In the iconic 1973 film High Plains Drifter, Clint Eastwood delivered a western unlike anything audiences had seen before. This wasn’t your typical good-guys-and-bad-guys story. No, this was something deeper, darker, and far more complex. The plot revolves around a mysterious man who enters a corrupt mining town, not to save it in the traditional sense, but to deliver a form of justice that defies the conventions of the genre. Eastwood both starred in and directed the film, setting the stage for a western that would challenge the norms of the era.
Now, here’s the kicker: John Wayne, the ultimate cowboy and symbol of classic western cinema, absolutely hated it. In fact, he disliked it so much that he penned a letter to Clint, letting him know just how much it rubbed him the wrong way. “He thought it didn’t honor the true spirit of those who pioneered the West,” Clint later recalled. But Clint had a different vision in mind. “I realized we were from two different generations,” he explained. “He wouldn’t understand what I was trying to convey through my movie—an allegory for the changing times.”
Two Legends, Two Visions
John Wayne was more than just an actor; he was a guardian of the western genre’s traditional values. As America’s most celebrated western star, he felt a responsibility to uphold certain ideals. “He was genuinely concerned about the shift toward nihilism in films,” explains Scott Eyman, author of John Wayne: The Life and Legend. “He probably felt a little threatened by the new wave of westerns that didn’t stick to the old-school formula.”
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Interestingly, this wasn’t just about artistic differences—it was personal. A few years earlier, John had turned down the role of Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry, the 1971 film that catapulted Clint Eastwood to superstardom. Looking back, John admitted, “I thought Harry was a rogue cop. But after seeing the movie, I realized that Harry was the kind of character I’d played many times—a guy who operates within the law but bends the rules to protect others.”
Despite their mutual respect, Clint and John never worked together. However, they did cross paths when Clint visited the set of John’s final film, The Shootist, in 1976. “John stuck with what I call ‘comfort westerns,’ some of which were financially successful,” notes Eyman. But the world was evolving, and so were audiences. “Different times, different audiences, different tastes,” he adds. It was clear that the western genre was shifting, and with it, the legacy of its stars.
— Reporting by Rick Egusquiza
