"Go ahead, make my day!" No one but Clint could make that line sound so convincing!
Clint got his start as Rowdy Yates in one of the late 50's westerns, Rawhide. He was never very powerful in that role. He was mostly handsome, so the female audience got to like him. He just smiled in every scene.
He got an interesting break when he was invited by Sergio Leone to be in the "Spaghetti Westerns." Curiously, Sergio interviewed other major parts for the central role in A Fistful of Dollars: Charles Bronson, Steve Reeves, Henry Fonda, and James Coburn. Leone chose Clint because he was already typecast as a rugged cowboy.
Seems our hero was more popular in Italy than the U.S. in the mid 60's! It was only when Clint starred with Lee Van Cleef in A Few Dollars More that his popularity spread to the U.S. Finally, the consummate tough cowboy did The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. He was brilliant as the range rider with few, if any, scruples.
In the Leone classics, Eastwood becomes iconic: He poses with his gritty, unshaven face, cigar in mouth, and deadpan glare before he reaches for his pistol and blasts away the bad guy with cool indifference.
For me, he really proved his mettle in High Plains Drifter. Part bully, part hero, he shows the cowards in the town how a real man deals with evil. He blows away three dudes while having a haircut and later whips an evil-doer to death! Wow!
Yet Clint was more than the violent cowboy, as he soon proved in the Dirty Harry series. As the rebel detective who believes in dealing with outlaws in a primal way, Harry is at once tough, just, and deadly. He follows his own brand of justice and does it with a vengeance!
As he moved mid-career, he did a few films that I could not watch...they were just too stupid. He bombed out (literally and figuratively) with Richard Burton in the long, meandering Where Eagles Dare. He tried a musical, Paint Your Wagon with a fellow lousy singer, Lee Marvin. He did a WWII movie, Kelly's Heroes, with Telly Savalas, that was about as unreal as it gets. He even did some stints as a trucker with a pet monkey. Oh, Clint!
Of course, he got back on track with Million Dollar Baby. As the macho trainer of a female boxer, he and his buddy Morgan Freeman, worked wonders. Hillary Swank got much of the credit, but Clint set the stage for the unusual boxing drama and eventual voyage into euthanasia.
What about my favorite, The Unforgiven? What an original role for our hero! As the reformed alcoholic William Money, former killer of women and children, Clint plays the bounty hunter with such fierce passion!
There are so many more CE films...just too many to mention. But Clint has been, and will always be, our gutsy macho hero. Even with white hair and wrinkled face in Gran Torino, he proves his valor!
What a guy!
Back to you, Valerie, for more comments.
First, a confession: Clint Eastwood, as Rowdy Yates, was an early figure in my journey through puberty and attraction to boys/men. Friday nights, Rawhide, only watched it to stare doe-eyed at him. Yum.
ReplyDeleteI had a girlfriend with whom I would later have long debates as she maintained he couldn't act a lick, never said more 'n 3 words in any movie. Her conclusion was he was dumb. I defended him, mainly out of lust.
Well, many years later, I kind of agree that he's not much of an actor (more a looker), but boy is he not dumb; his genius lies in his DIRECTION. He has proven himself to be an extraordinary film director, silent-style and all. Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River - I rest my case. And still incredibly sexy into his 70s.
P.S. Guilty pleasure: I always had affection for Kelly's Heroes.
Just finished watching The Changeling (upcoming post). Well done, Mr. Eastwood.
ReplyDeleteOh, and he's also quite talented in composing original scores, which he has done for many of his films, including The Changeling.
ReplyDeleteLastly, my favorite Eastwood flick may just be Play Misty for Me. A different prelude to A Fatal Attraction.
As usual, Valerie, you bring out aspects of filmdom I overlook. For one thing, I had no idea young Rowdy Yates was the dream-boat of pubescent girls! So you lusted after the young cowboy...and I thought you appreciated Clint of his fine personality! Kidding aside, very good point about his directing abilities. Will watch for your Changeling post with a-bated breath! You're right about Play Misty....very solid pre-Fatal Attraction, pushing the envelope, drama. I did not care for his recent Invictus...the film just never got past the surface of racism and sports. Good call too on Mystic River. Clint does it all, it seems...even excelled as mayor of Carmel CA!
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