Clint Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales

While Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992) racked up the critical accolades, I still maintain that the best Eastwood-directed Western is The Outlaw Josey Wales. Made 15 years earlier, Josey Wales is an unflinching portrait of a man coping with the loss of his family as the U.S. tries to heal from the wounds of its Civil War.

In the opening scene, farmer Josey Wales (Eastwood) loses his wife, his young son, and his home when a band of pro-Union "Redleg" marauders attack without provocation. Wales survives and joins a group of Confederate guerrillas led by a Captain Fletcher (John Vernon). Following General Robert E. Lee's surrender, Fletcher negotiates an agreement with a U.S. senator to gain amnesty for his men. Wales is the only one that refuses to participate.

Unknown to Fletcher, the amnesty is meaningless and all his soldiers are massacred. Wales opens fire on the Union troops, but eventually flees after being able to save only a young man named Jamie (Sam Bottoms). Wales is branded an outlaw with a bounty on his head. Fletcher and a Redleg named Terrill (Bill McKinney) are tasked with bringing Josey to justice. What Fletcher doesn't know is that Terrill is the man responsible for killing Wales' family.

Sondra Locke as the daughter.

For most of its running time, The Outlaw Josey Wales chronicles its protagonist's unlikely journey. I'm not talking about his trek from Missouri to Texas but rather his emotional journey as he gradually forms a new "family" consisting of an elderly Cherokee, a young Navajo woman, and a pioneer woman and her adult daughter. He provides and protects them while their reliance, gratitude, and friendship help him find peace and eventually a new home.

Eastwood has described The Outlaw Josey Wales as an anti-war film...and it's that, too. Josey avoids an expected showdown with the Comanches by reasoning with their leader. He explains that government leaders cannot be trusted and that treaties must be formed by men who live by their word. (This point is emphasized earlier in the film when the senator reneges on the amnesty agreement made with Fletcher).

Philip Kaufman co-wrote the screenplay and started out directing The Outlaw Josey Wales. However, Kaufman (perhaps best known for The Right Stuff) clashed with Eastwood. At the latter's insistence, Kaufman was removed as director and Eastwood took over. The Directors Guild of America was not pleased with Eastwood's treatment of Kaufman. Subsequently, it implemented what has come to be known as the "Eastwood rule," which prohibits an actor or producer from firing the director and then becoming the director himself.

Chief Dan George.

The standouts in the supporting cast are Chief Dan George as Josey's friend and Paula Trueman, who plays an elderly, opinionated, surprisingly resilient Kansas woman. The latter also appeared with Eastwood in the earlier Paint Your Wagon. Dan George was 74 when he did Josey Wales (he gets most of the good one-liners). He didn't start acting professionally until he was 60, but had already been Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Little Big Man (1970).

It was on the set of The Outlaw Josey Wales that Eastwood met Sondra Locke. The two would become romantically involved for fourteen years. Following their breakup, Locke filed a palimony suit against Eastwood. They eventually settled out of court, but it was a long, complex legal battle. Still, one of their films made when they were together was Bronco Billy (1980). Although a very different film, it's also about the forming of an unlikely family of outcasts. It would make an interesting double-feature with The Outlaw Josey Wales.

My Five Favorite Clint Eastwood Movies

Note that this list isn't comprised of the five best Eastwood films. Rather, it's just one fan's personal faves. And since this is a classic movie blog, I've focused on Clint's work through the 1980s.

1. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976). Eastwood's fifth film as a director spotlights two of his favorite themes: the bonding among outcasts and personal redemption. Set after the Civil War, Eastwood portrays the title fugitive, a former farmer who rediscovers his humanity as an assortment of outcasts join him on his quest for revenge. Eastwood skilfully blends action, comedy, and character development. I think this one also ranks near the top of any list of his best movies.

2. The Gauntlet (1977). Because Clint plays a tough police detective in The Gauntlet, it often gets lumped in with the Dirty Harry movies. It's a very different picture, with Clint playing Ben Shockley, an alcoholic, none-too-bright detective assigned to protect a witness (Sondra Locke) testifying against the Mob. When she makes Shockley realize he's being used, he finally digs down inside to find the man he could have been...or, perhaps, still could be. The Gauntlet is fast and funny (especially when the two leads are sparring) and the ending is delightfully over the top.

3. Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970). It's hard to imagine a more unlikely duo than Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine. Perhaps, that's what makes them such a perfect pair in this lighthearted Don Siegel Western. Clint portrays a soldier of fortune who rescues a nun from bandits and helps Mexican revolutionaries fight against the French. Things get complicated when the grizzled cowboy finds himself attracted to the whiskey-drinking, cigar-smoking Sister Sara. Budd Boetticher wrote the original story and intended it as a vehicle reuniting Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison co-stars Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr.

Clint with Sondra Locke.

4. Bronco Billy (1980). It took awhile for me to appreciate this low-key comedy about a traveling band of misfits that performs Wild West shows. It was a critical failure and most fans probably discount it. But Eastwood once said: "If, as a film director, I ever wanted to say something, you'll find it in Bronco Billy." It certainly has plenty of old-fashioned charm, a sincere message, and shares some common themes with The Outlaw Josey Wales. Locke, who lived with Eastwood offscreen at the time, made six movies with him.

5. For a Few Dollars More (1965). My favorite of the Clint Eastwood-Sergio Leone collaborations pairs Clint with fellow bounty hunter Lee Van Cleef. They are both pursuing the notorious outlaw El Indio--though for very different reasons. Clint wants the bounty, while Van Cleef's reason isn't revealed until the climax (a trick used by Leone even more effectively in the later Once Upon a Time in the West). The success of this Spaghetti Western has as much to do with Van Cleef as Clint, but the two make a great pair.

Honorable Mentions:  Where Eagles Dare is a near-perfect action film, but Clint isn't really the star; Kelly's Heroes; and Magnum Force (Dirty Harry may be a better movie, but Magnum is more fun).