Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

Factual error: Near the end of the film Butch is complaining about the living conditions they have to endure - jungles, swamps, snakes, night work - and Sundance sarcastically retorts "Bitch, bitch, bitch!" In 1908 the term meant just what it literally means: "Female dog." It did not adopt its current meaning of "complain" until much later. At the time the film is set - outside the context of "female dog" - it was considered to be a serious obscenity, and it would not have been used to describe something as ordinary as someone moaning about his living conditions.

Factual error: In the beginning, Sundance is accused of cheating at cards and the man accusing Sundance doesn't know who he is. To prove it, Sundance shoots the holster off the man and then the gun from his hand, and then shoots the gun around the room. All this takes 9 bullets. The gun is a revolver holding 6 bullets.

kh1616

Revealing mistake: In the opening sequence when Sundance shoots the gun belt off the card player, the film was cut to make the quick draw appear faster. You can see Butch's image jump across the screen in the background.

Continuity mistake: In the bicycle riding scene where Butch lets Etta ride on the handlebars, you can see her feet are resting on some sort of pegs protruding from the axle on each side of the bicycle wheel. When she is not riding, the pegs are not there.

john lancaster

Revealing mistake: In the scene where Strother Martin is leading Butch and Sundance back with the payroll Strother is shot dead. While he is on the ground Butch and Sundance scramble down near his body. You can see Strother's eye twitching from the kicked up dust.

Butch: Kid, next time I say "Let's go someplace like Bolivia", let's go someplace like Bolivia.
Sundance: Next time.

Cubs Fan

More quotes from Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

Trivia: The turn-of-the-century-style film (which plays alongside the opening credits) was originally intended to appear in the bulk of the story. On Butch, Sundance and Etta's trip through New York, they view this film, which depicts Butch and Sundance's deaths. It upsets Etta so much, it contributes to her later decision to return home by herself. The segment had an annoyed Butch and Sundance watching the film from the back of the theater, whispering comments like, "We never did that". The change was made when it was decided to make the trip through New York into a musical interlude over still-photos. The main reason for the change: the studio had just finished work on a "period" set of a New York street (ca.1900) for the film Hello Dolly and did not want this expensive set appearing in a different film first.

More trivia for Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

Question: The beginning of the film states that most of it is true. Are there any specific happenings which can be pointed out as not true?

Answer: It's doubtful Butch and Etta rode around on a bicycle together, and Butch and Sundance did not jump off a cliff into a river.

raywest

More questions & answers from Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.