In Search of Nice Americans by Geoff Steward

Author:Geoff Steward [Geoff Steward]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781785903069
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
Published: 2017-03-17T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Katharine Ross – Katharine Ross – Katharine Ross – Katharine Ross – Katharine Ross – Katharine Ross

SOUNDTRACK: BURT BACHARACH – ‘RAINDROPS KEEP FALLIN’ ON MY HEAD’

In 1998, to commemorate the first 100 years of American movies, the American Film Institute published a definitive (in their view) selection of the 100 greatest American movies of all time. More than 1,500 leaders from the American film community, in their collective wisdom, decided that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was only the 50th greatest. I deduce that the American Film Institute cannot be very wise. They ranked Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at no. 49. At no. 3 was The Godfather (but The Godfather II, which everyone knows is a much better movie, did not feature); at no. 2 was Casablanca (because of two lines, one of which was never actually said in the movie); and at no. 1, predictably, was Citizen Kane (on the basis that movie critics everywhere have to rank it at no. 1 for fear of being ostracised by all of their fellow critics who have now had to endure the turgid film for the past seventy-five years and therefore want everyone else to share in their misery, in much the same way as priests encourage others to become priests).

In truth, the greatest three American movies of all time are The Great Escape, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and, still at no. 1 after all these years, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It made an indelible impression on me at the age of eleven or twelve when I was first allowed to stay up to watch it all the way through. It had all I could possibly ask for in a movie: the insuperable buddy chemistry between two of the three greatest Hollywood actors of their generation, Robert Redford and Paul Newman (the other being of course Steve McQueen, who was more of a loner and less into buddy films); the perfect Burt Bacharach soundtrack; a playful script with some wonderful one-liners (‘I swear, if Sweetface told me that I rode out of town ten minutes ago, I’d believe him’); and the magnificent scenery of my next stop, Utah. And then of course there was the light of my life, fire of my loins, Katharine Ross.

Everyone remembers the iconic scene where Paul Newman (Butch Cassidy) wakes up Robert Redford (the Sundance Kid)’s lover, played to perfection by flawless Katharine, by making ghost sounds and whistling outside the bedroom which she is sharing with Sundance (in the eyes of the American Film Institute, his whistling can’t have been as good as that of the seven dwarfs). He then rides her around on the handlebars of the futuristic invention, a bicycle, to the soundtrack of ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head’. When Butch returns her to Sundance’s log cabin, having crashed the bicycle, Sundance asks what he’s been doing. ‘Stealin’ your woman,’ replies Newman confrontationally. ‘Take her,’ says Redford. ‘Well, you’re a romantic bastard, I’ll give you that,’ concludes Newman.

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