During the so-called “Golden Age” of westerns, the genre accounted for about half of Hollywood’s annual output. This speaks to how sharp the decline would be in later years, when they soon became increasingly rare in the 1960s.
Eastwood had one of his earliest breaks as an actor with western series rawhide and later got the chance to play the lead in a low-budget Italian western. It turned out to be Sergio Leone A handful of dollars, who is credited with inventing the “spaghetti western” subgenre and propelling Eastwood into a movie star. The actor followed suit dollar Film trilogy with several other westerns, which only strengthened his attachment to the genre.
Unlike Westerns like John Wayne, Eastwood’s work was often much darker, cynical, and violent. The spaghetti westerns lacked the glitz and heroism of Hollywood’s output. While Wayne made an estimated 80 westerns during his career, Clint made far fewer.
Clint Eastwood directed 15 westerns (& directed 4)
In total, Clint Eastwood had made 15 western films. This includes some he did very e arly in his career, including playing an uncredited ranch star in the dust. It also excludes some of his later work Bronco Billy or Scream machowhich had many Western tropes and themes but featured more modern settings.
From the early 1970s, Eastwood increasingly became the star and director of his projects. He appeared behind the camera in four of his westerns: plateau drifter, Outlaw Josey Wales, Pale Rider – the only film in which Clint plays a supernatural character – and unforgiven.
Every western Clint Eastwood starred
Eastwood may not have the volume of stars like Wayne, but what he lacked in quantity he made up for in quality. Subsequent to dollar trilogy, like many of his westerns Outlaw Josey Wales or unforgiven are considered genre classics.
Star in the dust (1956)
The first traveling saleswoman (1956)
Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958)
A handful of dollars (1964)
For a few dollars more (1965)
The good the bad and the ugly (1966)
Hang them up (1968)
Paint your car (1969)
Two mules for Sister Sara (1970)
The betrayed (1971)
Joe Kidd (1972)
Plateau drifter (1973)
Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
Pale Rider (1985)
Unforgiven (1992)
Why Clint Eastwood Quit Making Westerns After Not Being Awarded
While Clint Eastwood’s western production was fairly constant throughout the ’60s and ’70s, it slowed down significantly thereafter Outlaw Josey Wales. He only did one oater in the 80’s and 90’s unforgiven His most celebrated. Eastwood read this script in the ’80s and decided to hold off on it for almost a decade as he felt the character must be older.
It paid off, as the film was both a financial success and won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Eastwood. The star had always introduced himself unforgiven – who is one of Clint’s own favorites – as his final word on the Western genre, with the film being a deconstruction and demystification of the West itself. Therefore – outside of neo-western Scream macho in 2021 – unforgiven is the finale Clint Eastwood Western; at least for now.