 The film was originally conceived as a western version of  William Shakespeare (I) (qv)s "Romeo and Juliet," to be called  "Ramona and Julian". In the fall of 1967, while on a lecture tour in  Tucson with Andy Warhol (qv), Paul Morrissey (I) (qv) had  mentioned to the press that their next film would be a western  filmed on location in Tucson and would be called "The Unwanted  Cowboy."