50 Fun Facts About Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Who directed Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?

Hill reunited Newman and Redford four years later for The Sting, which won seven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director.

Who wrote the screenplay, his first original script, and won an Oscar for it?

Goldman researched the outlaws intermittently for eight years; the Writers Guild later ranked the script 11th among the 101 greatest ever written.

According to Goldman, why did one studio head reject the script the first time around?

The executive would only buy it if the heroes did not flee to South America. Goldman changed 'a few pages' and suddenly every studio wanted it.

Which line of F. Scott Fitzgerald's did Goldman say inspired him to tell the outlaws' story?

The point was that Butch and Sundance disproved it: they ran to South America and had a second act, becoming more legendary there than in the old West.

Which actor turned down the role of Sundance because he disliked riding horses?

McQueen backed out after disagreements with Newman, and Beatty passed because it felt too much like Bonnie and Clyde. Redford simply liked the script.

In which 1974 disaster film did Paul Newman and Steve McQueen finally team up?

McQueen and Newman had both agreed to do Butch Cassidy at the same time before McQueen walked.

Who plays Etta Place?

Bisset was a top contender for the part. Ross reprised Etta in the 1976 TV movie Wanted: The Sundance Woman.

In the film, what is Etta Place's profession?

She teaches the outlaws enough Spanish to rob Bolivian banks; the real Etta's identity remains a mystery, with theories ranging from teacher to prostitute.

In what year and state does the film open?

Butch leads the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, and has to win a knife fight against Harvey Logan to keep the job.

How does Butch keep control of the gang when a rival challenges him for leadership?

He then uses the challenger's own idea of robbing the same train on both its eastbound and westbound runs.

Which railroad do Butch and Sundance rob twice, drawing the wrath of its boss E. H. Harriman?

Harriman pays a six-man 'superposse' to stay on their trail until both are dead — prompting the film's refrain, 'Who are those guys?'

What goes wrong during the second train robbery?

As the gang scrambles for the scattered cash, a second train arrives carrying the six-man posse.

How do Butch and Sundance finally shake the posse?

The jump follows the famous exchange in which Sundance admits he can't swim and Butch replies that the fall will probably kill him anyway.

To which South American country do the trio flee?

The real outlaws went to Argentina first; the film's South American scenes were shot in Mexico, at Taxco, Cuernavaca and Estudios Churubusco.

What are Butch and Sundance called once they start robbing banks south of the border?

Their run of success collapses when they spot a man in a white straw skimmer and fear Harriman's posse has followed them.

What honest job do the pair briefly take after fleeing the U.S.?

Their boss Percy Garris is killed by bandits on their first run, and Butch shoots a man for the first time in his life.

How are Butch and Sundance tracked down for the final shootout?

Wounded and holed up in a building, they charge out unaware the police have been reinforced by the Bolivian Army.

How does the film end?

The frozen sepia image spares the audience the deaths, which the real outlaws probably met in San Vicente in November 1908.

Who wrote 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head'?

It won the Oscar for Best Original Song, and Bacharach also won Best Original Score; some crew felt a pop song had no place in a Western.

Who sang 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head' in the film?

Ray Stevens was offered it first and passed, and Bob Dylan was reportedly approached too; the record topped the Hot 100 for four weeks in January 1970.

What was Robert Redford's initial objection to 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head'?

'At the time, it seemed like a dumb idea. How wrong I was,' he later admitted, as the song became a giant hit.

How many Academy Awards did the film win from its seven nominations?

Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Original Score and Original Song; it lost Best Picture to Midnight Cowboy.

Which cinematographer won the first of his three Oscars for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?

He won again for American Beauty and Road to Perdition; the sepia opening and the Bolivian sequences are among the film's most admired images.

Which Utah ghost town, 'the most photographed in the West,' served as a location?

Zion National Park, Snow Canyon and St. George were also used; the Cassidy Trail in Red Canyon remains a film-tourism stop.

Where did the film hold its world premiere on September 23, 1969?

Newman, Joanne Woodward, Redford, Hill and Goldman attended at the Roger Sherman Theater; it opened in New York the next day.

How did the film rank at the U.S. box office among 1969 releases?

It eventually returned nearly $46 million in rentals and grossed over $100 million despite 'mixed to terrible' New York reviews.

What word did Roger Ebert use for the movie 20 years after his lukewarm 1969 review?

He gave it two and a half stars in 1969, and Gene Siskel called it 'too cute to be believed'; both were baffled by its success.

What did Robert Redford rename his Utah ski resort after making the film?

The resort was Timp Haven before; the Sundance Institute followed in 1981 and the festival took the name in 1991.

Which 1973 film reunited Newman, Redford and their Butch Cassidy director?

It won seven Oscars including Best Picture; Hill made Slap Shot with Newman and The Great Waldo Pepper with Redford separately.

Which 1970s TV series about two outlaws seeking amnesty was inspired by the film?

Pete Duel and Ben Murphy starred; Mad magazine also parodied the film as 'Botch Casually and the Somedunce Kid.'

Who played Butch and Sundance in the 1979 prequel Butch and Sundance: The Early Days?

Richard Lester directed and Goldman executive-produced; Jeff Corey was the only actor to appear in both films.

Which two actors were announced in 2022 to star in Amazon's television adaptation?

The Bridgerton and Top Gun: Maverick stars were attached to the Amazon Studios project.

What was Butch Cassidy's real name?

Born in Beaver, Utah Territory, in 1866 to English Mormon immigrants, he was the eldest of thirteen children.

How did Robert Parker get the nickname 'Butch'?

The apprenticeship was in Rock Springs, Wyoming Territory; he took 'Cassidy' from his mentor, cattle thief Mike Cassidy.

In which Colorado town did Butch Cassidy pull his first bank robbery, in 1889?

He, Matt Warner and two McCarty brothers hit the San Miguel Valley Bank; the real Wild Bunch included Elzy Lay, Kid Curry and Ben Kilpatrick.

What was the Sundance Kid's real name?

He was born in Mont Clare, Pennsylvania, in 1867, the youngest of five children.

What inspired the Sundance Kid's nickname?

He stole a gun, horse and saddle near Sundance, Wyoming, in 1887 and served 18 months, adopting the name in jail; 'Kid' because he had left home at 15.

Which detective agency's pursuit drove the real Butch and Sundance out of the United States?

With Etta Place they sailed to Argentina, ranched for a while, then moved on and met their end in 1908.

In what year are the real Butch and Sundance believed to have died in a Bolivian shootout?

Most historians accept the November 1908 San Vicente shootout with local soldiers, though the exact circumstances remain unclear and legends of survival persist.

What has been proposed as the real name of the mysterious Etta Place?

A woman of that name lived at a San Antonio brothel near Madame Porter's, which the Wild Bunch frequented; another theory identifies Etta with rancher Ann Bassett.

Which line from the film was nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes?

The AFI also ranked the duo the 20th greatest screen heroes and named the film the seventh best Western of all time.

Which character actor plays Percy Garris, the Bolivian mine boss, and was also in The Wild Bunch that year?

Martin appeared in all three classic 1969 Westerns — this, The Wild Bunch and True Grit — and credited Newman with getting him the part.

Which actor turned down the Sundance role, claiming the film was too similar to Bonnie and Clyde?

McQueen also passed after disagreements with Newman, and Redford took the part because he liked the script.

Which actress was a top contender for the role of Etta Place before Katharine Ross was cast?

Ross would reprise Etta in the 1976 TV movie Wanted: The Sundance Woman.

How many years did William Goldman research the outlaws' story before writing his screenplay?

He wrote it as an original screenplay because he did not want to research it as thoroughly as a novel would need.

Where did the film's scenes set in Bolivia get shot?

Locations included Taxco, Cuernavaca and Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City.

Which national park was among the film's Utah shooting locations?

Snow Canyon State Park and the city of St. George were also used, and the Cassidy Trail in Red Canyon draws film tourists.

Which actor was the only one to appear in both the 1969 film and its 1979 prequel?

The prequel, The Early Days, was directed by Richard Lester with William Goldman as an executive producer.

In 2006 the Writers Guild of America ranked Goldman's screenplay where on its 101 Greatest Screenplays list?

The film itself was added to the National Film Registry in 2003.

Mad magazine's 1970 parody of the film, drawn by Mort Drucker, was titled what?

Arnie Kogen wrote it for issue No. 136 in July 1970.