Clint Eastwood missed this big opportunity when he starred in the western that made him famous
Before he was known as the Man with No Name, Clint Eastwood made a name for himself on the small screen playing opposite Eric Fleming on Rawhide. The eight-season Western program ran between 1959 and 1965 on CBS, with Eastwood as Rowdy Yates, the trail leader who became a wand as he helped cattle cross the wild frontier. But while Eastwood would go on to become one of the biggest movie stars in the business, even making a name for himself as an A-list director, he strangely never used those talents in a single episode of Rawhide. Sure, Eastwood was a great leading man who became well-liked as the series went on, but he never directed a single one of the show’s 217 episodes – despite his desire to sit in the director’s chair.
Clint Eastwood directed a commercial for ‘Rawhide,’ but never a full episode
Today, Eastwood is as well known as a director as he is an action or western star. In truth, some of his feature films, where he is behind the camera rather than in front, are among his best works. Even in the early 1960s, Eastwood had directorial aspirations in addition to his pre-existing musical aspirations. Although the Rawhide The star would only end up directing his first feature film in 1971 with Play Misty for mehe thought he had a lot to learn before he got there. In Robert E. Kapsis And Kathy Coblentzthe book Clint Eastwood: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers series)the two talk about what the actor-turned-director expressed in an interview in which he was asked what inspired him to get into directing. For Eastwood, it all started Rawhide. “We were filming a stampede on site, three thousand head of cattle, and I was driving right in the middle, the dust was flying, it was really dramatic,” he explained. “I went to the director and said, ‘Look, give me a camera. There’s some great stuff in there that you don’t get because you’re out here on the outskirts.'”
Unfortunately for Eastwood, that conversation didn’t go very well. Rather than jumping at the opportunity to involve stakeholders more, Eastwood was informed that due to union rules he would not be allowed to use a camera on set.. “As usual, everyone is afraid to try something new,” he dismissed. But after he continued to press the possibility that he could tackle his own episode, the network finally threw him a ball in the form of a message. Rawhide trailers. Eastwood has led a few Rawhide promosbut apparently without the enthusiasm he had had on set the day he asked for the camera himself. “I was so disappointed by the whole thing that I gave it up,” he said. Of course, it wasn’t all Eastwood’s fault. The channel itself made big promises to the star, promises which will not be kept.
“My contract with CBS even called for me to direct several episodes of the show,” Eastwood explained in another interview recorded by Kapsis and Coblentz. “But after having had some problems on other series where certain actor-directors exceeded their budget, CBS changed its policies overnight” Eastwood was understandably furious. Although he directed the trailers, thus honoring his end of the bargain, the Rawhide The star never got the chance to lead the series that made him famous in the first place. These days, it’s not uncommon for a star to direct episodes of the show they’re starring in, but at the time, CBS worried about inflated egos and mediocre returns. Given Eastwood’s extensive filmography on this side of the cowboy drama, it’s hard to believe they wouldn’t have taken this risk.
Eric Fleming and Sergio Leone encouraged Eastwood’s creative aspirations
In an earlier edition of Clint Eastwood: InterviewsEastwood revealed during an interview with Patrick McGilligan that his Rawhide co-star (really the main man of the show, if we’re being honest) Eric Fleming agreed with his desire to lead. “Finally, later, I asked Eric Fleming: ‘Would you be opposed to my directing?’ He replied: “Not at all, I would agree.” » » The two formed a veritable on-screen duo, Gil Favor and Rowdy Yates, and, having worked together for several years at this point, his co-star’s support likely fueled a greater desire in Eastwood to tackle the issue. Rawhide from a more creative director’s point of view. But despite Fleming’s support, one of the producers (whom Eastwood doesn’t name) clearly had no real interest in Eastwood taking on the role. After using it to shoot a few trailers for the series, that’s when CBS pulled the rug out from under it.
For a time, Eastwood had become so disillusioned with the network’s return on his deal that he was no longer really interested in directing. But that changed when he went to Europe to film A handful of dollars with the Italian director Sérgio Léone. Although Fleming was initially offered the role in “Man With No Name,” it was Eastwood who ultimately tackled it on the big screen, and it did more to boost the star’s career than eight years later. Rawhidelaunching him towards international success. Working with Leone, Eastwood took a more creative role in helping establish the film’s main character.shaping it and the dialogue into what it is today. “Working on the European stage kind of inspired me to get back into directing,” Eastwood explained.
CBS dropped the ball in launching Clint Eastwood’s successful directing career
After Rawhide And The dollar trilogyClint Eastwood has become one of the most influential stars in the western genre. It wasn’t long before he made his directorial debut, and from there he would direct eight films in his first decade as a director, including Dirty Harry, High Plains WandererAnd Outlaw Josey Wales. In total, Eastwood would tackle more than 40 feature films during his decades-long directing career, proving that in the 21st century he still had an undeniable creative vision. It all started Rawhide, who could have boasted Clint Eastwood’s first real directing credit if CBS had been willing to give the young actor a chance.
In the end, however, it all worked out for Eastwood, who was able to not only bounce back, but direct dozens of exceptional and memorable productions over the years. Sometimes he starred in the very films he brought to life, and other times he was limited to a behind-the-scenes role. Yet without his stint as Rowdy Yates in Rawhide, it’s hard to say if Clint Eastwood had been the cinematic powerhouse we know today. While CBS may not have allowed him to truly sit in the director’s chair, it was the first Western trailers made for the network that whetted Eastwood’s appetite for on-screen directing – and proved to him that he really had what it took to move from the small screen to something bigger.
Rawhide is available for streaming on PlutoTV.
