Directed by Robert C. Anderson Jr., the film Bite the Dust is an action comedy. Despite being well-stocked with comic elements, the film gives out a very strong message to its audiences about atrocities that were committed against children in the 18th century. The plot involves two well-known bounty killers, Waco and Dutch, who have joined hands with a young lady to save the lives of some children working in a mine factory. The story of how they overcame a cruel baron to save the lives of the orphans has been well depicted in Bite the Dust. The American film has relied on well-known actors like Heather Wake, George Nelson, Russell Clay, and others for a proper execution of the movie, which they have done justice to. We are yet to find out whether the multiple series of events helped save the children from the brutal baron’s clutches or not.
Spoilers Alert
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?
Bite the Dust opens with a portrayal of the bravery of the two bounty hunters, Waco and Dutch, when they murder renowned killer Benicio Morales and capture a fool, Zeke. On reaching the sheriff’s office, they meet Deputy Elijah and want to hand over the two assailants, but he asks them to wait till the sheriff arrives in the morning. They later go to a tavern, where Caleb sees Waco and gets excited as he recognizes him as a famous boxer. Despite his own puny size, he wants to challenge Waco to fight him, which results in them getting involved in a brawl, and Zeke runs away in the meantime. The next day, Waco and Dutch go to the sheriff, Pearlwood, to hand over the dead body of Benicio Morales for the bounty money, but learn that they have to wait for such a hefty sum till it gets approved by Thaddeus Vincent, the baron. While leaving, they bump into Rosemary, who is working in close connection with an orphanage in Boston. She went there to inquire about some missing orphans, which sheds light on something ominous going on in the town.
Mr. Vincent is approached by Lita Salazar, Caleb’s sister, to be more lenient on the loans taken by them. Vincent is wicked enough to turn a deaf ear to her plea and explain to her how he sees a monetary interest in all his deeds. Zeke later turns up to Vincent to give him information on how he had managed to escape two bounty hunters and that he had killed the farmer who was not giving up his land. Vincent says that the farmer was his uncle, but he had to kill him because he was not yielding to his demands, which brings out his vicious nature. Meanwhile, Rosemary is seen investigating the case of the missing children in the town. When she questions a shopkeeper, he says that he knew something about the orphans, but on seeing Vincent’s men, he retreats and does not give out any information to her.
While heading towards the tavern, Rosemary bumps into a bunch of drunkards and is saved by Dutch and Waco. While talking about the serious issue of the missing orphans, they are approached by Lita and Caleb, who tell them that the children are made to work at Vincent’s mines because of their flexibility to fit into the small tunnels. They form an alliance and make a pledge that they are going to save the children, no matter what difficulties they face. Mr. Vincent also arrives at the tavern with his adopted daughter, Lizze. Upon being questioned about her well-being, Lizze answers very timidly in front of Vincent. He answers on behalf of her, trying to silence her own opinions. He also forces her to tell a false story about how she had been saved by Vincent from the miserable life that she was leading. Rosemary also has a look at her dirty nails and understands that the children are indeed made to work at the mines.
Why Did Waco And Dutch Come Up With The Idea Of A Contest?
Waco and Dutch are left with no options but to have a contest with one of Vincent’s trusted men, Connor Murphy, in order to save their friends and the orphans. Dutch explained to Vincent that holding a contest would be of interest to him because that would garner a lot of audiences, resulting in money. He also adds that if they won, then they would not investigate the matters of the orphanage and would leave with their bounty money. Before the day of the contest, Waco says that he would be happy even if he were dead because he would know that he had fought for the truth.
Finally, on the day of the contest, just as Waco and Connor’s duel begins, Dutch embarks on an expedition with Rosemary and Lita to go to the mine to save the children. They finally find the children at the mining site, locked up in miserable conditions, and free them eventually. Waco tries his best to defeat Connor, and simultaneously, Dutch kills all the men guarding the mine to bring the children out of captivity. However, Dutch encounters Zeke again, who has a gatling gun and continuously fires at them to stop them from fleeing. We see both Dutch and Waco winning their contests simultaneously, as Dutch manages to escape with the children after killing Zeke, and Waco knocks Connor down.
After Connor’s defeat, Vincent asks Pearlwood to shoot Waco, but he purposely shoots in a different direction to save him. Vincent understands Pearlwood’s plan and shoots him; he also shoots Caleb and injures him. Dutch comes back to save his friend, only to be challenged by Deputy Elijah. Dutch manages to shoot Elijah, and just as he, Waco, and Rosemary are united, Vincent reappears. He is just about to shoot when Lizze shoots him from behind, killing him. This depicts the hatred of the children towards Vincent because of the atrocities inflicted on them by him. Waco and Dutch are applauded for their courage, and Lita offers them gold as bounty money for them to take back home. When they head towards home, they are shocked to find that someone has stolen their gold. This depicts the increased crime in Arizona during the time of the film.
Final Words
The comedy film, Bite the Dust, has been a complete entertainer! However, the message of the bestiality towards children by the capitalists during the setting of the film looms large throughout. There is a good balance of comedy, action, and a sense of morality that has been maintained in Bite the Dust. The narrative is quite strong, and the plot has been well cemented. There are no visible loopholes in Bite the Dust, leaving us wanting a sequel to it. The element of the capitalistic mindset has been presented through the character of Vincent. The way he oppressed the common people and had a greed for money suppressed his humanity and feelings of empathy for others. He did not engage in anything that would not benefit him in terms of money. The scene where he tells Lita about the way his opinions differed from hers strongly focuses on the horrors of class segmentation. We are reminded of the poem “The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake, where the rich absolutely disregard the lives of the little children and use them as tools to satisfy their own purposes. There are several films that have been created based on the concept of child exploitation, some of which are The Price of Free, Oliver Twist, and many others.
