The most successful movie in the history of the Baftas
Every year, one movie emerges from a hotly-contested field to become the runaway victor of awards season, hoovering up a significantly higher number of trophies than the competition. In the case of the Baftas, a stone-cold classic set a record that still hasn’t been broken more than half a century later.
What makes it particularly unusual, though, is that the film in question managed to smash any and all existing benchmarks at the Baftas without having to compete against the title that thwarted it at the Academy Awards, with that breathing room proving pivotal to the unmatched haul accrued by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
George Roy Hill’s seminal Western was released in the United States in September 1969, placing it firmly in the running at the 42nd edition of the Oscars, which aired in February 1970. While it won four statues in total, it lost out to John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy in the ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’ categories.
Midnight Cowboy would also emerge victorious in the corresponding categories at the Baftas, but Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid wasn’t even part of the field. Instead, a delayed rollout in the United Kingdom wouldn’t see the Robert Redford and Paul Newman’s gun-toting favourite arrive in local cinemas until February 1970, which pushed it to the following year’s edition of the event.
That turned out to be a blessing in disguise because without Midnight Cowboy standing in its way, Butch and Sundance were free to dominate the 24th edition of the Baftas, which didn’t occur until March 1971. As a result, the pathway was clear to establish a lofty record that stands to this day, after the historical buddy caper with a gun-toting twist notched nine wins in total.
In fact, the only one of its ten nominations that didn’t yield success was Newman’s fruitless nod for ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role’, which was only because Redford’s name was read out on the podium. Beyond that, it was a clean sweep for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, with no other feature having ever managed to replicate its nine-gong tally.
In addition to Redford’s ‘Best Actor’ trophy, there were further prizes for ‘Best Film’, ‘Best Direction’, ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role’, ‘Best Screenplay’, ‘Best Cinematography’, ‘Best Editing’, ‘Best Original Music’, and ‘Best Sound’. Five of those categories had been won by American Cowboy the previous year, and based on what happened at the Oscars, it stands to reason that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid may not have set a record at all were it going directly head-to-head with the X-rated drama at the Baftas.
It’s a curious set of circumstances, without a doubt, but they proved hugely beneficial to the film’s record-breaking performance nonetheless.
