IMDb > The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
The Outlaw Josey Wales
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The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) More at IMDbPro »

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The Outlaw Josey Wales -- Watch the trailer for the western The Outlaw Josey Wales, starring Clint Eastwood.

Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   29,442 votes »
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Down 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Clint Eastwood
Writers:
Forrest Carter (book)
Philip Kaufman (screenplay) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Outlaw Josey Wales on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 June 1976 (USA) See more »
Genre:
Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller | Western See more »
Tagline:
...an army of one.
Plot:
A Missouri farmer joins a Confederate guerrilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family. Full summary » | Add synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
See more »
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win See more »
NewsDesk:
(117 articles)
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Get ready for 'Mrs. Eastwood & Company' with 12 classic Clint Eastwood movies
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DVD Review: "Hellgate" (1952) Starring Sterling Hayden, Joan Leslie And Ward Bond
 (From CinemaRetro. 21 April 2012, 3:03 PM, PDT)
User Reviews:
One of the finest westerns See more (158 total) »

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

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
William O'Connell ... Sim Carstairs
John Quade ... Comanchero Leader
Frank Schofield ... 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 (as John Chandler)
Tom Roy Lowe ... Second Bounty Hunter
Clay Tanner ... First Texas Ranger
Robert F. Hoy ... Second Texas Ranger (as Bob Hoy)
Madeleine Taylor Holmes ... Grannie Hawkins (as Madeline T. Holmes)
Erik Holland ... Union Army Sergeant

Cissy Wellman ... Josey's Wife
Faye Hamblin ... Grandpa
Danny Green ... Lemuel
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Cockrell ... Confederate Soldier (uncredited)

Kyle Eastwood ... Josey's Son (uncredited)

Richard Farnsworth ... Comanchero (uncredited)

Walter Scott ... Drunken Galloper in Town (uncredited)
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Directed by
Clint Eastwood 
 
Writing credits
Forrest Carter (book "Gone To Texas")

Philip Kaufman (screenplay) (as Phil Kaufman) and
Sonia Chernus (screenplay)

Produced by
Robert Daley .... producer
James Fargo .... associate producer (as Jim Fargo)
John G. Wilson .... associate producer
 
Original Music by
Jerry Fielding 
 
Cinematography by
Bruce Surtees (director of photography)
 
Film Editing by
Ferris Webster 
 
Casting by
Jack Kosslyn 
 
Production Design by
Tambi Larsen 
 
Set Decoration by
Charles B. Pierce  (as Chuck Pierce)
 
Makeup Department
Joe McKinney .... makeup supervisor
Lorraine Roberson .... hairstylist
 
Production Management
John G. Wilson .... unit production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alan Brimfeld .... second assistant director (as Alan Brimfield)
James Fargo .... assistant director (as Jim Fargo)
Win Phelps .... second assistant director
 
Art Department
Edward Aiona .... property master (as Eddie Aiona)
Al Litteken .... construction coordinator
Eugene J. Reed .... carpenter (uncredited)
John Rozman .... leadman (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Bert Hallberg .... sound
Tex Rudloff .... re-recording mixer
Keith Stafford .... sound editor
Alex Bytnar .... boom operator (uncredited)
 
Special Effects by
Robert MacDonald .... special effects
A. Paul Pollard .... special effects (as Paul Pollard)
 
Stunts
Walter Scott .... stunt coordinator
Bennie E. Dobbins .... stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Gatlin .... stunts (uncredited)
Robert F. Hoy .... stunts (uncredited)
John Hudkins .... stunts (uncredited)
Mike H. McGaughy .... stunts (uncredited)
George Orrison .... stunt double: Clint Eastwood (uncredited)
George Orrison .... stunts (uncredited)
Larry Randles .... stunts (uncredited)
Neil Summers .... stunts (uncredited)
Greg Walker .... stunts (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Kenneth Adams .... key grip (as Ken Adams)
Richard Barth .... camera assistant (as Dick Barth)
Doug Cook .... second grip
Thomas Del Ruth .... camera operator (as Tom Del Ruth)
Joseph Hernandez .... camera assistant (as Joe Hernandez)
Charles Holmes .... gaffer
Jack Kennedy .... best boy
Charles W. Short .... camera operator (as Charles Short)
Timothy E. Wade .... camera assistant (as Tim Wade)
 
Casting Department
Jack N. Young .... extras casting (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Glenn Wright .... costume supervisor
 
Editorial Department
Joel Cox .... assistant editor
 
Music Department
Dan Carlin Sr. .... music editor (as Dan Carlin)
 
Transportation Department
Art Rimdzius .... transportation captain
 
Other crew
John Franco .... script supervisor
Fritz Manes .... assistant to producer
James Moffett .... first aid
Rudy Ugland .... wrangler
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
See more »
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
135 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Navajo | Spanish
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:16 | Norway:16 (1976) (heavily cut) | Peru:18 | Argentina:Atp (re-rating) | Argentina:16 (original rating) | Canada:14A | Finland:K-18 | Norway:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (edited tv version) | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) (1999) | UK:AA (original rating) (passed with cuts) | USA:PG (Approved No. 24565) | West Germany:16 | Australia:M | Australia:MA (DVD rating)
Filming Locations:
Glen Canyon, Utah, USASee more »
Company:
Warner Bros. PicturesSee more »

Did You Know?

Trivia:
Philip Kaufman started to direct the film but was replaced by Clint Eastwood, a controversial move which prompted the DGA to institute a ban on any current cast or crew member replacing the director on a film - a rule which has ever since been titled the "Eastwood rule." According to Eastwood biographer Marc Eliot part of the acrimony between the two married men was a result of both asking female lead Sondra Locke out to dinner on the same night.See more »
Goofs:
Anachronisms: At one point in the movie there is a soldier playing a 5 string open-back banjo claw-hammer style in the back-ground. Shadows through the leather head of the banjo can be seen. Even though the banjo started to evolve in the late 1840s, the open-back banjo was invented by Arthur Windsor in England after 1887 and "frailing" (claw-hammer style picking) did not become popular until the late 1800s'.See more »
Quotes:
[first lines]
Josey's wife:Little Josey! C'mon in, let's get you cleaned up!
See more »
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Clint Eastwood: Director (1982) (TV)See more »

FAQ

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User Reviews

   (Review this title)
68 out of 84 people found the following review useful.
One of the finest westerns, 21 March 2003
Author: Daniel R. Baker from United States

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.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Most quotable movie ever? cristo111
The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales upchurchm1
Why do the Redlegs let Josie live at the beginning of the film? ronfar623
On a scale of 1 to 10, how well do you think this film has aged? AbdulBenHassan
The Ending: Does Josey Survive? jdstirewalt
Probably Eastwood's entire career summed up in one character MJB784
See more »

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