The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) on Netflix
Missouri farmer Josey Wales loses his wife and son to pro-Union raiders led by Captain Terrill, who burn his farm. He joins Confederate bushwhackers and becomes a feared gunfighter.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb7.8/1087,985 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes91%
Trailer
Plot summary
Josey Wales works a farm in Missouri as the Civil War nears its end. Pro-Union paramilitaries led by Captain Terrill kill his wife and son and burn his home, so he takes up arms with pro-Confederate bushwhackers commanded by William T. Anderson. The band raids Union soldiers and pro-Union sympathizers, and Wales becomes known as a feared gunfighter. They keep fighting after the Confederacy surrenders, and he becomes an outlaw, hunted by soldiers and bounty hunters. In 1865 Wales' mentor Fletcher, his superior in the band, urges the men to lay down their weapons for the amnesty promised by Union Senator Jim Lane.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- On 24 October 1975 Kaufman was fired at Eastwood's command by producer Bob Daley, causing outrage at the Directors Guild of America since he had already completed all the pre-production; the refusal to back down brought a fine of around $60,000 and a new Guild rule, "the Eastwood Rule".
- The film was inspired by a 1972 novel by supposedly Cherokee writer Forrest Carter, an alias of Asa Earl Carter, a former KKK leader and segregationist speech writer for George Wallace; the identity was exposed in part because of the film's success.
- Sondra Locke was cast by Eastwood against Kaufman's wishes as Laura Lee, and at 32 she was a decade older than the character; it marked the beginning of a professional and domestic relationship between Eastwood and Locke that spanned six films and lasted into the late 1980s.
- Appearing on The Merv Griffin Show, Orson Welles lauded the film and described Eastwood as "one of America's finest directors".
