is gunned down. Disgusted with the entire affair and sorry he had to shoot Ross, Paul rides off, leaving John alone struggling to return Ross' dead body to the scene of his crime. The movie ends with a flashback of Ross riding a bucking bronc while Frank cheers him on. Cast Production The film was made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer through Blake Edwards' own company. William Holden and Ryan O'Neal agreed to play the leads and filming began in late 1970. It was O'Neal's first movie since Love Story. Parts of the film were shot at Monument Valley, Professor Valley, and Arches in Utah as well as Old Tucson and Sedona in Arizona. During post production, MGM management – in particular James T. Aubrey and Douglas Netter – cut 40 minutes from the film, without Edwards' knowledge or consent. "There was no discussion; an integral part was simply removed", said Edwards. "If I take a chair and removed one leg, you still have a chair but it won't stand up, will it?" "He cut the heart right out of it", Edwards said of Aubrey. "I wrote and conceived it as a Greek tragedy. Aubrey and Netter just said 'the audience wants to see Ryan O'Neal.'" Douglas Netter said the changes were made after disappointing previews. Shortly after filming finished it was announced O'Neal and Holden would reunite on Top of the Mountain based on a script by Peter Viertel about hunting in Kenya. The film was never made. Reception The film performed disappointingly at the box office on its initial release. The ad campaign was blamed with some saying the poster of O'Neal hugging Holden from behind was unintentionally hilarious. Variety magazine published an article mocking the campaign causing a dispute between MGM management and Variety. The ad campaign was later changed. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 57% based on 14 reviews, with an average score of 6.00/10. Home media Most of the deleted footage discussed above was restored for the film's 1986 MGM home video release. An official DVD-R release was issued on February 22, 2011, through the Warner Archive Collection. See also List of American films of 1971 Hale Ranch References External links Review of film at Criterioncast Review of film at the New Yorker Review of film at DVD Talk Review of film at New York Times 1971 films 1971 Western (genre)