The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

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

Writers:

Forrest Carter (book), Philip Kaufman (screenplay),

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 (as Matt Clarke)
John Verros	...	Chato
Will Sampson	...	Ten Bears

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.

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Plot Keywords:

surrender | vengeance | farmer | confederacy | confederate | 

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Taglines:

...an army of one.

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Navajo Spanish

Release Date:

30 June 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wells

Filming Locations:

Glen Canyon, Utah, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Malpaso Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There were three waves of release: June 23, 1976 in Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Washington DC; June 30, 1976 in Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Denver; July 14, 1976 in Minneapolis, Los Angeles.

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Goofs

After Josey shoots the two men in the cabin/store where he goes to get a horse, he spits tobacco juice on one man's head and the dead man's eyes squint in reaction. However, as Josey steps by the body on the way out, the 'dead body' rotates his head away from camera, indicating that he wasn't quite dead yet.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Josey's wife: Little Josey! C'mon in, let's get you cleaned up!

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Connections

Featured in Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western (1997)

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Soundtracks

"(I Wish I Was In) Dixie's Land"
Written by Daniel Decatur Emmett
Performed by William O'Connell

User Reviews

Eastwood's Best

Certainly Clint Eastwood's best complete movie, the story of a man drawn into hell by the inhumanity of others (specifically, the Redlegs and the Senator), who is redeemed by the humanity of others (the settlers, Lone Wattie and Ten Bears) to recover some semblance of a life after the Civil War. Eastwood's acting is economical (but a far cry from the man-with-no-name character he made famous), and carries the story very well, and his directing style is practically invisible (which is exactly what it should be -- if the director does his job, you should never even notice his contribution). The viewer is entirely caught up in the story of the man. All in all, a brilliant bit of film from Eastwood (who clearly learned everything he could from his own directors, and then combined that knowledge into superb craftsmanship of his own.)

It is interesting to contrast the Jose Wales and Billy Munny (from Unforgiven) characters. Wales seeks to regain his humanity through others; Munny - having regained his humanity from being a Wales-like character at the beginning of the movie - descends willingly into a hell of his own choosing.