Clint Eastwood has proven time and time again that he’s incredibly flexible when it comes to working in just about every genre, whether it be an ensemble war movie (“Kelly’s Heroes”), conspiracy thriller (“Absolute Power”), or a romantic drama (“The Bridges of Madison County”). But there’s no denying that the essence of his screen image is most often associated with that of the Western. It was the CBS TV series “Rawhide” that paved the way to Eastwood’s career getting truly off the ground. Thanks to his role as ramrod Rowdy Yates (which he played for eight seasons), Eastwood would end up joining forces with Spaghetti Western director Sergio Leone, who then proceeded to make him an international star by casting him in the widely revered Dollars trilogy. “A Fistful of Dollars,” specifically, built up Eastwood’s image as the mysterious gun-slinger who rides into town and inevitably gets wrapped up in someone else’s conflict. It’s a Western genre archetype that Eastwood carried over into his directing career with 1985’s “Pale Rider,” but his sophomore outing at the helm saw him twist it into something uniquely sinister.
In 1973’s “High Plains Drifter,” Eastwood’s mysterious Stranger doesn’t have the moral ambiguity of the actor’s Blondie from “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” nor the mostly good nature of his Preacher from “Pale Rider.” He’s an unquestionably evil presence who defaults to the role of protector because the people of the mining town of Lago have no one else. I didn’t see this masterful horror Western until just last year, and it’s since become one of my favorites among Eastwood’s directorial oeuvre. Thankfully, more people can finally check it out for yourselves, seeing as it’s currently streaming on Netflix.