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The Good, the bad, & the meh. CLINT Eastwood's Universal box set

 TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA

Clint Eastwood, Shirley MacClaine. Dir. Don Sigel, Universal, 1970

Five years ago, my friend Jay, tired of hearing me gripe smoking weed sucked without music, gave me an old 16" TV & a dvd player. I quickly found a wealth of films I wanted/needed to see burdened the shelves of local thrift & dollar stores, so I gave myself standing orders, #2 of which states, "BUY ALL CLINT EASTWOOD TITLES."

In the 70s, as a kid, I saw OUTLAW JOSEY WALES alone at 8, & ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ with my dad a few years later. Mom & Dad didn't quite hold with the former TV cowboy, or his later work. Personally, I think they missed what most Eastwood detractors miss: that his archetypal-hero roles all offer wry commentary on the absurdity of one-dimensional heroes. There IS a joke, & Clint's in on it.

After two years, I had copies of all but Clint's Universal releases, lensed before his Malpaso Prod. moved to Warners for life. Comprising a clutch of Clint titles I'd needed to see forever, I broke down & got Clint's Universal Bluray Box for Xmas two years ago, without ever commenting.

I ve decided to classify the films as follows: The Good, The Bad, & The Meh. Only one of the eight sinks as low as "meh," but both Don Seigel's TWO MULES & John Sturges's JOE KIDD more than earn a "bad" rating. Siegel, the B-picture auteur who taught Clint his craft, and Sturges, auteur of THE GREAT ESCAPE, turn in less than their best work, and less than Clint's best performances. Of the two, Siegel at least finds gorgeous cinemtagrophy & a sparks-struck chemistry between Clint & MacClaine. Sturges, years from THE GREAT ESCAPE, fashions a chase movie wherein Eastwood's so obviously right from the first the ensuing 90 minutes only belabor the point.

Clint goes on to do exemplary work at Universal, with Seigel & with his own early work, but JOE KIDD & TWO MULES don't measure up even to Ted Post's AmeriItalian HANG 'EM HIGH. Universal struggled to see Eastwood as anything other than a basic, square-jawed leading man. Clint had other, more interesting ideas, as the others films in this set establish. 

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