I believe Romanoff's post. I could never understand why a character actor of the caliber of Cameron Mitchell just "disappears" from the film so early. Narratively, he was needed at the mine to play a role parallel to Mr. and Mrs. Favor. Mr. Favor and Jessie in the cabin, their significant others (Mrs. Favor and Mitchell) down below. Mitchell's character was meant to be there, and possibly shot for an act of conscience due to his feelings for Jessie.
Listen: Paul Newman was not a SAINT, he was a man, and he was the greatest draw at the Box office in history after John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable and Tom Cruise (in terms of performance in the annual list of Top 10 Box Office stars). You don't get there by not being calculating. I mean, have you ever seen THE SECRET WAR OF HARRY FRIGG? As Pauline Kael pointed out in the mid-1960s (I think it was a review of HARPER), Newman had the maturity to now play risky material, and was suited to playing Saul Bellow's Herzog.
Newman did less with his talent than Brando, but not being a genius, he wasn't scored for it.
I say this as Newman as the star of the movie (and a Top 3 box office star who would, in two years, ascend to #1) and he has to be be PROTECTED. The relationship between Jessie and John Russell is the center of the movie; there chemistry, no matter how muted (due to Russell's character) is the reason Russell sacrifices himself -- to save Jessie. He wouldn't have done it for anyone else.
The survival of Cameron Mitchell's character might have complicated the plot line. First off, it's simpler without his character there at the end, and eliminating him reduces the problem of Mitchell's taking the spotlight away from Newman's character, and complicating the relationship of Russell and Jessie.
Besides, Mitchell was giving a fine performance and could have stolen scenes. You already have Richard Boone stealing the film as a whole with his memorable baddie -- having two thieves in the cast was too much.
Ray Walston, in an interview on THE STING DVD, says that in a scene without Newman or Redford, with just Harold Gould, he was doing some "business" to boost his performance and director George Roy Hill cracked down on him. Hill told him to cut the business, as the movie was about Newman and Redford.
Jesus Christ, the cast already had double Oscar-winner Frederic March, at the time considered the great American actor (he was a great stage actor, too; Spencer Tracy was just a movie actor and he eventually inherited the title until Brando's comeback in the early 1970s blew away all contenders for the title). Notice how he doesn't exactly act up a storm, or is given much of a part. He is just there, doing a nice walk-through bit part a hundred actors could have played. But he was Frederic March.
Having Cameron Mitchell at the end would have complicated things.
My feeling is that Newman, to protect his part (which is being overwhelmed anyways by the great Boone and the wonderful Frank Silvera -- Martin Balsam was a fine actor, too, but he was playing a mouse), had Mitchell written out. HE DIDN'T BECOME AMERICA'S FAVORITE MOVIE STAR SINCE THE DEATH OF GABLE BY NOT BEING CAREER ORIENTED.
Burt Lancaster had Barbara Loden fired from THE SWIMMER and replace dby Janice Rule as Loden acted him off ths screen. The scenes were reshot. YOU HAVE TO PROTECT THE STAR.
Mitchell is very fine in his early scenes. So, it was time for him to go. Having Boone, Silvera, and Mitchell at the end is one good actor too many, as Newman already is surrounded by Oscar-nominees Diane Cilento, Martin Balsam (soon to win his trophy), and double-Oscar-winner Frederic March.
Mitchell probably gave them an excuse by feeling some sense of equality and asking Newman, who had the power on the set, for better conditions. Anyone who has been on a set that must come in on time and budget and faces multitudes of breakdowns, mishaps, needs for reshooting, etc. knows that things can get pretty heavy for the cast (as well as the crew).
So Newman had him written out.
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"Why do people always laugh in the wrong places?"
--Julian Sorel
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