The 9 Nov 1966 DV announced that producer-director Sam Peckinpah purchased rights to John Crawford and Edmund Penney’s screenplay, The Ballad of Cable Hogue. The project was set to be executive produced by Phil Feldman, with financing and distribution from Warner Bros.—Seven Arts, Inc., according to a 13 Aug 1968 DV item. Peckinpah and associate producer Gordon Dawson co-wrote a revised screenplay, as stated in the 22 Aug 1968 DV, but neither received a writing credit on the final film.
       The 12 Oct 1968 LAT announced the casting of Jason Robards, Jr. A 5 Feb 1969 Var brief stated that Tom Gries would play a cameo, and the 5 Mar 1969 Var reported that film student Gill Dennis was set to aid Peckinpah as part of the AFI Intern Program.
       The start of principal photography on 27 Jan 1969 was announced in a 31 Jan 1969 DV production chart. Shooting began in the desert around Las Vegas, NV, where inclement weather prompted Peckinpah to write a new sequence that called for rain, as noted in the 30 Jan 1969 DV. . Weeks later, the 4 Mar 1970 Var reported that desert shooting had been “rained out” for a total of twenty-one days. Delays and re-shoots also stemmed from Peckinpah’s decision to film in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, using older camera equipment which frequently jammed.
       While in Nevada, location shooting took place in the Valley of Fire State Park, as noted in an 18 Mar 1969 LAT article. Sets included a 108-year-old cabin that Peckinpah had bought in the High Sierra region of California, which he later planned to rebuild on a residential lot he owned in Malibu, CA.
       Throughout some of production, Peckinpah worked six-day weeks on The Ballad of Cable Hogue, while editing The Wild Bunch (1969, see entry) on Sundays. Location filming in Nevada and Arizona was completed by 16 Apr 1969, according to that day’s Var, and the 4 Mar 1970 Var noted that principal photography was finished by the time The Wild Bunch premiered in mid-Jun 1969.
       During post-production, Peckinpah traveled between Burbank, CA, where he was overseeing editing of the picture on the Warner Bros.—Seven Arts studio lot, and Hawaii, where he spent time vacationing with his four children from his first marriage. The 15 Aug 1969 DV indicated that Peckinpah also did some editing while in Hawaii.
       By early 1970, ownership of Warner Bros.—Seven Arts had changed hands, and the studio was renamed Warner Bros. Pictures. Around that time, Peckinpah had disagreements with Warner Bros. over how it was handling the release of The Ballad of Cable Hogue, which he feared would be mangled, much like he felt Warner Bros.—Seven Arts had mishandled The Wild Bunch. The 4 Mar 1970 Var listed Peckinpah’s concern (which turned out to be unfounded) that Warner Bros. had been screening “an uncorrected print minus the full musical score” for critics, and also cited his disapproval of Warner Bros.’ plans to open the film in single-theater “showcases” in Los Angeles and New York City. Peckinpah claimed a partial victory when Warner Bros. agreed to release the film in multiple theaters in Los Angeles, but not in New York.
       According to the 4 Mar 1970 Var, Peckinpah was also upset by the Motion Picture Association of America’s (MPAA) decision to rate the film R (which restricted viewers under age seventeen without a parent or guardian) instead of M (suggested for mature audiences), as the organization had informed him that the film lay somewhere between the two.
       Prior to release, a screening was scheduled to take place on 8 Mar 1970, as part of a Peckinpah series at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), according to the 6 Mar 1970 DV. Other films in the program were Peckinpah’s 1966 episode for the ABC “Stage 67” television series, Noon Wine; his 1962 feature film, Ride the High Country (see entry); and The Wild Bunch.
       Shortly before the picture opened on 18 Mar 1970 in Los Angeles, the 4 Mar 1970 Var stated that the film had gone $1.5 million over budget, for a final negative cost of $3 million.
       Following positive critical reception, the 17 Apr 1970 DV announced that the picture had been selected to screen at the non-competitive Sorrento-Naples Film Festival. It was later chosen as one of two U.S. entries for the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain. However, as noted in the 22 Jul 1970 Var, problems arose at San Sebastian when Warner Bros. pulled the picture from competition for reasons related to its release in Paris, France. Peckinpah was upset by the studio’s decision, and also peeved about unauthorized edits he had detected in the screened print. He was quoted at a festival press conference as saying, “I’m furious with Warner Bros…I’m ready to stop them from ever repeating such a stunt. I’m going to sue.” Actress Stella Stevens, who also attended the festival, was said to be at odds with Peckinpah and refused to join him onstage when he presented the film.
       Although it was removed from competition at San Sebastian, the film was later honored by the Association of Spanish Critics, which named The Ballad of Cable Hogue Best Foreign Picture, an item in the 9 Feb 1972 Var reported.
       Actress Susan O’Connell made her theatrical motion picture debut in the film.