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“The Outlaw Josey Wales” is one of Clint Eastwood’s best films, which is saying a lot considering the man is a cinema legend. The 1976 revisionist western is an adaptation of Asa Earl Carter’s 1972 novel, “The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales,” and stars Eastwood in the title role. Like many of the veteran star’s projects, the film’s production was not without controversy, with the actor taking over directing duties from original director Philip Kaufman midway through filming. It wasn’t the last clash during the production of “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” either, as Eastwood argued with his editor over the film’s climax, which saw Wales ride off into the sunset. Obviously the editor wanted to show Wales returning to his surrogate family at the end, while Eastwood thought it was enough to suggest this with the final, more ambiguous shot. He was right.
Eastwood’s career began in earnest with “Rawhide,” introducing the actor to mainstream audiences after spending several years playing small roles in B-movies and playing background characters (or what Sylvester Stallone once called “atmosphere”). It was only after “Rawhide” made Eastwood a star that Sergio Leone and his legendary “Dollars” trilogy helped the young actor achieve movie star status. In the mid-1960s, the world witnessed the emergence of a new Western icon.
Of course, Eastwood quickly moved away from the genre, appearing in all sorts of projects. This included the buddy comedy “Every Which Way But Loose”, which was a controversial choice at the time, not least because the “buddy” in question was a pet orangutan named Clyde. But he returned several times in the western, and “The Outlaw Josey Wales” represented one of the most successful examples. It also demanded a lot from Eastwood, both in front of and behind the camera.
Clint Eastwood’s tortured outlaw film was a struggle from the start
Originally adapted by Sonia Chernus and Philip Kaufman, “The Outlaw Josey Wales” was supposed to be directed by Kaufman. However, after he and Eastwood fell out during production, the star took on directorial duties. In addition to overseeing the entire production, Eastwood played one of his best roles ever as the titular outlaw, who begins as a Civil War-era Missouri farmer forced to watch helplessly as pro-Union soldiers, led by Captain Terrill (Bill McKinney), kill his wife and son. After this traumatic experience, Wales joins the Confederate Army, hoping to get revenge on the men who murdered his family. At the end of the war, his fellow Confederates surrendered, only to be massacred by Terrill and his men. Wales escapes once again and goes on the run, becoming a full-fledged outlaw in the post-Civil War United States. Despite his attempts to start again, Wales must constantly look over his shoulder as he is pursued by both soldiers and bounty hunters.
On the run, Wales rescues a young Navajo woman named Little Moonlight (Geraldine Keams), an elderly woman named Sarah Turner (Paula Trueman), and her granddaughter Laura Lee (Sondra Locke). He is then joined by Sheb Wooley’s Travis Cobb and John Verros’ Chato, essentially forming a surrogate family with his new allies. Soon after, Wales chased and managed to get the best out of Terrill, before eventually riding off into the sunset. But it seems the film’s editor wanted to make it clear that Eastwood’s outlaw was returning to his new family. The actor/director, however, remained convinced that the more open conclusion was superior.
Clint Eastwood wanted to treat audiences like adults
In 1980, Ric Gentry spoke with Clint Eastwood (via “Clint Eastwood: Interviews, Revised and Updated”) and noted how the actor had argued with his editor over the open ending of “The Outlaw Josey Wales.” “He thought I should literally show him walking back to the girl and the group after his last conversation with the leader,” the actor recalls. “And I said, ‘No, you don’t need to show him coming back. You see him leaving at sunrise and that’s enough.’ He said: “Yes, but how will the public know that he is going back to the girl and the others? And I said, “Because they want him to go back there.” The audience brings it back to it.’” Eastwood went on to say that in his opinion it was “the audience’s imagination and participation that makes a film work,” adding that “you don’t have to tell them everything.”
Clearly, given the film’s reception, Eastwood was right. With “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” he proved that westerns could still turn a decent profit. The film grossed $31.8 million at the box office on a budget of $3.7 million and debuted to good reviews. Since then, Eastwood has helped keep the Western on life support, most notably with 1992’s “Unforgiven” (a spiritual sequel to the “Dollars” trilogy that launched him to movie star status).
But while many would say that “Unforgiven” represents the pinnacle of his Western films, Eastwood once described “The Outlaw Josey Wales” as a career high. It’s not hard to see why, given the film’s popularity. Additionally, there’s no doubt that Eastwood felt a particularly strong sense of ownership over this specific Western, considering how much he had to fight for its vision.
