TV • PAGE 27
THE BULLETIN • APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2021
BY JAY BOBBIN
‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’
keeps its aim true
There hadn’t been a Western like “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” before it, and there really hasn’t
been another since.
The repartee between title stars (and close friends from then on) Paul Newman and Robert Redford in the
1969 Oscar winner, currently streaming on Hulu, made whimsy a viable element to be added to the genre ...
at least in the script that earned Hollywood legend William Goldman an Academy Award. The opening on-
screen text advises that the truth of the outlaw duo’s story might be toyed with, and the result is fun if only
somewhat factual.
Newman was by far the bigger star at the time he played Butch Cassidy, and though an actor of equal stature
initially was sought for the part of the Sundance Kid – Jack Lemmon, Steve McQueen and Warren Beatty were
among those discussed – Redford’s career received an enormous boost from his being cast opposite Newman,
and from his holding his own against his well-established performing partner.
Maybe the single best piece of evidence is the scene typically excerpted whenever the film is referenced,
showing Butch and Sundance cornered on a cliff, with the pair ultimately deciding to take a dangerous
leap into a river far below. There’s plenty of debate between them about whether to do so beforehand, with
Sundance eventually and reluctantly admitting that he can’t swim. An incredulous Butch then convinces him
not to worry about that, since “the fall will probably kill you.”
Katharine Ross also is essential to the story as Etta Place, the schoolteacher both men love ... though Butch
gets arguably the most charming sequence with her, riding a bicycle
to B.J. Thomas’ crooning of the Oscar-honored “Raindrops Keep
Paul Newman and
Fallin’ on My Head” (composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David,
Robert Redford in
with Bacharach picking up another of the statues for the picture’s
“Butch Cassidy and
the Sundance Kid”
overall score).
While the supporting cast directed by George Roy Hill (who would
reunite with Newman and Redford four years later on “The Sting”)
includes such screen staples as Strother Martin, Cloris Leachman and
Henry Jones, another notable player is Ted Cassidy – Lurch on TV’s
The Addams Family“ – as a tall and fearsome opponent of Butch
early in the film. Also present as ”Card Player 2“ is Sam Elliott, who
was destined to marry lead actress Ross about 15 years later.
The legacy of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” is very
evident for Redford; where do you think the name of his Sundance
Film Institute came from? However, the movie also has a much
bigger legacy, as a unique and enduring piece of entertainment that
still holds up nicely more than 50 years later.
Solution on page 18