Wonkette Movie Night: Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid
'Boy, I got vision, and the rest of the world wears bifocals.'
Charles Robert Redford Jr. was born on August 18, 1936. He died in his sleep on Sept. 16 after a spectacular career spent directing, producing, and of course acting in movies.
Robert Redford started his career on the TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Acting in three episodes, here he is as an injured bad guy/cop killer in S 7, E 11, “The Right Kind of Medicine.” To see a young Redford, I found it for free on The Roku Channel.
From there he moved onto Broadway, starring in Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon in 1963. A handsome, blue-eyed blonde who also had talent was destined for superstardom. His third film was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969, the success of which led to the eventual creation of the Sundance Film Festival.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid also gifted us the acting duo of Redford of Newman, who also co-starred in The Sting in 1973.
Paul Newman and Robert Redford maintained a lifelong friendship, later in life becoming neighbors in Connecticut. They wanted to do a third film together but could not find the right one, with Redford creating A Walk in the Woods for that purpose. But Newman’s poor health prevented his participation and the role was instead played by Nick Nolte.
Other outstanding films included The Way We Were; Three Days of the Condor; and All the President’s Men.
The Sundance Institute honored their founder with this message:
“The loss of our founder and friend Robert Redford, leaves us bereft and grateful for his life’s work. Bob’s vision of a space and platform for independent voices launched a movement that, over four decades later, has inspired generations of artists and redefined cinema in the U.S. and around the world. Beyond his enormous contributions to culture at large, we will miss his generosity, clarity of purpose, curiosity, rebellious spirit, and his love for the creative process. We are humbled to be among the stewards of his remarkable legacy, which will continue to guide the Institute in perpetuity.”
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is available for free on the Internet Archive. $3.99 in the usual places.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stars Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Katharine Ross, Ted Cassidy, Cloris Leachman, Strother Martin, and Sam Elliott. Directed by George Roy Hill. Music composed by Burt Bacharach.
To make requests and see the movie lists and schedules go to WonkMovie.
The animated short is Fresh Guacamole by PES.
Our next Movie Night selection is What We Do in the Shadows, available for free on the Internet Archive. Available to rent for $2.69 - $3.99.
𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀:
William Goldman first came across the story of Butch Cassidy in the late 1950s and researched it on and off for eight years before sitting down to write the screenplay. He later recalled, "The whole reason I wrote the thing, there is that famous line that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, who was one of my heroes: 'There are no second acts in American lives.' When I read about Cassidy and Longabaugh and the super posse coming after them, that's phenomenal material. They ran to South America and lived there for eight years, and that was what thrilled me: they had a second act. They were more legendary in South America than they had been in the old West. It's a great story. Those two guys and that pretty girl going down to South America and all that stuff. It just seems to me it's a wonderful piece of material." Goldman said he wrote the story as an original screenplay because he did not want to do the research to make it authentic as a novel.
Here it is! The schedule for Wonktober Frightfest 2025:
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥'𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞
𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐈𝐧
𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐋𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐧
𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐒𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 (𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟖)
𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐃𝐚𝐰𝐧 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝 (𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟒)