MOVIE NEWS – Clint Eastwood failed with nine (!) films before he finally got the lead role in an iconic western 60 years ago…
Clint Eastwood is one of the most recognized actors of all time. Although he is now primarily known as a director, Eastwood began his career by appearing in several famous westerns and crime films. For a Fistful of Dollars, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Dirty Harry and The Outlaw Josey Wales are among his greatest early works. However, Eastwood did not become famous overnight. He had to suffer a long series of critical and commercial failures before finally achieving his breakthrough with For a Fistful of Dollars. I wonder how he managed to get in?
It took nine falls for Eastwood to finally find his purpose. Despite all his successes, looking back today at his string of failures is surprising. What did you screw up? Several of the early films were low-budget B-movies in which Eastwood appeared in cameo or uncredited roles. He has not yet found his place as a main character.
Interestingly, he did find success on TV, starring in the western series Rawhide in the late 1950s and early 1960s. However, he could not transfer this success to the cinema screen; his breakthrough came only in 1964 in Sergio Leone’s western. So, let’s take a look at these early Eastwood films and how they paved the way for the actor!
The long list of early Clint Eastwood flops
Clint Eastwood’s first four films were released in 1955. The first was an uncredited role in the B-movie Revenge of the Creature. This classic Hollywood monster movie was a sequel to the legendary Creature From the Black Lagoon. It failed to repeat the success of its predecessor, although some of the underwater scenes were praised. Eastwood played a lab technician for a quick cameo.
He next appeared in the quirky comedy Francis in the Navy, which followed a talking mule and his best friend, a military officer. Eastwood played the role of Jonesy. The Tarantula! was another monster movie, in which this time – what a surprise – a mutant, hugely grown tarantula was the object of terror. This was also an uncredited role, he played the commander of an aviation squadron. Although comical by today’s standards, Tarantula! highly regarded by film critics and historians. Eastwood kept these early roles varied, including the historical drama Lady Godiva of Coventry. Based on a real person from the 11th century, Eastwood played a Saxon. The film was not a success when it was released, but the critics of the time already gave it more praise.
His first western was the comedy The First Traveling Saleslady in 1956.
Eastwood played Lt. Rice in this commercial failure that was quickly forgotten by history. Clint then tried Never Say Goodbye. Escapade in Japan (1957) followed a young American boy rescued from the ocean by a Japanese family after a plane crash. Eastwood played the pilot in this adventure film. Lafayette Escadrille (1958) was one of Clint’s first actual war films. He was George Moseley, an actual Yale football player and World War I soldier. This movie also failed, mainly due to creative disagreements between the studio and director William A. Wellman.
Ambush at Cimarron Pass is also a Western; this was his first starring role in a film. The harshest review of this film was written by Eastwood himself, who allegedly called it one of the worst westerns he had ever seen. His other early films included the western Star in the Dust and the war film Away All Boats, both from 1956.
How did Eastwood’s early failures shape his career?
Eastwood retired from the big screen between 1958 and 1964 to focus on the TV series Rawhide. Towards the end of the series, Clint was cast in A Fistful of Dollars. This lead role launched his career in cinema overnight. The film is also credited with the birth of the spaghetti western genre. The film and its two sequels, the “Dollar Trilogy,” are just as iconic today.
Why did it take so long for Eastwood to hit the ground running? It all goes back to those early movies. Can anyone today imagine Clint Eastwood in a B-movie or a comedy about a talking mule? Of course not. But in the ’50s, he was still searching for his place, trying everything to see what would last. Perhaps he would have broken through sooner if he had committed himself to a genre. It’s not just his fault, as many of his early films overdid the comedy, even by the standards of the 1950s. Due to their low quality and financial losses, most of them have been lost in history.
Although he showed his talent in those early films, it took him a while to find his place as an actor and filmmaker. Today, he has acted in more than 60 films and directed at least 40 movies. The 94-year-old Eastwood is still active in Hollywood, and his latest film, Juror #2, is already playing in American theatres.
Source: The Telegraph, SCRN
