Dunno what gives you that idea.
I saw the film when it first came on the screen.I was in my mid twenties. Unfortunately all I remember is Robert Redford dressed in groovy suits with his blond ginger hair falling around his face and who incidentally I had fallen in love with from other films. This one was no different.
Perhaps if they had cast John Wayne or Yul Bryner in this part I would be telling you all about the film and not the man.