The Left Handed Gun

Arthur Penn's The Left Handed Gun follows William Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, a young drifter whose skill with a gun is his only real asset. When the rancher who took him in is killed by a corrupt sheriff and his associates, Billy sets out to hunt down those responsible. His campaign of revenge unsettles the people around him and threatens the amnesty that Governor Wallace has arranged to bring peace to the New Mexico Territory. Pat Garrett, once a friend, is drawn into the pursuit. The film was released in 1958 and runs 102 minutes.

The picture was Penn's first feature as director, opening a career that continued with The Miracle Worker, Bonnie and Clyde and Little Big Man. Paul Newman plays Billy, with Lita Milan, John Dehner, Hurd Hatfield, James Congdon and James Best among the credited cast of 56. Leslie Stevens wrote the screenplay and Fred Coe produced for Warner Bros. Pictures and Haroll Productions.

Audience responses were moderate: on IMDb it holds 6.4/10 from around 5,000 votes, and on TMDB 6/10 from 122 votes. A critics' rating of 8.3/10 from 12 reviews places it considerably higher among reviewers than among general viewers.