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The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) 7.9
A Missouri farmer joins a Confederate guerrilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family. Director:Clint Eastwood |
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Title: The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Clint Eastwood | ... | ||
| Chief Dan George | ... | ||
| Sondra Locke | ... | ||
 |
Bill McKinney | ... | |
| John Vernon | ... | ||
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Paula Trueman | ... | |
| Sam Bottoms | ... | ||
| Geraldine Keams | ... | ||
| Woodrow Parfrey | ... | ||
| Joyce Jameson | ... | ||
|
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Sheb Wooley | ... | |
| Royal Dano | ... | ||
| Matt Clark | ... |
Kelly
(as Matt Clarke)
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John Verros | ... | |
| Will Sampson | ... | ||
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Josey Wales makes his way west after the Civil War, determined to live a useful and helpful life. He joins up with a group of settlers who need the protection that a man as tough and experienced as he is can provide. Unfortunately, the past has a way of catching up with you, and Josey is a wanted man. Written by Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>
Taglines:
...an army of one.Genres:
WesternParents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
30 June 1976 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wells See more »Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
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Written by Julia Ward Howe
Performed by William O'Connell
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Did You Know?
Trivia
In all his Westerns, Clint Eastwood only kills an Indian once in this movie. He rides with the outlaw gang who kidnaps Lee and Watie. See more »Goofs
When Josey frees Laura Lee and Granny from Commancheros he cuts the ropes binding their hands and you can see Laura Lee's wrists have rope burns from being pulled along. A short time later at Blood Butte, Laura Lee tells Josey dreams are like clouds across a sky-blue mind, and her wrists show no burns at all. See more »Soundtracks
"Battle Hymn of the Republic"Written by Julia Ward Howe
Performed by William O'Connell
See more »
THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES is a wonderful story about a wounded man, Josey Wales, a Missourian who has lost his home and his family to the Civil War. As the Civil War ends in defeat and despair for the South, Wales alone of his guerrilla unit refuses to surrender. He has nothing left to live for, except to fight, and he cannot give that up.
This is a setup that has appeared many times in the movies, as the hero with nothing left to lose is a perfect excuse to show nonstop gunplay. To some extent, this happens in THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES too. It is an action western according to the classic formula, but it is more than that. Josey Wales heals his wounds as the story goes on, and begins to replace the friendship, and then the love, that he has lost. And as he heals, he begins to grow out of violence as a way of life. Many westerns have the theme of the older breed of man who tamed the west by violence being abandoned by his fellows; only this one, so far as I know, has the older breed of man abandon himself, that is to say, change his ways with the changing of the times.
Clint Eastwood is a decent actor, not a great one. But at times he has shown the skills of a really first-class director, and given his limitations as an actor it is the more to his credit that he did not hog the stage. He gives plenty of screen time to an excellent supporting cast, of whom the most memorable is Chief Dan George as aged Cherokee warrior Lone Watie, a role he plays with an eerily perfect balance of dignity and humor. Will Sampson makes an unforgettable cameo as Comanche chief Ten Bears, and Paula Trueman is a magnificently feisty Sarah.
John Vernon plays Fletcher, the man who betrays Josey Wales early on. I don't understand why Vernon could not find work in quality movies after this (he has appeared in 38 cinema releases since this movie and I challenge you to name any of them). Vernon has one of THE great basso-profundo voices in American cinema; only James Earl Jones could compare to it. If mountains could speak, they would sound like John Vernon. His role is a neat twist on the trope of the 'reluctant hero'; Fletcher is a reluctant villain.
The ending of THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES is the most beautiful and poetic of any in western movie history, maybe the most beautiful of any movie ever. According to the rules of the genre, the final confrontation between Wales and Fletcher can have only one outcome; the movie finds another way, because Josey Wales has found another way.
Rating: ***½ out of ****.
Recommendation: Western fans should own this one, but any movie fan should enjoy it.