destroying the majority of the film. Although Thames' chances of winning the lawsuit were described as good, the filmmakers did not mount a lawsuit to recover the film, as a defense was estimated to cost £100,000, far greater than the amount of money the company could make by recovering and selling the film. Thames eventually settled out of court, signing a confidential agreement that stated they would destroy all their copies of the film. In January 1979, the original film was reported to be sealed in a London court vault. Aftermath By January 1979, four of the six cowboys interviewed in the film had died; only one was still alive in 1982. James Bowling would himself die of pancreatic cancer in 1997. Despite Thames' having agreed to destroy all copies of the film, both the film and photocopies of the confidential agreement leaked out. Dr Stanton Glantz of the University of California obtained an unlicensed copy, which he screened at a public seminar in May 1982. He also gave a copy to San Francisco TV station KRON-TV, which also aired it that month. The film was also shown twice during the penultimate weekend of January 1983 on Chicago's WTTW as an installment of Image Union. Notes and references See also Marlboro Man External links Death in the West at the Internet Archive NBC Monitor coverage of "Death in the West" at the Internet Archive NBC Monitor coverage of "Death in the West" at the UCSF archive, the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library British television documentaries Documentary films about advertising Tobacco advertising Television controversies in the United Kingdom Documentary films about cancer