In 1970, Butch Cassidy and the Kidbroadcast this Wednesday, January 1 on Arte, brought together Robert Redford and Paul Newman on screen for the first time. But is this film inspired by a true story?
A cult film and two legendary actors. Four years before responding in The scamRobert Redford and Paul Newman, already considered essential actors in American cinema, play opposite each other in Butch Cassidy and the Kid by George Roy Hill. In this film, broadcast this Wednesday January 1 on Arte, they play Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid, two train and bank robbers who were rampant at the beginning of the 20th century. However, if their plan never fails, the authorities quickly go after them to prevent them from doing any harm…
If this feature film has entered posterity thanks to its incredible casting, which could have notably included Steve McQueen in the role of Sundance Kid, if he had not refused, Marlon Brando but also Dustin Hoffman, considered to play Butch Cassidy, it also has the distinction of being inspired by a true story. Three years after the release of Bonnie and Clyde by Raymond Hamilton, American cinema once again takes up the criminal exploits of the famous bandits Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid. Members of the gang of thugs called the Wild Bunch, they raged in the United States at the end of the 19th century until their flight to Bolivia.
What happened to the real Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid?
Forced into a life of wandering, the gang disbanded in the early 20th century before apparently dying out with the deaths of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. While the circumstances of their deaths are uncertain, it is possible that the two looters were shot dead by Bolivian police after attempting to continue their criminal activities in their refuge country. Their accomplice Etta Place, played in the film Butch Cassidy and the Kid by Katharine Ross, would have managed to be forgotten over the years.
