Page "Sam Peckinpah" Paragraph 17

Peckinpah was next signed to direct The Cincinnati Kid, a gambling drama about a young prodigy who takes on an old master during a big New Orleans poker match.

Before filming started, producer Martin Ransohoff began to receive phone calls about the Major Dundee ordeal and was told Peckinpah was impossible to work with.

In addition, Peckinpah decided to shoot in black and white and was hoping to transform the screenplay into a social realist saga about a kid surviving the tough streets of the Great Depression.

After four days of filming, which reportedly included some nude scenes, Ransohoff disliked the rushes and immediately fired him.

Eventually directed by Norman Jewison and starring Steve McQueen, the film went on to become a 1965 hit.

Peckinpah found himself banished from the film industry for several years.