Butch Cassidy and the Outlaw Trail

Original Airdate: June 2003

This one-hour documentary follows the outlaw's life from his youth in Circleville, Utah, to the shootout in a remote Bolivian village that still has some people wondering: Did he die in South America or did he return to the United States?
 

Producer Q & A  

An Interview with John Howe. 
 

Q: After the premiere of the 1969 film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," many different versions of the Butch story began to circulate. How is your documentary different?  

A: Our goals for Butch Cassidy and The Outlaw Trail are to make one of the most definitive film histories of the outlaws and advance the knowledge of the story beyond what has been previously produced. Our narrator, motion picture actor Hal Holbrook, is a great storyteller. We hope this journey of discovery will be an educational adventure for the audience, as it was for the filmmaking team. It's one of the most dramatic stories and greatest mysteries of the American West. The locations are breathtakingly beautiful. There are a lot of questions to be asked. We hope the film illuminates some of them. 

Q: Butch Cassidy and "The Wild Bunch" were relatively successful at evading authorities. Considering the high volume of bank and train robberies attributed to Butch and his fellow outlaws, how did they consistently stay one step ahead of the authorities?  

A: The escapes appear to be methodical and well thought out. The outlaws developed a strategy of placing relay horses in a Pony Express manner that allowed them to switch to fresh mounts as lawmen were closing in. Even so, the fate of many of the outlaws was a violent end. They were killed or captured by lawmen. 

Q: What is so mysterious about Etta Place, and at what point did she enter the outlaws' lives?  

A: Very little is known to this day about Etta Place, whose last name was the Sundance Kid's mother's maiden name. Historians believe she entered the lives of Butch and Sundance probably in Texas. They speculate she may have been a teacher or prostitute. Sundance introduced her to his family as his wife. She joined Butch and Sundance in Argentina and then disappeared into history. 

Q: What was your most interesting or difficult day of shooting for Butch Cassidy and the Outlaw Trail?  

A: The entire location filming process was extremely arduous and physically demanding. The locations are very remote and difficult to reach. The story eventually leads to South America. The most interesting and also most difficult day was in the small village of San Vicente, Bolivia. Some historians think Butch and Sundance are buried in the cemetery in San Vicente in unmarked graves. It took the filmmakers about two days by jeep to reach the village at the foot of the Bolivian Andes. The altitude is about 14,500 feet. Any physical activity was difficult and we had to climb to high altitudes for overviews. Yet, the ambience of the village was steeped in mystery. Another very memorable day was the filming of Butch and Sundance's ranch in Argentina. It gave me the feeling of walking in the famous outlaws' footsteps.  

Q: Of all the possible hideouts, why did Butch and Sundance choose to relocate to Argentina?  

A: The best reason may have been that it was simply very far away from lawmen in the United States. Argentina may have also reminded them of the American West. It was a well-known cattle and ranching area. The location of the ranch is very remote but exquisitely beautiful. 

Q: What will viewers take away from this film?  

A: I hope the film will be an entertaining yet educational experience for viewers. Butch Cassidy is famous, yet so much of the history and locations have rarely been glimpsed by the public. What actually happened to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of the greatest mysteries of the American West. The film presents information that is not widely known, which, I hope, is representative of the best historical thinking of the day.