Katharine Ross Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969), co-starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. After appearing in "The Graduate", a part for which she received an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe as New Star of the Year, she said, "I'm not a movie star...that system is dying and I'd like to help it along." She also won a BAFTA for her part as an Indian in "Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here" (1969). Ross turned down several roles (including Jacqueline Bisset's role in "Bullitt") before accepting the part in "Butch Cassidy". Afterward she turned down several more roles, including a part
The Wild Bunch his previous film "Major Dundee" (1965) and his firing from the set of "The Cincinnati Kid" (1965), Peckinpah's stock had improved following his critically acclaimed work on the television film "Noon Wine" (1966). An alternative screenplay available at the studio was "The Wild Bunch", written by Roy Sickner and Walon Green. At the time, William Goldman's screenplay "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" had recently been purchased by 20th Century Fox. It was quickly decided that "The Wild Bunch", which had several similarities to Goldman's work, would be produced in order to beat "Butch Cassidy" to the theaters. By the