Bite the Bullet (1975) on Netflix
PG19752h 12mActionAdventureWestern
A newspaper stages an endurance horse race across 700 miles of country. Sam Clayton and Luke Matthews, former Rough Riders, ride against Miss Jones and a wealthy man's champion thoroughbred.
- Netflix3.2/5
- IMDb6.6/106,605 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes73%
Trailer
Plot summary
A newspaper in the American West announces an endurance race in 1906: riders must cover 700 miles of country in a matter of days, and the victor takes the entire purse. Sam Clayton and Luke Matthews, both former Rough Riders, enter as friends and rivals, each set on winning. Miss Jones, a woman of little virtue, joins the field. So do Carbo, a punk kid, Mister, an aging cowhand whose health is failing, and Sir Harry Norfolk, an English gentleman who rides for the sport of it. One Mexican contestant has a toothache. Jack Parker, a wealthy man, has entered a thoroughbred of championship pedigree and does not intend to see it lose.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Bite the Bullet (1975)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Richard Brooks always wanted Gene Hackman for the lead, but Hackman was tied up making French Connection II, so Columbia pushed for Paul Newman or Steve McQueen. Brooks met McQueen and his then-wife Ali MacGraw and offered them both roles, but she turned them down because she was pregnant.
- Candice Bergen was signed as Miss Jones, and for Luke Matthews the names floated included Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Bruce Dern, whom Brooks wanted but Columbia did not. Columbia asked for Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson or George Segal before settling on James Coburn.
- Gene Hackman read the script and wanted the part, so Fox agreed to delay French Connection II to free him for the film.
- Richard Brooks said the film's 1906 race was inspired by an actual 700 mi, $2,500 race held in 1908, run from Wyoming to Denver, Colorado, and created by the Denver Post (called the Western Post in the film).
