John Wayne hated classic Clint Eastwood Western so much he rudely refused to work with him – My Blog

High Plains Drifter, which is back on TV later tonight, was the first Western film Eastwood both starred in and directed. It firmly established him as a bold filmmaker who could unusually appeal to every audience from art house to conservative middle America. Everyone, that is apart from The Duke. Wayne was a famously very loud and proud bastion of the most conservative views within society and within his own beloved Westerns. Eastwood once revealed the blunt letter he received from his fellow star, while Wayne’s own son described his father’s brutal rejection of an overture from the actor and director.

Although Eastwood was primarily working in television on the western Rawhide from 1959 to 1966 while Wayne was riding across the big screen, there was a golden opportunity for the pair to work together in 1973. By then, the younger star was an acclaimed movie star, thaks to the likes of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly franchise.