I believe this movie was filmed before Butch Cassidy
From what I heard from sources. Anyone else agrees?
share....You're correct. When TCM showed the film last week, host Robert Osborne said that the release was delayed till after "Butch Cassidy...". Universal figured it would do better box-office. Director/Writer Polonsky assumed the studio had little faith in the film.
....I recently forced myself to watch "Butch..." and, granted, even with it being more a star(s) vehicle than the character-driven "Willie Boy", really doesn't hold up half as well.
"Willie Boy" is a fine film, but your put-down of "Butch Cassidy" is absurd. It holds up very well, with the possible exception of the Bacharach score (ironic, since it worked so well at the time). Still, with the witty and intelligent script by William Goldman (an elegant ode to the waning of the West), the iconic charisma of the actors, and the lush cinematography, it deserves its place as a classic.
"... forced myself to watch ...?" That's one compulsory act I'd gladly submit to every day.
"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
... "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"
....Almost 2 1/2 years later, I still feel the same way about it.
I never got the hoopla around "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" either, and I've watched it several times thinking I might finally "get it." It hasn't happened yet, but "Willie Boy" is a masterpiece of acting, direction and mood.
shareHey folks,
I think Dep misses an important factor in his comparison of Willie Boy and Butch and the Kid. To me, they were two completely different stories, and comparing the two films to each other seems a bit pointless. Willie Boy is a great story with great characters. Butch and the Kid was also a great story with great characters. To me, the two films take differnt paths from there. Both films are in my top ten or twenty favorites.
I don't know or understand what Robert Blake was nor what he has become, but I always thought this was one of his best performances as an actor. His role as George in Of Mice and Men is also one of my favorites. Redford as Coop certainly was not an inexperienced actor, and his role as Coop certainly was not the same as that of the Kid.
I think both films are great in their own rights and really are not comparable.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
Hello, Dave:
Excellent points about the futility of comparing "Butch" and "Willie." I think genre-type films like Westerns tend to get put on a convenient shelf, even when they are individually distinctive.
I don't understand who Robert Blake was or what he became either, and honestly, I don't particularly care. I only know that the characters he created on film and TV were impossible to ignore. "In Cold Blood" has another excellent Blake role.