It’s always fascinating to read old pieces written about folks who have gone on to be wildly successful.
Here is an old article on the movie The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, written in 1968.
Context: at the time Clint Eastwood was a TV actor – he had gone to work for TV after failing to find work in cinema. He was hired by Sergio Leone to feature in 2 of his movies, but those were spaghetti westerns and that sub-genre was despised by most critics at the time. It was NOT considered “serious” or “art”.
Three years ago, Clint Eastwood—an unshaven, slit-eyed refugee from television’s Rawhide—was glad to get an invitation from Italian Director Sergio Leone to star in a hokey little quickie to be shot in Spain.
It was called A Fistful of Dollars, and the title proved prophetic: the picture was a smash. (…) Now they are back with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly—a title that might serve as the film’s own capsule review. (more…)