“Not a hard man to track. Leaves dead men wherever he goes.”
Philip Kaufman wrote the screenplay based on a book by Forrest Carter titled, ‘Gone to Texas’. After the film’s release it was revealed that Forrest Carter was in fact Asa Carter (1925-1979), a former KKK member and speechwriter for Governor George Wallace. Clint Eastwood was unaware of this connection at the time. Kaufman had started out as the director of the film but got replaced by Clint Eastwood. This was a controversial move that prompted the Director ’s Guild of America to institute a ban on any current cast or crew member from replacing the director on a film. A rule which to this day is titled: “ The Eastwood Rule.” While casting, Eastwood met his future girlfriend, Sondra Locke who plays Laura Lee. Locke co-starred with Eastwood in six films: The Gauntlet (1977), Every Which Way But Loose (1978), Any Which Way You Can (1980), Bronco Billy (1980) and Sudden Impact (1983). In all of the Westerns that Clint Eastwood has made, he has never killed Indians. Josey Wales’ friendship to Indians emphasizes this. Because of Chief Dan George’s advanced age, he sometimes had trouble remembering his lines. During takes, Eastwood (as Josie Wales) would unconsciously begin to mouth the Chief’s lines without realizing it and had to be told to stop to avoid ruining the take. In 1996, this film was deemed “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Eastwood has stated that of all his films this is his favorite.
