My Favorite Films: The Outlaw Josey Wales (Western Wednesdays)

     The really great thing about Clint Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) is the writing. Adapted from Forest Carter's novel, The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales, Sonia Chernus and Philip Kaufman's screenplay explores themes of revenge, redemption, and the cost of war. It also contains a lot of great dialogue, in fact, this film is probably the most quotable western ever.

"A man like Wales lives by the feud."

     When Missouri farmer Josey Wale's (Eastwood) family is killed by pro-Union militants from Kansas lead by Captain "Red Legs" Terrill (Bill McKinney) his world falls apart. By joining "Bloody Bill" Anderson's (John Russell) gang of Confederate raiders, Wales finds an outlet for his hatred and his sole purpose becomes vengeance. When the war ends and the Confederates surrender, Wales is the only one not to. Having lived with violence for many years he no longer knows anything else and can't bring himself to surrender to the enemy he has hated and fought against for so long. When the rest of the men are executed, his worst fears are confirmed and he becomes a fugitive and an outlaw. Still, he no longer really has a cause to fight for. Jamie (Sam Bottoms), the only survivor, though mortally wounded, becomes his companion. Wales tries to avoid his pursuers and keep Jamie alive. He also promises that they will get revenge on their former leader, Fletcher (John Vernon), for turning on them. When Jamie dies, Josey is again left without a sense of purpose.

"Endeavor to persevere."

     To escape the blue coat soldiers, Wales then heads for the Mexican border. Along the way he meets and befriends  Lone Watie (Chief Dan George), an old Cherokee Indian, Little Moonlight (Geraldine Keams), a young Navajo woman, Sarah (Paula Trueman) an old Kansas Jayhawker and her daughter Laura Lee (Sondra Locke).  All of them, like Wales himself, are outcasts or become outcasts by the end of the film. Lone Watie is, in some ways, a reflection of Wales. Both men have had their worlds effectively taken away by agents of the U.S. government. But while Wales committed violence to seek vengeance Lone Watie did it as a matter of survival.

"He might as well ride along with us. Hell, everybody else is."

     As more people begin riding with Josey he becomes a sort of surrogate father to them, albeit reluctantly. At this point in the film, Wales is rather directionless. He's no longer really seeking vengeance and is only occupied with the immediate problem of escaping the Union soldiers. At the same time he's afraid to form any attachments to his newfound companions because as he tells Lone Watie, "When I get to likin' someone, they ain't around long." When they finally reach the Jayhawkers farm in Texas they face a new problem, the hostile Comanche Indians lead by chief Ten Bears (Will Sampson). As they prepare for a fight, Wales rides out to meet Ten Bears, determined to either make peace or die protecting his new friends. Ultimately he shows Ten Bears that there is no need for fighting and the Chief makes Wales a blood brother. This is the moment where I think Wales really leaves vengeance behind.

"I reckon so."

     Despite this he is still restless. He knows that Terrill and the red legs will catch up with him eventually. As he cannot bear bear to risk losing those he loves again he decides it is best to leave them. In classic western fashion he tells Lone Waite, "Sometimes trouble just follows a man". Before he can leave Terrill and his men arrive, forcing a confrontation. With the help of his companions, Wales finally subdues them. Then he comes face to face with Fletcher, the man he believes betrayed him. In a subtle twist the two men, pretending not to recognize each other engage in one of my favorite exchanges of dialogue from any film.
Fletcher, "I think I'll go down to Mexico to try to find him."
Josey, "And then?"
Fletcher, "He's got the first move. I owe him that. I think I'll try to tell him the war is over. What do you say, Mr. Wilson?"
Josey, "I reckon so. I guess we all died a little in that damn war."

"... men can live together without butcherin' one another."

     In many ways The Outlaw Josey Wales was a response to the war in Vietnam. Eastwood was concerned over the great sense of divisiveness left in the country after the war. He hoped that making a film about people overcoming their prejudices in the post-Civil War era would have a cathartic effect in his own time. This can be seen especially in the exchanges between Josey Wales and the old woman Sarah, who's son fought in the war on the Union side. Both come to respect one another. It can also be seen in the exchange between Josey and Ten Bears, where he tells him, "Dying's not hard for you and me. It's living that's hard when all you ever cared about has been butchered or raped."

     Of course the script is not the only great thing about The Outlaw Josey Wales. Eastwood's deliberate direction is excellent. He really takes time to make you care about these characters and understand this world. The acting is stellar all around, even the bit roles are very memorable. Eastwood is his usual laconic self. John Vernon is great as the world weary Fletcher and Bill McKinney's Terrill is appropriately loathsome. But the real standout performance is Chief Dan George's Lone Watie. According to Eastwood, George had trouble memorizing his lines so Clint would tell him the gist of what he was supposed to say in any given scene and let him say it in his own words. The results speak for themselves. Finally, the score, by Jerry Fielding, is fairly effective, evoking Civil War era marching tunes and folks songs.

    With an awesome screenplay from Kaufman and Chernus, assured direction from Eastwood, and solid performances all around, The Outlaw Josey Wales is one of the last true masterpieces of the western genre. Every time I watch it I discover new layers and subtle visual motifs I hadn't noticed before. It's one of those films that gets better and better with age.