Summary
Clint Eastwood’s icy, cold demeanor in the iconicThe Man with No Nametrilogy captivated audiences and solidified his role as a gun-slinging hero with a complicated past and questionable morals. Over the next few decades, Eastwood would add to his resume a stellar list of Western films that still stand the test of time, and he eventually moved on to producing and directing.
The iconic Hollywood icon has stated he wouldn’t act again afterMillion Dollar Babyin 2004, but he has returned numerous times when the part was too good to turn down. In 2019, Eastwood directedRichard Jewell, a biographical crime drama about the security guard who foiled a bomb plot at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. In 2021, he directed and starred inCry Macho, a Western movie in the genre that he helped define.
Updated July 10, 2025, by Kristy Ambrose:Clint Eastwood’s career has spanned over six decades and reached well beyond the Western genre. His movies also include adventure, drama, psychological horror, and science fiction, and these often integrate the Western aesthetic that launched his career. Clint Eastwood will always be known as the man with a dusty poncho and a fast draw, but he’s also a fearless entertainer, dedicated lawman, and ghostly avenger.
Tom, the humble ranch hand, doesn’t get much screen time in this movie. However, he does have some modest lines, and it’s worth noting that this popular western set the early trend of Eastwood’s career in motion. The movie is an adaptation of a novel by Lee Leighton entitledLaw Men, and the story pits Sheriff Bill Jorden against the gunslinger, farmer killer, and cattle thief Sam Hall.
Hall is scheduled to be hanged in the morning, but some of the townsfolk are hoping that he escapes, and some local cowboys are even helping him. The politics of the town emerge as the hanging draws near, with the farmers against the ranchers and the Sheriff trying to keep peace between them.
Distributor:
Warner Bros.
A quaint musical seemed out of Eastwood’s wheelhouse by the time the 1980s rolled around. Yet, this film is still a wholesome and fun story about an American folk singer named Red Stovall and his adventures on tour in the backroads of America. Stovall’s nephew and traveling companion, Whit Wagoneer, is played by Eastwood’s real-life son, Kyle.
The narrative has a few tragic cliches that make the story predictable, the main one being the one of a dying musician clawing his way towards a last chance and ending with Stovall’s touring car finally stalling permanently after taking him to his final resting place. Kyle Eastwood grew up to be a jass bassist and film composer in real life, so the talent seen in this movie on his part is authentic.
Ginger Rogers was a big star in this era, and this movie marked her comeback to the RKO studio after taking a break for several years. Even though this is her movie, with her star power driving the plot and her character Rose Gillray heading up the cast, the handsome young Lieutenant Rice makes a distinct impression.
Her mission is to figure out a way to sell barbed wire to the western cattle ranchers, who are staunchly against the idea. The movie is mainly a comedy that takes a lighthearted look at some real social issues of the time. Rose is a savvy and clever salesperson, but her career keeps getting sidelined by inconvenient events that include police raids, rescuing her friend Molly, played by Carroll Channing, and the general sexist views of the time.
Although Clint Eastwood is most famous for playing intimidating, no-nonsense characters, the actor has also been known to perform in more lighthearted roles.Paint Your Wagon, a Western musical about two prospectors hunting for gold is a famous example of Eastwood showcasing his comedic side.
The film also co-stars Lee Marvin, another actor not exactly known for playing warm and cuddly characters on screen. Putting the two stars together in a film that features plenty of musical numbers certainly doesn’t lack entertainment value.Paint Your Wagonisn’t the most serious Western in existence, but fans of the genre or old Hollywood musicals should get a kick out of it nonetheless.
Joe Kiddisn’t the most memorable film on Clint Eastwood’s resume, but it has a unique charm. It tells the story of a former bounty hunter, our hero Joe Kidd, who gets mixed up in a violent dispute between peasants and a wealthy landowner. It’s a familiar story often depicted in the Western genre and the film does little to distinguish itself from the rest.
Fans of Clint Eastwood will still enjoy his customary, steely determination in the face of adversity. Robert Duvall also brings his usual A-game playing the film’s main antagonist. Nevertheless,Joe Kidd’s by-the-numbers approach to the Western genre makes it among some of the weakest of the bunch.
This is an underrated Clint Eastwood film about a guy called Billywho runs a Wild West show, and it’s all about his efforts to keep it relevant despite declining public interest in it. It risks becoming lost amid Eastwood’s impressive western back catalog, but there’s enough in this film to deserve a look.
It co-stars Sandra Locke who also appeared in several films alongside Eastwood, includingThe GauntletandEvery Which Way But Loose. Fans of his other work in the Western genre will enjoy this film, but it doesn’t quite hit the heights of some of his other work.
Cry Machois a neo-Western that sees Eastwood portray a former rodeo star who is trying to reconnect a boy with his father in Mexico. It was Eastwood’s last western and acting role. Ever since the turn of the century, Eastwood’s acting roles were reduced and his preference was primarily directing.
Fans must watch this film to complete the Clint Eastwood Western journey. He rolls back the years with a nuanced performance that acts as the perfect send-off to his involvement in the Western genre.
This is a movie that doesn’t have the gun-slinging and heroics of his earlier films in the genre. What it does possess is a reflective look at a character who is coming to the end of his life, and his attempts to make sense of what came before, whilst helping a young boy connect with his estranged father.
Hang ‘Em Highis a different kind of Western film involving Clint Eastwood. Unlike some of his other movies where he is nigh untouchable, Eastwood’s character inHang ‘Em Highis often quite vulnerable. He makes mistakes and even gets injured on several occasions.
Eastwood plays a new marshal who seeks to track down the gang that tried to lynch him. The movie can sometimes be a slow burn as his character, Jed Cooper, eventually tracks down his assailants one by one. It’s worth watching Eastwood’s portrayal of a very human and fallible gunslinger.
Pale Rideris a fairly unique Eastwood Western due to its religious and even supernatural motifs. The plot centers around the machinations of a greedy mining executive who tries to unscrupulously eliminate all competition. Eastwood plays a mysterious character known only as “The Preacher,” who comes to the rescue.
There is a lot of interesting ambiguity inPale Rider. The film implies that The Preacher is a ghost or even a guardian angel. The final duel between Marshal Stockburn and this mysterious person suggests that the former had killed the latter at some point, judging by his apparent shock. It’s an underrated Western that doesn’t get enough love.
Not all of Clint Eastwood’s westerns were entirely gritty.Two Mules for Sister Saraadds periodic dashes of humor in just the right places. As usual, Eastwood plays a taciturn and hard-bitten drifter, who rescues a wayward nun on his travels and allows her to tag along.
The setting of the film is rather unique. It takes place during the French intervention in Mexico, and the subsequent domestic unrest it created. The movie’s lighter tone compared to some of Eastwood’s other films may not appeal to everybody. Nevertheless, the on-screen chemistry between Shirley MacLaine and Clint Eastwood is hard not to enjoy.
