effects crew, was not  particularly experienced, having ascended the ranks after Peckinpah  fired his predecessors. Stuntman Joe Canutt (qv) appealed to both  Hulburd and Peckinpah to no avail, so finally, out of concern for  the other stuntmen, Canutt enlisted the help of screenwriter  Gordon T. Dawson (qv), who was instructed to stand behind Hulburd  with a club. If the stuntmen began to fall before the final charge  was set off, something that wouldve resulted in death, Dawson was  to club Hulburd unconscious before he detonated the last charge.  Luckily, the stunt went off without a hitch.