Western movie enthusiasts have a few icons – but not many get close to the level of fame Clint Eastwood and John Wayne reached while starring in films of the genre.
John Wayne left a legacy of over 80 western hero stories, including The Searchers (1956), Rio Bravo (1959), True Grit (1969), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Hondo (1953), before passing away of stomach cancer in 1979.
For his part, Clint Eastwood is renowned for his iconic portrayals in numerous films of the genre, including the Dollars Trilogy with Sergio Leone, Hang ‘Em High (1968) and Pale Rider (1985), and later directed and starred in classics like Unforgiven (1992) and Cry Macho (2021).
Despite having their stardom years overlap while working in the same industry and niche, the pair curiously never worked together in a film – and several theories have been raised to try and explain the apparent rivalry.
Eastwood was already a household name and had started to try his hand at directing. He then released (and starred in) High Plains Drifter (1973), which John Wayne, a seasoned veteran, was highly critical of.
After the success of his directorial debut films, he was keen on taking on more projects. Then came about The Hostiles, a script he had received from Larry Cohen. It was meant to tell the story of a gambler and an older rancher who are forced to work together as they fend off bandits.
Seeing that as an opportunity to work with one of the legends of his industry, Eastwood sent the script to Wayne, hoping he would consider playing the older man – but the response was not very warm.
“John Wayne once wrote me a letter saying he didn’t like High Plains Drifter,” Eastwood admitted. “He said it wasn’t really about the people who pioneered the West. I realised that there were two different generations, and he wouldn’t understand what I was doing.”
Eastwood did not give up, instead rewriting and revising the script, again looking for Wayne’s approval. The veteran’s response, according to his son Michael Wayne, was to throw the new script into the sea from the deck of his boat, as he let out: “This piece of sh** again.” The project was subsequently done without Eastwood’s involvement.
Wayne’s rejection of The Hostiles script did not come as a surprise given his well-documented stance on the Western genre. His films often presented a clear moral divide, with heroes standing as untouchable symbols of righteousness.
The cowboy was not just a character in Wayne’s world but a figure representing honor, justice, and resilience. In that aspect, Eastwood’s High Plains Drifter was a departure from the status quo, embracing a darker, more ambiguous portrayal of the West.