Billy Bathgate (film) Young Billy, a streetwise kid from Bathgate Avenue in the Bronx, is convinced that success will come to him only if he is able to join mobster Dutch Schultz’s gang. Starting out as a flunky for the crime ring, he soon graduates to trusted confidant only to find danger as his mentor’s power and control wane. In an underworld populated by ruthless characters, it takes all of Billy’s wits to survive and to save the life of Drew Preston, with whom he has his first love interest. Released on November 11, 1991. Directed by Robert Benton. A Touchstone film. Based on the acclaimed novel by E. L. Doctorow. 107 min. Stars Dustin Hoffman (Dutch Schultz), Nicole Kidman (Drew Preston), Loren Dean (Billy Bathgate), Bruce Willis (Bo Weinberg), Steven Hill (Otto Berman). The transformation of New York City locations into the 1930s milieu took a great deal of effort and extensive research. Shooting also took place at the Saratoga Race Track in upstate New York, the oldest track in America, and in Wilmington, Durham, and Hamlet, North Carolina, the last an almost perfectly intact likeness of a 1930s eastern community. Released on video in 1992.
