You feeling lucky enough to watch these movies, punk?
Joe Kidd from ‘Joe Kidd’ (1972)
Written by the great Elmore Leonard, Joe Kidd is another lesser-known but still worthwhile Western starring Clint Eastwood. Here, he appears with Robert Duvall, with both actors playing characters who get wrapped up in a dispute between a band of Mexicans who go up against a landowner and a group of contract killers.
It all leads to dramatic, bloody conflict in the way you’d expect most Westerns to go, but it’s overall aided by the sharp dialogue typical of Elmore Leonard. While it narratively doesn’t cover much ground that will surprise Western fans, the fact that it involves two actors as great as Eastwood and Duvall in the lead roles should be enough to make it worth at least one watch.
Pardner from ‘Paint Your Wagon’ (1969)
Anyone who’s ever wondered what a Western/musical starring Clint Eastwood would look like need not look any further than Paint Your Wagon.
That’s indeed what this very unusual 1969 Western is, with it (more specifically) centering on a prospector and a farmer who form an uneasy alliance while mining for gold in California.
Said uneasy alliance also involves sharing a wife, which naturally leads to a good deal of conflict and romantic tension that’s surprisingly (largely) played for laughs. It’s very strange and kind of uncomfortable overall, but that can sort of add to its entertainment/novelty value, in a way. Also, Clint Eastwood sings a song called “I Talk To the Trees,” for anyone not yet sold on this bizarre yet strangely memorable film.