Ned Beatty Trippe in "Deliverance" (1972), starring Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds, and set in northern Georgia. Beatty's character is forced to strip at gunpoint by two mountain men who humiliate and rape him, a scene so unprecedented, horrifying and shocking that it is still referenced as a screen milestone. In 1972, he also appeared in "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean", a western with Paul Newman. In 1973, Beatty made "The Thief Who Came to Dinner", "The Last American Hero" and "White Lightning". The latter film reunited Beatty with his "Deliverance" co-star, Burt Reynolds. He also appeared in an
Burt Reynolds reuniting him with Welch, and made a cameo in "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex*(*But Were Afraid to Ask)" (1972). He also returned to the stage, appearing in "The Rainmaker" at the Arlington. Reynolds played the title role in "Shamus" (1973), a modern-day private eye, which was a solid box office success. Reynolds described it as "not a bad film, kind of cute." He was in "The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing" (1973) co-starring Sarah Miles. The film is best remembered for the scandal during filming where Miles' lover committed suicide; it was a minor hit. He was