Stars in Rewind: Young and Gawky Clint Eastwood in 'The Witches'
Filed under: Comedy, Foreign Language, Independent, Fandom, Trailers and Clips, Stars in Rewind
If you've been following my obsessive train of thought, you may have noticed I have been watching a lot of Clint Eastwood lately. I discovered this little gem sometime around Christmas while searching for something completely unrelated to him -- and I'm finally breaking down and posting it.
This is a segment from 1966 Italian arthouse film The Witches (Le Streghe), which was essentially a comeback showcase for Silvana Margano. It was barely distributed, and pretty much shelved, but occasionally pops up on television or at late night screenings. This segment features a baby-faced Clint Eastwood as the thing he would never play again -- a mild-mannered nerd getting his ass kicked by Batman. Just that part of the YouTube description was enough to make me watch it. Eastwood is bizarrely cute in it (keep your eyes out for the blink and you miss it moment of "nudity"), which leads me to a "What if?" scenario...
His early comedic attempts were either shelved or bombed (I will forever champion Two Mules for Sister Sara), and it wasn't until he teamed up with an orangutan that anyone was willing to laugh along with him. If audiences had been a little more accepting of his comedic attempts, what intriguing directions might his career have gone? It's a worthy discussion, particularly since Gran Torino is being touted as his last role. It seems like he should have gotten to do a Tropic Thunder at least once, you know? If someone writes it, maybe it can still happen -- here's the proof he'll strip to flesh colored underwear for a laugh.
Anyway, watch this if only to hear what Eastwood's voice once sounded like. There was a time he didn't growl or rasp at people onscreen -- and that time was the 60s. Part 2 is embedded below the jump.
'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
Chris Nolan to Lead 'Superman' Reboot!?
Tim Robbins Joins 'The Green Lantern'
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-29-2009 @ 6:55PM
Julie said...
Who knew? This really is an Eastwood we never saw again, and I think the world is darker for it. I always thought he had the best subtle comedic delivery of anyone I'd ever seen. It came through in every roll he played. And how droll, Eastwood in a suit playing Dan Draper to his Betty....
Reply
1-29-2009 @ 9:17PM
andrew tonkin said...
"Bronco Billy" was recommended to me and I found it most enjoyable - nice to see Clint in something lightly comedic on his own terms. As for early roles, let's not forget his very first onscreen appearance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHGC7UqebhE
Reply
1-29-2009 @ 9:19PM
Elisabeth said...
Awesome -- I've tried to find that clip before and never could! That's hilarious. :) He's like the "special" lab assistant they gave an easy experiment so he couldn't hurt himself.
I really think he needed to do more comedy. He was good at it!