    • Chisum (1970)  
Dirty Little Billy (1972)    • Dirty Little Billy (1972)  
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)    • Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)  
Lucky Luke vs. Billy the Kid (1984)    • Billy the Kid vs. Lucky Luke (1984)  
Young Guns (1988)    • Young Guns (1988)  
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)    • Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1...  
Gore Vidal’s Billy the Kid (1989)    • Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid (1989)  
Young Guns II (1990)    • Young Guns II (1990)  
The Kid (2019)    • The Kid (2019)  
Old Henry (2021)    • Old Henry (2021)  
Billy the Kid (2022)    • Billy the Kid (2022)