The Outlaw Josey Wales

Not to be confused with the Jamaican deejay Josey Wales.

The Outlaw Josey Wales
A man, two guns, held high by his face.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byClint Eastwood
Screenplay by
Based onGone to Texas
by Forrest Carter
Produced byRobert Daley
Starring
CinematographyBruce Surtees
Edited byFerris Webster
Music byJerry Fielding
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • June 30, 1976 (1976-06-30)
Running time
135 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3.7 million[1]
Box office$31.8 million[2]

The Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 American revisionist Western film set during and after the American Civil War.[3] It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood (as Josey Wales), with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Bill McKinney and John Vernon.[4][5] During the Civil War, Josey Wales is a Missouri farmer turned soldier who seeks to avenge the death of his family and gains a reputation as a feared gunfighter. At the end of the war his group surrenders but is massacred, and Wales becomes an outlaw, pursued by bounty hunters and soldiers.

The film was adapted by Sonia Chernus and Philip Kaufman from author Asa Earl "Forrest" Carter's 1972 novel The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales (republished, as shown in the movie's opening credits, as Gone to Texas).[6] The film was a commercial success, earning $31.8 million against a $3.7 million budget. In 1996, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Josey Wales was portrayed by Michael Parks in the film's 1986 sequel, The Return of Josey Wales.[7] His wife Laura Lee was played by Mary Ann Averett in the sequel.

  1. ^ Munn, p. 156
  2. ^ "The Outlaw Josey Wales". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  3. ^ Foote, John H. (2008). Clint Eastwood: Evolution of a Filmmaker. Westport, CT: Praeger. p. 32. ISBN 978-031335247-8.
  4. ^ Variety Staff (December 31, 1975). "The Outlaw Josey Wales". Film – Reviews. Variety. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "IMDB - The Outlaw Josie Wales". IMDb. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  6. ^ Barra, Allen (December 20, 2001). "The Education of Little Fraud". Salon.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014.
  7. ^ Eleanor Mannikka (2015). "The Return of Josey Wales". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 9, 2015.