Movie Star Moment: William Holden

William Holden as Pike Bishop
in "The Wild Bunch" (1969)

   In 1939, William Holden was Hollywood's original "Golden Boy", but by the time he played Pike Bishop in "The Wild Bunch" 30 years later, he was starting to look used up. In this scene, Pike and his gang of outlaws are riding down into Mexico after a famously bloody shootout they just barely survived. They're on top of a sand dune when their horses lose their footing and men and animals go tumbling down the hill. They get up cursing, dust themselves off and get ready to ride on, but when Pike goes to get on his horse, the stirrup breaks and he goes sprawling back down on the ground. He struggles to get to his feet, gritting his teeth, in obvious pain, while the others laugh or look on, waiting. If Pike can't ride, he can't lead the gang, and everybody knows it. Without a word, Holden picks up the broken stirrup and stuffs it in a saddlebag, and then, in an act of sheer will, swings a leg up over the saddle and mounts his horse. Then he turns and rides away, straight-backed but plainly in agony, one leg dangling where the stirrup used to be. There's something heroic, majestic even, about the way he does that. It's not just a man riding away on a horse. It's Pike Bishop (and William Holden) fighting off the toll of time at least a little longer. The gang remains intact. Pike is still the outlaw leader.