Sixty-one years ago today, Steve McQueen ‘s The Cincinnati Kid opened in New York theaters after a troubled production that nearly derailed the movie. Director Sam Peckinpah was fired after just one week of filming, while Hollywood legend Spencer Tracy had already abandoned the project.

The October 27, 1965, release ultimately became a memorable showdown between McQueen and Edward G. Robinson. But according to the American Film Institute , the movie’s biggest drama happened before the cameras finished rolling.

Related: Steve McQueen Turned Down a 1967 John Wayne Western

Why Sam Peckinpah Was Fired

American actor Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980) stars as Eric Stoner alongside Tuesday Weld as Christian Rudd in ‘The Cincinnati Kid’, directed by Norman Jewison, 1965. Photo by Getty Images

Peckinpah, who later directed The Wild Bunch , began shooting the poker drama in November 1964.…