When asked to name actors associated with the western genre, most people would select John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. The latter has been active in Hollywood since the 1950s, eventually trying his hand at directing, releasing his feature debut, Play Misty For Me, in 1971.
Since then, Eastwood has appeared in countless films and directed almost 40 movies, including The Bridges of Madison County, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby and American Sniper. While he is well-known for being a filmmaker, Eastwood is even better recognised for his star-making performances in Sergio Leone’s Dollar Trilogy, which kicked off with A Fistful of Dollars in 1964.
The next instalments – For A Few More Dollars and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – came out in 1965 and 1966, respectively. Yet, the movies didn’t receive a release in America until 1967, with their availability in Eastwood’s native country finally allowing him to achieve mainstream cinematic stardom.
Before then, Eastwood had failed to find significant cinematic success – instead, he was better known as Rowdy Yates in the television series Rawhide. Airing between 1959 and 1965, the show gave Eastwood the chance to prove his acting prowess, setting him up for his imminent film career.
When Eastwood attempted to make it big on the silver screen, he found himself starring in various uncredited roles before landing one of his first significant parts in 1958’s Ambush at Cimarron Pass.
Starring alongside Scott Brady, Eastwood played Keith Williams, a former Confederate soldier. The movie was not particularly well-received. In fact, Eastwood questioned his entire career upon watching the final product because he believed that it was terribly bad. He even told The Hollywood Reporter, “It was probably the worst film ever made.”
He continued: “But I had the second lead in it, and an actor named Scott Brady was the lead. And the film was made in eight days. So it was really el speedo grande.” A quick turnaround, paired with the director Jodie Copelan’s lack of experience, shaped the movie into a poor excuse for a western, making Eastwood doubt his prospects as an actor.
“I went to see it, and I saw that film, and I said I’m through. I’ve got to go back to school. I’ve got to do something else. I’ve got to get a job of other sorts,” he explained. Luckily, he soon landed his career-boosting role in Rawhide shortly after.
In an interview a few decades later, Eastwood recalled his embarrassment when viewing the movie, echoing his comments made to The Hollywood Reporter. He said, “It was sooo bad I just kept sinking lower and lower in my seat. I said to my wife, ‘I’m going to quit, I’m really going to quit. I gotta go back to school. I got to start doing something with my life.’”
Luckily for Eastwood, it wouldn’t be long before he became a Hollywood sensation, also becoming known for playing the titular character in the Dirty Harry series.