This seldom seen early Jeff Bridges movie has remained hidden for pretty good reasons.

Ostensibly a comedic western tale about two young men roaming through the countryside, dodging conscription into the army, the film opens promisingly with authentic period detail and a suitably idyllic score by Harvey Schmidt setting the tone nicely. Drew (Barry Brown), who lost his brother to the war earlier, leaves his home with some money and a strong sense of morality inculcated by his Methodist parents, after barely escaping the draft. He meets Jake (Jeff Bridges) along the way, and after some initial misunderstandings, the two become friends, and Drew joins Jake's gang of raggamuffin outlaws who steal and cheat for money in order to survive. Too well brought up and genteel to partake of their activities, Drew fakes committing a crime in order to convince them of his loyalty, and soon, the gang is on their way to some incredibly boyish adventures. Things take a turn for the worse as some accidents occur along the way, and loyalties are split, and Drew and Jake find themselves on opposite sides of law, one holding the key to the other's freedom.

As Jake, Jeff Bridges turns in a performance which is somewhat disappointing, given his track record. He has Jake's devil-may-care charm down pat, but he is not able to explain many of the character's inconsistencies (though this is actually more the script's fault than his) and mostly coasts on his natural charm and appeal. As Drew, Barry Brown has a meatier role which he tries hard in, but fails to display any depth of characterization. Both actors are ultimately done in by the awful script and lack of direction.

Director and co-screenwriter Robert Benton (the screenplay credit also includes David Newman) has made a very uneven film full of sudden changes in tone. What begins as a somewhat idealistic story changes midway into a very mean-spirited shoot 'em up western, and this jarring tone is something the film never recovers from. Although it runs at a lean 94 minutes, the film really feels a lot longer - a WHOLE lot longer. This is mostly because the film doesn't seem to have much a point to it, besides the unlikely friendship between Jake and Drew, which more often seems like a torturous tour of misspent youth, rather than a meaningful course of life. The episodic structure of the film also lends it a very choppy feel and this does not engage the viewer in any way. Also, Harvey Schmidt's score bizarrely becomes extremely inappropriate midway through the film as well. There's also lots of animal cruelty and gratuitous violence toward the end, and viewers are advised to give this a miss. In a case of accurate titling, "Bad Company" is just that.

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