Butch and Sundance: The Early Days

A decade after George Roy Hill’s classic Western comedy Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Lester helmed this underrated prequel, chronicling the wild youths and historic meeting of cinema’s most genial outlaws. Tom Berenger was cast as Butch on the strength of his breakout turn in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and the resemblance William Katt (TV’s The Greatest American Hero) had to Robert Redford made him a natural choice for Sundance. Original screenwriter William Goldman contributed to Allan Burns’s script, adding scenes he intended for the first film, which Lester, shockingly, had never seen. (Claiming no affinity for Westerns, the director asserted he was making “a Victorian adventure.”) Oscar-nominated costumes and a top-notch supporting cast—including Jeff Corey, reprising his Sheriff Bledsoe role—distinguish this endearing escapade.