Alias Smith and Jones called the Devil's Hole Gang, loosely based on the Hole in the Wall Gang from which Cassidy recruited most of his outlaws. To lend them an element of audience sympathy, Heyes and Curry were presented as men who avoided bloodshed (though Curry did once kill in self-defense) and always were attempting to reform and seek redemption for their "prior ways". The names "Smith" and "Jones" originated from a comment in the 1969 film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", when before one of their final hold-ups, the characters are outside a bank in Bolivia and Sundance turns to Butch and
The Legend of Butch & Sundance had died in Bolivia after the shoot-out [in 1908]. I took that contradiction and thought, 'What a great film that would make.'" Fasano later said that the production team strove for historical accuracy. Actor David Clayton Rogers said he practiced gun handling and horseback riding for the role of Butch Cassidy. "True West Magazine"s Henry Cabot Beck reviewed "The Legend of Butch & Sundance" unfavorably stating "I don't suppose this family-friendly picture would offend anyone who wants to see a return of a Kenny Rogers-type Oater, but true buffs who want an adult and ambitious Western had best look elsewhere."