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Clint Eastwood seems to have always been around. Since his industry debut in the mid-50s, the actor has been a steady presence in Hollywood, rarely dropping a year or two between projects. However, Eastwood’s transition from a Spaghetti Western legend to an action movie star to a four Oscars-winning director was littered with “problems” along the way.
Although “problem films” do not necessarily convey the best message about an actor or a director, every artist collects one or two along the way to becoming a renowned A-list star in the industry. Clint Eastwood is no different. After establishing himself in the Western and action genres, the actor wanted to branch out to discover what else he had to offer.
That is when he landed a $104 million movie that changed his career.
Clint Eastwood wanted to make family-friendly films
In the 1960s,Clint Eastwoodironically made a name for himself as The Man With No Name and became an internationally acclaimed star with theDollarstrilogy. When he reached the pinnacle of all that the Western genre had to offer, he gradually transitioned to action in the following decade.
By the mid-1970s, Eastwood was a fully-fledged action star, having cinched the leading titular role in theDirty Harryfranchise. However, as the 70s too came to an end, Eastwood began to question his place in Hollywood and if he had exhausted all his avenues, options, and opportunities. Wanting to explore more, the actor took a risk that few in his stead would ever dare to take at such a juncture in their career.
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In 1978, Clint Eastwood took a hard turn from his usual genre and swerved into the comedy lane withEvery Which Way but Loose. The film would not only define Eastwood’s standing as a star but also prove his excellent eye for scripts since the film was deemed a failure by many and yet did well at the box office.
A risk only Clint Eastwood dared to take
The 1978 offbeat comedy feature,Every Which Way but Loosewas a strange and outlandish story even by its genre’s standards. With its central premise based on a man and an orangutan, not only was the movie a risky bet for Clint Eastwood but it also threatened to stain his flawless and stellar career record.
Despite the risk, however, Eastwood went ahead with the movie for a reason well beyond his need to explore outside the Western and action genres. According to the actor, it had to do with making films even children could enjoy as opposed to his gruff, macho, and lone ranger ones marketed to adults.
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In a 2003 interview withThe Guardian, Eastwood confessed:
I’ve made some strange choices along the way. That was a film my agent and everyone else begged me not to do. This is after Dirty Harry and I’d done a lot of action and adventure films and they said ‘That’s not you’ and I said ‘Well, what is me? I don’t know.’ To me it was about reaching out to a younger generation, making a movie that kids could see, with a little less mouth.
Much to the surprise of the critics and naysayers,Every Which Way but Loosewas a box office success, earning $104 million by the end of its theatrical run (The Numbers) and even spawning a sequel two years later titledAny Which Way You Can. The film went on to become one of the best commercial successes of Eastwood’s career.
Every Which Way but Looseis available to buy/rent on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2407
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
