THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES (1976)

MORGAN'S RATING

As the film opens, Josey Wales is a simple farmer in Missouri. When a vicious band of Union Red Legs, led by Terrill, burns his home to the ground, killing his wife and son, Wales joins a gang of Confederate raiders, determined to get revenge. After the Confederacy loses the war, Wales sets out on his own, an outlaw who kills to survive. He eventually meets an old Indian and some other outcasts, and together the seek out a more peaceful existence. But Terrill continues to hunt Wales, and the simple farner is forced to fight again.

Clint Eastwood (Josey Wales), Chief Dan George (Lone Watie), Sondra Locke (Laura Lee), Bill McKinney (Terrill), John Vernon (Fletcher), Paula Trueman (Grandma Sarah), Sam Bottoms (Jamie), Geraldine Keams (Little Moonlight), Woodrow Parfrey (Carpetbagger), Joyce Jameson (Rose), Sheb Wooley (Travis Cobb), Royal Dano (Ten Spot), Matt Clark (Kelly), John Verros (Chato), Will Sampson (Ten Bears), William O'Connell (Sim Carstairs), John Quade (Comanchero Leader), Frank Scholfield (Senator Lane), Buck Kartalian (Shopkeeper), Len Lesser (Abe), Doug McGrath (Lige), John Russell (Bloody Bill Anderson), Charles Tyner (Zukie Limmer), Bruce M. Fischer (Yoke), John Mitchum (Al), John Davis Chandler (First Bounty Hunter), Tom Roy Lowe (Second Bounty Hunter), Clay Tanner (First Texas Ranger), Robert F. Hoy (Second Texas Ranger), Madeline T. Holmes (Grannie Hawkins), Erik Holland (Union Army Sergeant), Cissy Wellman (Josey's Wife), Faye Hamblin (Grandpa Samuel), Danny Green (Lemuel), Kyle Eastwood (Josey's Son, uncredited), Richard Farnsworth (Comanchero, uncredited).

...AN ARMY OF ONE.

FACTS

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

RELEASE DATE: June 30th, 1976 (USA) - Lone Watie appears to be loosely based upon General Stand Watie, a Cherokee from Indian Territory, who was the last Confederate general to surrender at the end of the U.S. Civil War. - Philip Kaufman started to direct the film and was replaced by Clint Eastwood, a move which prompted the DGA to take a tougher stance on actors replacing directors. - This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1996. - Nominated for one Academy Award for Best Original Score (Jerry Fielding).

DIRECTOR: Clint Eastwood (White Hunter Black Heart). WRITERS: Sonia Chernus and Philip Kaufman, and based on the novel Gone to Texas by Forrest Carter. PRODUCER: Robert Daley. ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS: James Fargo and John G. Wilson. ORIGINAL MUSIC: Jerry Fielding. DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros.

QUOTES

Lone Waite: Get ready, little lady. Hell is coming to breakfast.!

Josey Wales: Now remember, things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. 'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is.

CRITICAL COMMENTS

"Arguably Eastwood's best film, as both an actor and director." -- Rob Vaux, Flipside Movie Emporium

Lone Waite: All I have is a piece of hard candy. But it's not for eating. It's for lookin' through.

"The greatest Western ever made...[Eastwood's] trademark sqiunt and scowl are brandished to full effect." -- Brian McKay, EFilmCritic.com

Josey Wales: When I get to likin' someone, they ain't around long. Lone Waite: I notice when you get to dislikin' someone they ain't around for long neither!

"One of Eastwood's standout westerns." -- Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World