“The formula is a leading man who comes into a situation that is not his problem, can walk away from it at any time, and finally stays there and solves it. And usually mine was a lonely leading guy, who had lost a wife or something, which is always a good character. Not because you feel sorry for him, because he doesn’t feel sorry for himself. Usually tough guys who won’t tell up front what’s bothering them.”
Burt Kennedy, interviewed by Sean Axmaker (Parallax View, November 6, 2008, courtesy of Jaime Weinman)