The issue was money. Sergio Leone originally wanted Henry Fonda to star as the “Man With No Name,” in his film A Fistful of Dollars (1964). But the production company could not afford such a famous Hollywood actor. The role was then offered to Charles Bronson, who turned it down, because he thought the script “bad.”

Then came the list of those who could have been and the one who eventually became the “Man With No Name:” Henry Silva, Rory Calhoun, Steve Reeves, Ty Hardin, James Coburn and Clint Eastwood.

Leone wanted Coburn, but at $25,000, he was too expensive. The role, therefore, went to Eastwood, who was $10,000 cheaper.

Having finished working on the long-running cowboy TV series Rawhide, Eastwood was not keen on making another western. But encouraged by his agent, he read the script. Eastwood recognized the screenplay as a direct lift from Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. Intrigued, he took the part.

What Leone liked about Eastwood was that he moved like a cat—quietly assured, self-confident. It was a quality other actors and directors would notice. Richard Burton, who co-starred with Eastwood in Where Eagles Dare, compared him to Robert Mitchum, as having a “dynamic lethargy.” Director Don Siegel said Eastwood did nothing, and made those around him appear to be acting.

A Fistful of Dollars nearly collapsed during filming as a copyright license had not been agreed upon with Kurosawa. This meant the film was only given a European mainland release, and was banned from being shown in the U.S.A. and Britain. However the film made sufficient profit to fund Leone and Eastwood in making a sequel, the aptly titled For A Few Dollars More (1965), and then a third the following year, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966).

By 1967, all license agreements had been cleared and Leone’s trilogy was released in America. The critics hated it, and damned all 3 films outright. Yet, the public rightly adored the series, and the films became Classic Westerns.

This is “Out of the West” which formed the first of a 2-part documentary on Clint Eastwood. This section looks at Eastwood’s early life (from childhood to drifter, to Army) and on to his first acting roles, success in Rawhide and working with Sergio Leone. The documentary concludes with Eastwood setting-up his own company Malpaso, and his collaborating with Don Siegel on Coogan’s Bluff, Two Mules for Sister Sara, The Beguiled and Dirty Harry.

If you have an interest in film, this is definitely one to watch before it disappears.