The Outlaw Josey Wales

Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) becomes physically and emotionally scarred when Union gorillas murder his family and destroy his Missouri farm. Turning vigilante and ending up with a price on his head, he journeys to Texas and becomes a much-feared Confederate raider. Wales becomes the unwilling centre of a loose community when he picks up survivors of a wagon train ambushed by Comancheros (engagingly played by an excellent supporting cast which includes Sondra Locke). Ultimately, Wales can’t bring himself to leave his motley surrogate family unprotected. Eastwood had not intended to direct as well as star in his twenty-sixth feature film. The directorial assignment had been given to co-writer Phil Kaufman who exited from the picture early on during location shooting and Eastwood, taking over, performed a first-rate job. The film also received an Academy Award nomination for music.