High Plains Drifter (1973)

A gunfighting stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago and is hired to bring the townsfolk together in an attempt to hold off three outlaws who are on their way.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writer:

Ernest Tidyman

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	The Stranger
Verna Bloom	...	Sarah Belding
Marianna Hill	...	Callie Travers (as Mariana Hill)
Mitch Ryan	...	Dave Drake (as Mitchell Ryan)
Jack Ging	...	Morgan Allen
Stefan Gierasch	...	Mayor Jason Hobart
Ted Hartley	...	Lewis Belding
Billy Curtis	...	Mordecai
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Stacey Bridges
Scott Walker	...	Bill Borders
Walter Barnes	...	Sheriff Sam Shaw
Paul Brinegar	...	Lutie Naylor
Richard Bull	...	Asa Goodwin
Robert Donner	...	Preacher
John Hillerman	...	Bootmaker

Storyline

A stranger rides out of the hot desert into a small town in the wild west. The towns people are scared of him, and 3 gunmen try, unsuccessfully, to kill him. He takes a room and decides to stay. Meanwhile, a group of outlaws are about to return to the town and take their revenge - will the towns leaders convince the mysterious man to help ?

---

Plot Keywords:

outlaw | gunfighter | desert | revenge | vengeance | 

---

Taglines:

Aim to see it!

---

Genres:

Western

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 August 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

La venganza del muerto

Filming Locations:

Inyo National Forest - 351 Pacu Lane, Bishop, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 1,512,351 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Malpaso Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although Clint Eastwood is in the last four minutes of the film, he is absent for much of the climax.

---

Goofs

When The Stranger goes into the barber shop for a shave, he unbuckles and takes off his gun belt and sits in the chair. When the three bad guys harass him, he shoots them with the gun he removed only moments before.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
The Stranger: Beer... and a bottle.
Lutie Naylor: Ain't much good, but it's all there is.
[brings drinks]
Lutie Naylor: You want anything else?
The Stranger: Just a peaceful hour to drink it in.

---

Crazy Credits

The closing shot of The Stranger disappearing into the heatwaves plays out over the end credits.

---

Connections

Referenced in Baretta: The Ninja (1976)

User Reviews

A superb western

As is often the case with a Clint Eastwood western, High Plains Drifter is rather good.

The usual scenario opens, with Eastwood (playing an unnamed character again) riding into a small mining town, Lagos, where a small group of thugs unsuccessfully try to kill him.

This small act serves as an introduction to the local townsfolk: small-minded cowards who are all talk and no action. They also bear a horrifying secret.

Eastwood is eventually approached to help them fend off an upcoming attack from three criminals who have just been released from prison.

He also suffers from a recurring nightmare, which I will leave to you to find out.

Needless to say, all of the pieces come together by the end, and those of you not astute enough to have noticed will be saying, "of course!"

A good story combines with Eastwood's anti-heroic personality (he never really played a good guy, did he?) and a good supporting cast to produce one of the best westerns of the 1970s. As the Maltin summary states: "Half-serious, half tongue-in-cheek, with great role for midget Billy Curtis."

Curtis plays Mortecai, the town dwarf, who shadows Eastwood around Lagos. Some of the scenes in this are extremely funny, but are balanced by some harshly violent moments, of which Eastwood's nightmares are a prime example.

1985's Pale Rider bears similarity to High Plains Drifter in certain areas, but you'll have to watch that yourself to find out where.