Directed by David Miller and based on the book by Walter Noble Burns, the cast also included Gene Lockhart and Lon Chaney Jr.[2] The film was not as well received as the 1930 original, Billy the Kid, which had starred Johnny Mack Brown and Wallace Beery and been shot in an experimental widescreen process.

In Lincoln, New Mexico, Billy helps his friend Pedro Gonzales escape from jail, where he was put by mean sheriff Cass McAndrews.

Billy and the rest of Hickey's men start a stampede among the farmers' cattle, wreaking havoc and creating chaos.

During the stampede, Billy encounters one of his childhood friends, Jim Sherwood, who works for a man named Eric Keating.

After talking to Hickey, Jim seems to have switched sides, telling the sheriff to lock up Billy and another one of Keating's men, Tim Ward.

[3] Ormond B. Ruthven and Albert Mannheimer wrote the song "Viva La Vida" for the film.