While legends are defined by their immortality, they are often born out of spontaneity. Such was the case for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, directed by George Roy Hill (The Sting) in 1969: a film that was intended to be one thing and ended up another. In fact, the original title was The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy, with superstar Steve McQueen as Sundance and Paul Newman as Butch. When McQueen dropped out, Jack Lemmon was approached but ultimately declined (due to prior commitments to The Odd Couple) and Robert Redford ended up with the role.

The film was originally intended to have a far more serious tone to it, and it was even rehearsed with that in mind. But on the first day of shooting the train robbing sequence (in which co-star Katherine Ross operated one of the five cameras), Newman decided to play Butch with a more humorous angle and Hill instructed him to run with it. The sister of the real-life Butch Cassidy was a frequent visitor to the set and approved as well, often regaling the cast and crew with stories and often commented on Newman’s “accurate” portrayal.

The notorious Hole in the Wall gang is led by the suave and savvy Butch Cassidy with the sharp shooting Sundance Kid riding shotgun on every adventure. Combining their brains and bullets, the two get by with paltry robberies here and there until the law decides to band together. With a legendary Indian tracker at their head, a band of lawmen chase the outlaws across the west. After they exercise every trick in the book trying to shake the trackers, Butch and Sundance finally collect Sundance’s girlfriend Etta Place (Ross) and hightail it to Bolivia where they can live comfortably off their accumulated income.

But once in Bolivia, the allure of easy money and easier glory beckons soon enough and before long, the duo are at it again, this time in unfamiliar territory.

The film was shot in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and even in Mexico (where the bad water subdued all but the film’s three stars) and became a modest hit and even spawned a prequel with Tom Berenger and William Katt as the title characters. In 2004, a made for TV movie titled The Legend of Butch and Sundance purported to tell the “true” story of the famous criminal tandem. But while one can always become a legend, no one can truly replace one.