Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
Pat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.
Despite its small-scale budget of $4.6M, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid became a solid performer, earning $11.0M worldwide—a 137% return.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) showcases deliberately positioned narrative design, characteristic of Sam Peckinpah's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 55 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.4, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Billy the Kid and his gang relax at Pete Maxwell's ranch, shooting chickens for sport. The image establishes Billy's world of casual violence, camaraderie, and freedom before the law closes in.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when Pat Garrett rides to Pete Maxwell's ranch to warn Billy to leave the territory within five days. The old friendship is formally broken as Pat becomes the law and Billy becomes his target.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 28 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to The five-day deadline passes and Pat Garrett actively begins hunting Billy the Kid. Pat shoots and kills one of Billy's gang members at a river crossing, making the pursuit real and deadly., moving from reaction to action.
At 56 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 49% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. The analysis reveals that this crucial beat Pat and his deputies trap Billy and his gang at an abandoned fort. A violent shootout ensues, and Pat kills several of Billy's gang members. Billy escapes, but the noose is tightening., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 85 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Billy escapes from jail by killing two deputies. This "whiff of death" moment shows innocent men dying in the wake of the Pat-Billy conflict, and Pat realizes he must finish what he started., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 91 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. Pat learns that Billy is hiding at Pete Maxwell's ranch. He rides to Fort Sumner with cold resolve, understanding that this is the final confrontation and there is no turning back from what he has become., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid against these established plot points, we can identify how Sam Peckinpah utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid within the western genre.
Sam Peckinpah's Structural Approach
Among the 5 Sam Peckinpah films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.1, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Sam Peckinpah filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional western films include Cat Ballou, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and All the Pretty Horses. For more Sam Peckinpah analyses, see Convoy, The Getaway and The Osterman Weekend.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Billy the Kid and his gang relax at Pete Maxwell's ranch, shooting chickens for sport. The image establishes Billy's world of casual violence, camaraderie, and freedom before the law closes in.
Theme
Governor Wallace tells Pat Garrett: "The electorate want you to take care of William Bonney. Times are changing." The theme: the Old West is dying, and old friends must adapt or be destroyed by progress.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of the world: Pat Garrett accepts the sheriff position, Billy refuses to leave the territory, and the coming conflict between former friends is set up. The cattle barons and politicians want the outlaws removed to make way for civilization.
Disruption
Pat Garrett rides to Pete Maxwell's ranch to warn Billy to leave the territory within five days. The old friendship is formally broken as Pat becomes the law and Billy becomes his target.
Resistance
Billy debates whether to leave or stay. He continues his outlaw life, visiting his lover and riding with his gang. Pat begins assembling deputies and preparing for the hunt, though both men resist their inevitable confrontation.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
The five-day deadline passes and Pat Garrett actively begins hunting Billy the Kid. Pat shoots and kills one of Billy's gang members at a river crossing, making the pursuit real and deadly.
Mirror World
Pat encounters an aging lawman who represents what Pat is becoming: a man who has sold out his former life and friends for respectability and the illusion of order in a changing world.
Premise
The cat-and-mouse game between Pat and Billy. Pat tracks Billy across New Mexico, encountering various characters from the dying Old West. Billy continues his outlaw life, seemingly carefree but increasingly cornered.
Midpoint
Pat and his deputies trap Billy and his gang at an abandoned fort. A violent shootout ensues, and Pat kills several of Billy's gang members. Billy escapes, but the noose is tightening.
Opposition
Billy is eventually captured and sentenced to hang. The opposition intensifies as Billy is imprisoned and Pat must guard him. The weight of what Pat has become—a man who will kill his friend for money—grows heavier.
Collapse
Billy escapes from jail by killing two deputies. This "whiff of death" moment shows innocent men dying in the wake of the Pat-Billy conflict, and Pat realizes he must finish what he started.
Crisis
Pat processes the darkness of his mission. He tracks Billy with renewed, grim determination, knowing that one of them must die. The friendship is completely dead, replaced by duty and inevitability.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Pat learns that Billy is hiding at Pete Maxwell's ranch. He rides to Fort Sumner with cold resolve, understanding that this is the final confrontation and there is no turning back from what he has become.
Synthesis
Pat arrives at Fort Sumner and waits. In a darkened bedroom at Pete Maxwell's house, Pat shoots and kills Billy the Kid. The job is done, but there is no victory—only emptiness and the death of the Old West.
Transformation
Pat rides away from Fort Sumner, having killed his friend. The closing image mirrors the opening: violence and death. But Pat is transformed into a hollow man, having survived into a new era by betraying everything he once was.