Warner Bros.
(1976)
★★★★★
By HOWARD MCQUITTER II
The Outlaw Josey Wales is a superb western by Clint Eastwood with a great cast. Josey (Clint Eastwood) is a farmer in Missouri during the Civil War when Union soldiers, led by Terrill (Bill McKinney), murder his wife and child. Josey joins the Confederate Army in revenge for the murder of his family. After the war he refuses to surrender. And when most of his fellow soldiers give up their guns, they are massacred by the Union soldiers. He’s able to escape from the Union soldiers (led by Terrill) and the bounty hunters on his trail. Fellow Confederate soldier, Fletcher (John Vernon), does his best to convince some lawmen that Josey has been killed in a shootout. Though, the gung-ho bounty hunters are not so easily convinced.
Josey flees to Texas and along the way he picks up a wounded rebel soldier, Jamie (Sam Bottoms) and two adult Native Americans – Lone Watie (Chief Dan George) and Little Moonlight (Geraldine Keams). Soon an old woman named Grandma Sarah (Paula Trueman) and her granddaughter Laura Lee (Sondra Locke) join up. At one point a homeless hound also joins the group. All are invited to stay at Grandma Sarah’s farmhouse built by her son. It’s a hard road for the handful of people following Josey, who has to kill some men out to kill him.
After some time Josey acquires a surrogate family in Texas. But he is always on guard knowing full well Terrill is somewhere out there ready to take his life. Strong relationships evolve, if for no other reason, for survival.
Clint Eastwood is a master at westerns as an actor and as a director. He learned very well from Director Sergio Leone doing A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, And The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Eastwood has also directed westerns Unforgiven, High Plains Drifter and Pale Rider.
Cast: Clint Eastwood (Josey Wales), Chief Dan Geroge (Lone Watie), Sondra Locke (Laura Lee), Bill McKinney (Terrill), John Vernon (Fletcher), Paula Trueman (Grandma Sarah), Sam Bottoms (Jamie) Geraldine Keams (Little Moonlight).
Director: Clint Eastwood.
Running time: 135 minutes. (PG)
