Even the greatest filmmakers cannot conjure masterpieces out of thin air. Every grand cinematic achievement requires a solid foundation, often built through trial, error, and sometimes even failure. For Sam Peckinpah, the director of the 1969 classic *The Wild Bunch*, widely regarded as one of the greatest Westerns ever made, that foundation was laid during the tumultuous production of his 1965 film *Major Dundee*.…







