It’s been a long time since I watched The Outlaw Josey Wales, starring Clint Eastwood. The last time I saw the book-to-screen adaptation was in college, a few decades ago. I recently rewatched it, and that’s when I learned that the movie was much more controversial than I ever knew. Not only were there issues on the set of the 1976 film that led to Eastwood taking over as director, but the author of the novel that the movie is based on wasn’t who he claimed to be. It’s a wild ride, so let’s giddy up.
Drama Behind The Scenes
I’ve always known The Outlaw Josey Wales as a Clint Eastwood-directed movie. It was one of the first movies he directed, but of course he’d gone on to direct dozens more, collecting a couple of Oscars for Best Director along the way in his long, storied career. I had no reason to think he wasn’t always the director. However, that’s not the case. Phillip Kaufman, who would later direct one of my all-time favorites, The Right Stuff, wrote the screenplay for the Western and was initially hired to direct as well.
It wasn’t long before tensions grew behind the camera. According to Eastwood’s biographer (via Collider), the actor clearly had a different vision for the movie, not to mention both Kaufman and Eastwood were supposedly romantically pursuing Eastwood’s co-star in the movie, Sondra Locke, at the same time. Locke would be Eastwood’s partner on and off screen for years after.
This all led to Eastwood firing Kaufman about three weeks into shooting. The brouhaha sparked a controversy between the production and the Director’s Guild. The guild wasn’t happy with a director being canned in favor of an actor (or anyone else on the crew) taking over as director of the film, and it actually led to a new rule, dubbed “The Eastwood Rule,” which prevents this kind of thing from happening today. As bad as that all sounds, it’s nothing compared to the controversy that would erupt after the film’s release in 1976.
The Author’s True Identity Came Out Later
The Outlaw Josey Wales is based on a 1972 novel called The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales by author Forrest Carter. Carter claimed to be of Cherokee descent. However, in the wake of the movie's success, rumors began to swirl that Forrest Carter was, in fact, Asa Carter. Asa Carter was a well-known speechwriter for the notorious segregationist governor of Alabama, George Wallace. Asa was also a member of the Ku Klux Klan and a virulent white supremacist.
Carter also wrote the beloved novel The Education of Little Tree, which he touted as a memoir of his Cherokee upbringing, but most of it turned out to be fiction. His history as a racist Klan member and co-writing of Wallace’s infamous “Segregation Forever” speech was hidden until the release of the movie. In fact, Carter denied it all the way to the end of his life in 1979. It’s now accepted that Forrest and Asa were, indeed, the same person.
The Plot Itself Is Problematic Too
I didn’t know all of this as I watched the movie; however, I wasn’t really surprised to learn it after reading about it. The main character, Josey Wales, is a Confederate bushwhacker, and I certainly noticed the “Lost Cause” overtones in the film. Though Josey is primarily motivated by revenge for the murder of his wife by Kansas Reglegs, there is the backdrop of the Civil War and Josey’s participation on the side of the Confederacy. One character, Jamie (Sam Bottoms), is much more forthright about the Confederacy, and through him, we see that Lost Cause narrative come through.
Wales' general distrust for the government, especially the Union, is on display in the movie as well. This isn’t as problematic for me from a character point of view, but that is a common ideology connected with the Lost Cause, given more fuel to the argument that Wales (and Jamie) are fighting the wrong fight.
The depiction of Lone Watie, Wales’ Indian partner, played by Chief Dan George, seems honest and forthright, and there is no reason to believe that Eastwood or anyone else knew about Asa Carter’s identity as they were making the movie. Still, that Southern revisionist history stuck with me as I watched.
It’s Still One Of The Best Ever
The Outlaw Josey Wales is still a great movie. I’d only seen it once, way back in the ‘90s, and I’m not a huge fan of Eastwood’s Spaghetti Westerns from the ‘60s, so I wasn’t sure how much I would like it. I did really like it, though. Wales is a fantastic anti-hero. He’s gruff and squinty (like any great Eastwood character), and he’s crass and violent, but his motivation is true. He’s a Civil War-era Punisher, and I love those kinds of characters.
The locations, like any great Western, are beautiful, as is the cinematography. The movie is really well-paced and never drags, and all the acting performances are wonderful. Even Eastwood, who I don’t think is usually the best actor in his movies, is great here. The supporting cast, including Locke, Bottoms, George, John Vernon, and Paula Trueman, are all fantastic. Trueman, who plays Grandma Sarah Turner, really steals the show in all of her scenes, and I especially liked her character.
I completely agree that it belongs on the list of the Best Westerns of all time, which is a relief, because a couple of weeks ago, I watched another Western from 1976, The Missouri Breaks with Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson, and the more I think about that one, the more I dislike it. Seeing another movie in the same genre, from the same year, provides a stark contrast, and I much prefer The Outlaw Josey Wales over the very weird Brando/Nicholson joint.
