It is said that Clint's Western directorial debut was assisting Ted Post with Hang 'em High (1967). While this may be true, is was not until High Plains Drifter (1972) that Clint directed a Western on his own. Clint takes the opportunity to pay tribute to Sergio Leone with a grave marker in his name and a movie more akin to a spaghetti Western than any other movie Clint made.

High Plains Drifter is a revenge Western. The Stranger (Clint Eastwood) is the mythical ghost of Lago's former marshal. He returns to Lago to exact vengeance. He rapes, kills, steals, and generally torments the town for its past misdeeds. Graphic sexual violence is pictured as The Stranger spares no one.

The most remarkable feature of the film is its' inclusion of Billy Curtis. Curtis' acting debut was as the hero, Buck Lawson, in The Terror of Tiny Town (1938!), an all midget Western. Curtis' is Mordecai in High Plains Drifter, he is the only man (or woman) in Lago that holds a conscious (albeit small), and the only one who is spared The Stranger's wrath.

Fans of Clint will revel at his performance in High Plains Drifter, we tally the movie as a Good View.

Cast:

• Clint Eastwood.... The Stranger
• Verna Bloom.... Sarah Belding
• Marianna Hill.... Callie Travers
• Mitch Ryan.... Dave Drake
• Jack Ging.... Morgan Allen
• Stefan Gierasch... Mayor Jason Hobart
• Ted Hartley.... Lewis Belding
• Billy Curtis.... Mordecai
• Geoffrey Lewis .... Stacey Bridges
• Scott Walker .... Bill Borders
• Walter Barnes....Sheriff Dan Shaw
• Paul Brinegar.... Lutie Naylor