Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Not that it matters, but most of it is true.
Country
Production
Budget
$6 000 000
Box office
$102 309 026
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
John Foreman, Paul Newman, Paul Monash
Camera operator
Composer
Artist
Audition
Michael McLean
Editing
John C. Howard, Richard C. Meyer
Whole Team (54)
Whole Team (54)
Short description
In late 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy is the affable, clever and talkative leader of the outlaw Hole in the Wall Gang. His closest companion is the laconic dead-shot Sundance Kid. As the west rapidly becomes civilized, the law finally catches up to Butch, Sundance and their gang. Chased doggedly by a special posse, the two decide to make their way to South America in hopes of evading their pursuers once and for all. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in 1998.
What's left behind the scenes
- The sister of the real Butch Cassidy often visited the film set and readily shared stories about her brother. After filming wrapped, she even agreed to appear in an advertisement for the film for a nominal fee.
- Harvey Logan (played by Ted Cassidy) is portrayed in the film as a brainless thug, although in reality, he was extremely polite and courteous to women, but this politeness concealed the nature of a cold-blooded killer. He was known for his famous escape from the Knoxville, Tennessee prison in 1902. As with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, his officially announced death during a train robbery in 1904 was disputed by a variety of mutually exclusive and contradictory witness accounts, who in subsequent years claimed to have seen him on different continents.
- The river jump was filmed at a ranch near Malibu, California, owned by the film studio. Paul Newman and Robert Redford's stunt doubles jumped from a crane, which was hidden behind a painted cliff in the shot.
- Robert Redford wanted to perform all his stunts himself. His co-star Paul Newman was particularly worried about Redford's desire to jump onto the roof of a moving train and run across the car roofs. He told Redford not to play the hero and that he didn't want to lose his co-star.
- When it turned out that Paul Newman’s stunt double couldn’t ride a bicycle, Newman had to perform all the bicycle stunts himself. He performed all the stunt scenes except the one where he crashes into the fence. In that scene, cinematographer Conrad L. Hall was in the bicycle seat instead of him.
- To show how riders on horseback jump out of the train, they left a door open on the opposite side of the train and placed ramps leading up to the train so they wouldn’t be visible in the shot. In reality, the horses wouldn’t have been able to jump out of the train so picturesquely, as there wouldn’t have been enough room for them inside.
- During the filming of the final shootout, stuntman Jimmy Arnett (who also served as Paul Newman's double) was injured after falling from a height. The fall sidelined him for three months.
- Harvey Logan (played by Ted Cassidy) is depicted in the film as a brainless brute, although in reality, he was extremely courteous and polite to women, though this courtesy masked the nature of a cold-blooded killer. He was known for his famous escape from a prison in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1902. As with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, his officially reported death during a train robbery in 1904 was contested by various mutually exclusive and contradictory witness accounts, with some claiming to have seen him on different continents in subsequent years.
- Screenwriter William Goldman made Katharine Ross's character a teacher because he saw her photograph and decided she was too young and beautiful to be a prostitute. In all the photos of Wild West prostitutes he had ever seen, they invariably looked haggard, unhealthy, and vulgar.
- When it turned out that Paul Newman's stunt double didn't know how to ride a bicycle, the actor had to perform all the cycling stunts himself. He performed every stunt scene except for the one in which he crashes into a fence. In that scene, cinematographer Conrad L. Hall took his place in the saddle.
- Screenwriter William Goldman made Katharine Ross's character a schoolteacher because he saw her photograph and decided she was too young and beautiful to be a prostitute. On all the pictures of prostitutes in the Wild West that he had seen, they invariably looked exhausted, unhealthy, and vulgar.
- During the filming of the final shootout, stuntman Jimmy Arnett (who was also Paul Newman's double) was injured in a fall from a height. The fall put him out of action for three months.
- The jump into the river was filmed at a studio-owned ranch near Malibu, California. Paul Newman's and Robert Redford's stunt doubles jumped from a crane, which was hidden from the camera by a painted cliff.
- On the first day of filming, when they were shooting the train robbery, Katharine Ross came to watch the proceedings on set. There were five cameras but only four camera operators, so operator Conrad L. Hall enlisted the actress and briefly explained to her how to operate a camera. Director George Roy Hill was angered by this, but he remained silent during filming and only at the end of the day did he finally give vent to his feelings and forbade the actress from coming to the set on days when scenes involving her were not being filmed.
- Paul Newman didn't want to play Butch, and to prove his point, he even asked director George Roy Hill to watch Leo McCarey's 1958 comedy, "Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!", in which he played the lead role, considering it one of the worst of his acting career. Hill replied that Newman wouldn't have to crack wise constantly in his film.
- Robert Redford wanted to perform all his own stunts. His co-star Paul Newman was particularly concerned by Redford's desire to jump onto the roof of a moving train and run across the tops of the cars. He told Redford plainly that he didn't need to play the hero and that he wouldn't want to lose his co-star.
- Redford named the mountain estate he acquired with his film earnings after his character, and a ski resort of the same name subsequently arose there. Now, it hosts the American Sundance Film Festival, founded by Redford.
- All the Bolivian scenes were filmed in Mexico, where nearly all the actors and crew members, including director George Roy Hill, suffered from diarrhea caused by drinking contaminated water (the quality of drinking water there always left much to be desired). The only people spared were Robert Redford, Paul Newman, and Katharine Ross, who never drank the water delivered to the set and consumed only bottled water and alcohol.
- On the first day of filming, while the train robbery was being shot, Katharine Ross came to the set to observe. There were five cameras but only four operators, so cinematographer Conrad L. Hall recruited the actress and briefly explained how to operate a camera. This angered director George Roy Hill, but he remained silent during filming. Only at the end of the shooting day did he finally give vent to his feelings and forbid the actress from coming to the set on days when her scenes were not being filmed.
- It is known that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed on November 7, 1908, in Bolivia, but no exact information about the location of their burial has been preserved. This has given rise to various "conspiracy theories" about whether their deaths were actually staged, or whether someone else was killed in their place.
- Robert LeRoy Parker's (Butch) and Harry Alonzo Longbaugh's (Sundance Kid) criminal gang was actually called the “Wild Bunch.” However, since another film with that title had been released earlier that year, the creators of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” decided to rename the gang to “The Hole in the Wall” in their film.
- All the Bolivian scenes were filmed in Mexico, where almost all the actors and crew members, including director George Roy Hill, suffered from diarrhea caused by drinking dirty water (the quality of drinking water there was always poor). Only Robert Redford, Paul Newman, and Katharine Ross escaped this affliction, as they never drank the water delivered to the set and only consumed bottled water and alcohol.
- Butch Cassidy (whose real name was Robert LeRoy Parker) received the nickname “Butch” because he once worked as a butcher (from the English “butcher”). The Sundance Kid (whose real name was Harry Alonzo Longbaugh) received the nickname “Sundance” because he was once arrested in the town of Sundance, Wyoming.
- Paul Newman didn't want to play Butch, and to prove his point, he even asked director George Roy Hill to watch Leo McCarey's 1958 comedy 'Rally Around the Flag, Boys!', in which he played the lead; he considered that role one of the worst of his entire acting career. Hill replied that in his film, Newman wouldn't have to be constantly wisecracking.
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