Sundance Kid was an American criminal who was best known for his train robberies and bank heists back in the 1890s.
A small glimpse of the Sundance Kid
The American criminal Sundance Kid was born in 1867 in Monte Carlo, Pennsylvania. At the age of 15, he was headed west when he received his name while he was trying to steal a horse in Sundance, Wyoming.
After spending a couple of years in jail, Sundance kid resumed his activities in crime. He used to rob banks and trains along with his Wild Bunch.
He and his conspirators are known for going on the longest crime spree in the history of the United States. When it became hard for him to rob in the West, he eventually fled to South America where he carried on his career in crime.
There is a huge debate regarding the death of the Sundance kid. Some historians say that he got died in a shootout in Bolivia while others are off the view that he came back to Central America and lived under the name of William Long until he died in 1936.
Sundance kid – The Movie
Sundance Kid was the first-ever film that paired the winning duo, Robert Redford and Paul Newman together. The movie not only gave “Butch” four Oscars but also gave Redford the idea of launching a film festival that would later become a sensation of its own.
The Sundance kid was a script written by William Goldman who told us the true story about the American fugitives, Robert Leroy Parker and Harry Longbaugh (better known as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid).
The duo was on a train robbing spree and was constantly hiding from the authorities. Both of them escape to Bolivia with Kid’s lover hoping they’ll be able to turn their luck around in a new city.
Even though the movie mostly opened from mixed to negative reviews, the screenplay and the acting of the lead stars were highly praised. The film held certain cultural significance and was given its due credit in the history of America.
Legacy of Sundance Kid
In 2003, the film was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
The film has also inspired a television series Alias Smith and Jones that stars Pete Duel and Ben Murphy as outlaws trying to earn amnesty.
Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, a prequel to The Sundance Kid was released that starred Tom Benger as Butch Cassidy and William Katt as the Sundance Kid. The movie was written by Allan Burns and Richard Lester.
Sundance kid and Sundance Film Festival
You guessed it right!
Sundance Film Festival was named after Sundance Kid because of the association Robert Redford had with the film.
The name of the Sundance Film Festival was changed quite a few times. First, it was known as the US Film Festival that was later changed to the Utah Film Festival after the creation of the Sundance Institute.
Finally, in 1985, when Robert Redford’s organization took over the festival, he named it after the Sundance Kid.
Since then, Sundance Film Festival has given opportunities to numerous emerging filmmakers and has made its name among the biggest independent film festivals of the nation.
Sundance Film Festival 2020 is right around the corner, we thought it was only fair that we introduce you to the mark that Sundance Kid has made.
For more information on the upcoming Sundance Festival 2020, stay tuned.
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