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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

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121-477: Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock , airing on CBS and NBC , alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965, it was renamed The Alfred Hitchcock Hour . Hitchcock himself directed only 18 episodes during its run. By the time the show premiered on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades. In

242-479: A Dirty Harry film. It is generally viewed as the weakest film of the series, though Roger Ebert thought it was as good as the original. Eastwood began working on smaller, more personal projects and experienced a lull in his career between 1988 and 1992. Always interested in jazz, he directed Bird (1988), a biopic starring Forest Whitaker as jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker . Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean and Spike Lee , son of jazz bassist Bill Lee and

363-421: A record album of six ghost stories for children titled Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Ghost Stories for Young People . The album opens with Charles Gounod 's theme music and is hosted by Hitchcock himself. He begins, "How do you do, boys and girls? I'm delighted to find that you believe in ghosts, too. After all, they believe in you, so it is only common courtesy to return the favor." Hitchcock introduces each of

484-687: A CBS press release for Rawhide , Universal-International 's camera crew was shooting in Fort Ord when an enterprising assistant spotted Eastwood and invited him to meet the director, although this is disputed by Eastwood's unauthorized biographer, Patrick McGilligan. According to Eastwood's official biography, the key figure was a man named Chuck Hill, who was stationed in Fort Ord and had contacts in Hollywood. While in Los Angeles, Hill became reacquainted with Eastwood and managed to sneak him into

605-718: A Few Dollars More (1965), the second of the trilogy. Through the efforts of screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni , the rights to For a Few Dollars More and the trilogy's final film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), were sold to United Artists for about $ 900,000. In January 1966, Eastwood met producer Dino De Laurentiis in New York City and agreed to star in a non-Western five-part anthology production, The Witches ( Le Streghe , 1967), opposite De Laurentiis's wife, Silvana Mangano . Eastwood's 19-minute installment took only

726-424: A Few Dollars More on May 10, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on December 29. All three were commercially successful, particularly The Good, the Bad and the Ugly , which eventually earned $ 8 million in rental earnings and turned Eastwood into a major film star being ranked for the first time on Quigley's Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll in 1968 in fifth place. All three received poor reviews, and marked

847-473: A Universal contract director who later became Eastwood's close friend, forming a partnership that would last more than ten years and produce five films. Shooting began in November 1967, before the script had been finalized. The film was controversial for its portrayal of violence. Coogan's Bluff also became the first collaboration with Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin , who scored several Eastwood films in

968-583: A Universal studio, where he introduced him to cameraman Irving Glassberg . Glassberg arranged for an audition under Arthur Lubin , who, although very impressed with Eastwood's appearance and stature (then 6 ft 4 in [193 cm]), disapproved of his acting, remarking, "He was quite amateurish. He didn't know which way to turn or which way to go or do anything." Lubin suggested that he attend drama classes and arranged for Eastwood's initial contract in April 1954, at $ 100 per week. After signing, Eastwood

1089-507: A cache of Confederate gold buried in a cemetery. During the filming of a scene in which a bridge was blown up, Eastwood urged Wallach to retreat to a hilltop. "I know about these things", he said. "Stay as far away from special effects and explosives as you can." Minutes later, confusion among the crew over the word "Vaya!" resulted in a premature explosion that could have killed Wallach. I wanted to play it with an economy of words and create this whole feeling through attitude and movement. It

1210-505: A collection of poetry, later retitled anthology – see Greek Anthology . Anthologiai were collections of small Greek poems and epigrams, because in Greek culture the flower symbolized the finer sentiments that only poetry can express. Many popular old-time radio programs were anthology series. On some series, such as Inner Sanctum Mysteries , the only constant was the host, who introduced and concluded each dramatic presentation. One of

1331-628: A cowardly villain intent on marrying a rich girl for money. Eastwood had a small part as an aviator in Lafayette Escadrille (1958) and played a major role as an ex-renegade of the Confederacy in Ambush at Cimarron Pass (also 1958): a film that Eastwood considers the low point of his career. In 1958, Eastwood was cast as Rowdy Yates in the CBS hour-long western series Rawhide ,

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1452-472: A down-and-out cop assigned to escort a prostitute from Las Vegas to Phoenix to testify against the mob . Although a moderate hit with the viewing public, critics had mixed feelings about the film, with many believing it was overly violent. Ebert, in contrast, gave the film three stars and called it "classic Clint Eastwood: fast, furious, and funny". In Every Which Way but Loose (1978), he had an uncharacteristic offbeat comedy role. His character, Philo Beddoe,

1573-468: A few days to shoot, but his performance did not please critics; one wrote, "no other performance of his is quite so 'un-Clintlike'". Two months later Eastwood began work on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly , again playing the mysterious Man with No Name. Lee Van Cleef returned as a ruthless fortune seeker, with Eli Wallach portraying the Mexican bandit Tuco Ramirez. The storyline involved the search for

1694-525: A friendship with Wales. Director Philip Kaufman was fired by producer Bob Daley under Eastwood's command in October 1975, three weeks into the shoot, resulting in a fine reported to be around $ 60,000 from the Directors Guild of America  – who subsequently passed new legislation reserving the right to impose a major fine on a producer for discharging and replacing a director. The film

1815-601: A listener who had been calling the radio station repeatedly at night, asking him to play her favorite song – Erroll Garner 's " Misty ". When Dave ends their relationship, the unhinged Evelyn becomes a murderous stalker. Filming commenced in Monterey in September 1970 and included footage of that year's Monterey Jazz Festival . The film was highly acclaimed with critics, such as Jay Cocks in Time magazine, Andrew Sarris in

1936-606: A long time critic of Eastwood, criticized the characterization of Charlie Parker remarking that it did not capture his true essence and sense of humor. Eastwood received two Golden Globes for the film, the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his lifelong contribution, and the Best Director award . However, Bird was a commercial failure, earning just $ 11 million, which Eastwood attributed to the declining interest in jazz among black people. Carrey would appear with Eastwood again in

2057-571: A man who takes up a marshal 's badge and seeks revenge as a lawman after being lynched by vigilantes and left for dead. The film earned Eastwood $ 400,000 and 25% of its net box office. Using money earned from the Dollars trilogy, Eastwood's advisor Irving Leonard helped establish Eastwood's own production company, Malpaso Productions , named after Malpaso Creek on Eastwood's property in Monterey County, California . The 38-year-old actor

2178-677: A married couple. This was his first collaboration with Steven Spielberg , who later co-produced Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima . He would revisit the Western genre when he directed and starred in Pale Rider (1985), a film based on the classic western Shane (1953) and follows a preacher descending from the mists of the Sierras to side with the miners during the California Gold Rush of 1850. The title

2299-541: A new TV movie pilot based upon the series, combining four newly filmed stories with colorized footage of Hitchcock from the original series to introduce each segment. The movie was a huge ratings success. The Alfred Hitchcock Presents revival series debuted in the fall of 1985 and retained the same format as the pilot: newly filmed stories (a mixture of original works and updated remakes of original series episodes) with colorized introductions by Hitchcock. The new series lasted only one season before NBC cancelled it, but it

2420-692: A new female officer ( Tyne Daly ) to face a San Francisco Bay area group resembling the Symbionese Liberation Army . The film, culminating in a shootout on Alcatraz island, was considerably shorter than the previous Dirty Harry films at 95   minutes, but was a major commercial success grossing $ 100 million worldwide to become Eastwood's highest-grossing film to date. Eastwood directed and starred in The Gauntlet (1977) opposite Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince , Bill McKinney , and Mara Corday . In this film, he portrays

2541-563: A new type of anthology format in the U.S. Each season, rather than each episode, is a standalone story. Several actors have appeared in the various seasons, but playing different roles—in an echo of the Four Star Playhouse format. The success of American Horror Story has spawned other season-long anthologies such as American Crime Story and True Detective . Anthology film series are rare compared to their TV and radio counterparts. There have been several attempts within

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2662-527: A number of accidents, including one fatality. Upon release in May 1975, The Eiger Sanction was marginally successful commercially, receiving $ 14.2 million at the box-office, and gained mixed reviews. Joy Gould Boyum of The Wall Street Journal dismissed the film as "brutal fantasy". Eastwood blamed Universal Studios for the film's poor promotion and turned his back on them to make an agreement with Warner Brothers , through Frank Wells , that has lasted to

2783-542: A number of bad reviews from critics, although Maslin described it as "funnier and even better than its predecessor". In theaters over the Christmas season, Any Which Way You Can was a major box office success and ranked among the top five highest-grossing films of the year. Eastwood directed and starred in Honkytonk Man (1982), based on the eponymous Clancy Carlile 's depression -era novel. Eastwood portrays

2904-631: A ranch hand (his first western film) in August 1955 with Law Man , also known as Star in the Dust , starring John Agar and Mamie Van Doren . Universal presented him with his first television role on July 2, 1955, on NBC 's Allen in Movieland , which starred comedian Steve Allen , actor Tony Curtis , and swing musician Benny Goodman . Although he continued to develop as an actor, Universal terminated his contract on October 23, 1955. Eastwood joined

3025-673: A rare Pissarro painting. In the process he must climb the north face of the Eiger in Switzerland under perilous conditions. Mike Hoover taught Eastwood how to climb during several weeks of preparation at Yosemite in the summer of 1974 before filming commenced in Grindelwald , Switzerland on August 12. Despite prior warnings about the perils of the Eiger, Eastwood insisted on doing all his own climbing and stunts. The film crew suffered

3146-436: A remote region of Spain by a then relatively unknown director, Sergio Leone . Richard Harrison suggested Eastwood to Leone because Harrison knew that Eastwood could play a cowboy convincingly. Eastwood thought the film would be an opportunity to escape from his Rawhide image. He signed a contract for $ 15,000 in wages for eleven weeks' work, with a bonus of a Mercedes-Benz automobile upon completion. Eastwood later said of

3267-473: A road movie about a veteran bank robber Thunderbolt (Eastwood) and a young con man drifter, Lightfoot (Bridges). On its release, in spring 1974, the film was praised for its offbeat comedy mixed with high suspense and tragedy but was only a modest success at the box office, earning $ 32.4 million. Eastwood's acting was noted by critics, but was overshadowed by Bridges who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . Eastwood reportedly fumed at

3388-473: A role in the film, sent a letter to Eastwood soon after the film's release in which he complained that, "The townspeople did not represent the true spirit of the American pioneer, the spirit that made America great." Eastwood next turned his attention towards Breezy (1973), a film about love blossoming between a middle-aged man and a teenage girl. During casting for the film Eastwood met Sondra Locke for

3509-427: A school official on the athletic field scoreboard and burning an effigy on the school lawn, on top of other school infractions. He transferred to Oakland Technical High School and graduated on February 2, 1949. Eastwood held a number of odd jobs, including lifeguard, paper carrier, grocery clerk, forest firefighter, and golf caddy. Eastwood said that he tried to enroll at Seattle University in 1951, but instead

3630-424: A segment called "The Man from Hollywood". The 1962 episode " The Sorcerer's Apprentice " was not aired by NBC because the sponsor felt that the ending was too gruesome. The plot has a magician's helper performing a " sawing a woman in half " trick. Not knowing that the performance is meant to be an illusion, the helper actually cuts an unconscious woman in half. The episode was included in the syndication package for

3751-462: A segment of ABC 's Reader's Digest series, and as a motorcycle gang member on a Highway Patrol episode. In 1957, Eastwood played a cadet in West Point series and a suicidal gold prospector on Death Valley Days . In 1958, he played a Navy lieutenant in a segment of Navy Log and in early 1959 made a notable guest appearance as Red Hardigan on Maverick opposite James Garner as

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3872-564: A struggling western singer Red Stovall who suffers from tuberculosis , but has finally been given an opportunity to make it big at the Grand Ole Opry . He is accompanied by his young nephew (played by real-life son Kyle ) to Nashville, Tennessee , where he is supposed to record a song. Only Time gave the film a good review in the United States, with most reviewers criticizing its blend of muted humor and tragedy. Nevertheless,

3993-512: A weekly program from the second season until the end of its run in 1956. Ida Lupino was brought on board as the de facto fourth star, though unlike Powell, Boyer, and Niven, she owned no stock in the company. American television networks would sometimes run summer anthology series which consisted of unsold television pilots . Beginning in 1971, the long-run Masterpiece Theatre drama anthology series brought British productions to American television. In 2011, American Horror Story debuted

4114-511: A woman's car, resulted in no Eastwood films being shown in cinemas in 1991. Eastwood won the suit and agreed to pay the complainant's legal fees if she did not appeal. [I]f possible, he looks even taller, leaner and more mysteriously possessed than he did in Sergio Leone's seminal Fistful of Dollars a quarter of a century ago. The years haven't softened him. They have given him the presence of some fierce force of nature, which may be why

4235-490: A young Jim Carrey who plays Johnny Squares, a drug-addled rock star and the first of the victims on a list of celebrities drawn up by horror film director Peter Swan (Neeson) who are deemed most likely to die, the so-called "Dead Pool". The list is stolen by an obsessed fan who, in mimicking his favorite director, makes his way through the list killing off celebrities, of which Dirty Harry is also included. The Dead Pool grossed nearly $ 38 million, relatively low receipts for

4356-495: Is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do you, punk? Dirty Harry (1971), written by Harry and Rita Fink , centers on a hard-edged New York City (later changed to San Francisco) police inspector named Harry Callahan who is determined to stop a psychotic killer by any means. Dirty Harry has been described as being arguably Eastwood's most memorable character, and

4477-654: Is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse , as the rider of the pale horse is Death, and shows similarities to Eastwood's western High Plains Drifter (1973) in its themes of morality and justice as well as its exploration of the supernatural. It was hailed as one of the best films of 1985 and the best western to appear for a considerable period, with Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune remarking, "This year (1985) will go down in film history as

4598-470: Is a trucker and brawler who roams the American West searching for a lost love (Locke) accompanied by his best friend, Orville Boggs (played by Geoffrey Lewis ) and an orangutan called Clyde. The film proved surprisingly successful upon its release and became Eastwood's most commercially successful film up to that time. Panned by critics, it ranked high among the box-office successes of his career and

4719-885: Is a written series, radio , television , film , or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode , season , segment, or short . These usually have a different cast in each episode, but several series in the past, such as Four Star Playhouse , employed a permanent troupe of character actors who would appear in a different drama each week. Some anthology series, such as Studio One , began on radio and then expanded to television. The word comes from Ancient Greek ἀνθολογία ( anthología , "flower-gathering"), from ἀνθολογέω ( anthologéō , "I gather flowers"), from ἄνθος ( ánthos , "flower") + λέγω ( légō , "I gather, pick up, collect"), coined by Meleager of Gadara circa 60   BCE, originally as Στέφανος ( στέφανος ( stéphanos , "garland")) to describe

4840-633: Is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series Rawhide , Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name " in Sergio Leone 's Dollars Trilogy of spaghetti Westerns during the mid-1960s and as antihero cop Harry Callahan in the five Dirty Harry films throughout the 1970s and 1980s. These roles, among others, have made Eastwood an enduring cultural icon of masculinity . Elected in 1986, Eastwood served for two years as

4961-610: Is the 12th generation born in North America. His family relocated three times during the 1930s as his father changed occupations. Contrary to what Eastwood has indicated in media interviews, they did not move between 1940 and 1949. Settling in Piedmont, California , the Eastwoods lived in an affluent area of the town, had a swimming pool, belonged to a country club , and each parent drove their own car. Eastwood's father

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5082-412: Is well known for its title sequence . The camera fades in on a simple line-drawing caricature of Hitchcock's rotund profile (which Hitchcock drew), to the theme music of Charles Gounod 's " Funeral March of a Marionette " (suggested by Hitchcock's long-time musical collaborator Bernard Herrmann ). Hitchcock appears in silhouette from the right edge of the screen, and then walks to center screen to eclipse

5203-559: The Village Voice , and Archer Winsten in the New York Post all praising the film, as well as Eastwood's directorial skills and performance. Walter was nominated for a Golden Globe Best Actress Award (Drama), for her performance in the film. I know what you're thinking – "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But, being as this

5324-520: The Dirty Harry films, Eastwood played a divorced cop drawn into his target's tortured psychology and fascination for sadomasochism . Tightrope was a critical and commercial hit and became the fourth highest-grossing R-rated film of 1984. Eastwood next starred in the crime comedy City Heat (also 1984) alongside Burt Reynolds , a film about an ex-cop turned private eye and his former police lieutenant partner who get mixed up with gangsters in

5445-503: The Golden Age of Television of the 1950s with series such as The United States Steel Hour and The Philco Television Playhouse . Dick Powell came up with an idea for an anthology series, Four Star Playhouse , with a rotation of established stars every week, four stars in all. The stars would own the studio and the program, as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz had done successfully with Desilu studio. Powell had intended for

5566-515: The Prohibition era of the 1930s. The film grossed around $ 50 million domestically, but was overshadowed by Eddie Murphy 's Beverly Hills Cop . Westerns. A period gone by, the pioneer, the loner operating by himself, without benefit of society. It usually has something to do with some sort of vengeance; he takes care of the vengeance himself, doesn't call the police. Like Robin Hood. It's

5687-601: The Smith & Wesson Model 29 carried by Harry Callahan. Dirty Harry , released in December 1971, earned $ 22 million in the United States and Canada. It was Siegel's highest-grossing film and the start of a series of films featuring the character Harry Callahan. Although a number of critics praised Eastwood's performance as Dirty Harry, such as Jay Cocks who described him as "giving his best performance so far, tense, tough, full of implicit identification with his character",

5808-534: The Theatre Royal, Bath in March 2025, featuring music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak , book by Jay Dyer and directed by John Doyle . American rapper Eminem used the theme song in his song "Alfred's Theme" from his album Music to Be Murdered By – Side B (2020), which itself is one of two albums inspired by Hitchcock's 1958 spoken-word record of the same name. Anthology series An anthology series

5929-564: The United States Department of Defense , which had expressed contempt for the film. At the time, the film was a commercial rather than a critical success, and has only come to be viewed more favorably in recent times. The film grossed $ 70 million domestically. Eastwood starred in The Dead Pool (1988), the fifth and final film in the Dirty Harry series. It co-starred Patricia Clarkson , Liam Neeson , and

6050-416: The "emasculated" role of Eastwood. Eastwood's career reached a turning point in 1971. Before Irving Leonard died, he and Eastwood had discussed the idea of Malpaso producing Play Misty for Me , a film that was to give Eastwood the artistic control he desired, and his debut as a director. The script was about a jazz disc jockey named Dave (Eastwood), who has a casual affair with Evelyn ( Jessica Walter ),

6171-510: The "mask" he was attempting to create for the character. A Fistful of Dollars proved a landmark in the development of spaghetti Westerns , with Leone depicting a more lawless and desolate world than traditional westerns, and challenging American stereotypes of a western hero with a morally ambiguous antihero. The film's success made Eastwood a major star in Italy and he was rehired to star in For

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6292-564: The 1970s and 1980s, including the Dirty Harry films. Eastwood was paid $ 750,000 for the war epic Where Eagles Dare (1968), about a World War II squad parachuting into a Gestapo stronghold in the Alps . Richard Burton played the squad's commander, with Eastwood as his right-hand man. Eastwood was also cast as Two-Face in the Batman television show, but the series was canceled before filming began. Eastwood then branched out to star in

6413-446: The 21st century, Time magazine named Alfred Hitchcock Presents as one of "The 100 Best TV Shows of All Time". The Writers Guild of America ranked it #79 on their list of the 101 Best-Written TV Series, tying it with Monty Python's Flying Circus , Star Trek: The Next Generation and Upstairs, Downstairs . In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked it 18th on its list of 30 Best Horror TV Shows of All Time. Alfred Hitchcock Presents

6534-640: The Black Lagoon . In September 1954, Eastwood worked for three weeks on Arthur Lubin's Lady Godiva of Coventry , won a role in February 1955, playing "Jonesy", a sailor in Francis in the Navy and appeared uncredited in another Jack Arnold film, Tarantula , where he played a squadron pilot. In May 1955, Eastwood put four hours' work into the film Never Say Goodbye and had a minor uncredited role as

6655-755: The Italian Venice Film Festival 's Golden Lion award, honoring his lifetime achievements. Bestowed two of France's highest civilian honors, he received the Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1994, and the Legion of Honour in 2007. Eastwood was born on May 31, 1930, at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, to Ruth (née Margret Runner; 1909–2006) and Clinton Eastwood (1906–1970). During her son's fame, Ruth

6776-692: The Marsh Agency, and although Lubin landed him his biggest role to date in The First Traveling Saleslady (1956) and later hired him for Escapade in Japan (1957), without a formal contract, Eastwood was struggling. On his financial advisor Irving Leonard 's advice, he switched to the Kumin-Olenick Agency in 1956 and Mitchell Gertz in 1957. He landed several small roles in 1956 as a temperamental army officer for

6897-708: The Year". Eastwood was then offered the role of Benjamin L. Willard in Francis Coppola's Apocalypse Now , but declined as he did not want to spend weeks on location in the Philippines. He also refused the part of a platoon leader in Ted Post 's Vietnam War film, Go Tell the Spartans and instead decided to make a third Dirty Harry film, The Enforcer (1976). The film had Callahan partnered with

7018-424: The beginning of a battle for Eastwood to win American film critics' respect. Judith Crist described A Fistful of Dollars as "cheapjack", while Newsweek called For a Few Dollars More "excruciatingly dopey". Renata Adler of The New York Times said The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was "the most expensive, pious and repellent movie in the history of its peculiar genre". Time magazine drew attention to

7139-511: The career breakthrough he had long sought. Eastwood was not especially happy with his character; Eastwood was almost 30, and Rowdy was too young and cloddish for his comfort. Filming began in Arizona in the summer of 1958. It took just three weeks for Rawhide to reach the top 20 in TV ratings and, although it never won an Emmy , it was a major success for several years, and peaked at number six in

7260-436: The caricature. The caricature drawing and Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette" have become indelibly associated with Hitchcock in popular culture. After the title sequence, Hitchcock almost always greets his audience with, "Good evening," before drolly introducing the story from an empty studio or from the set of the current episode; his usually comical monologues were written by James B. Allardice . At least two versions of

7381-623: The earliest such programs was The Collier Hour , broadcast on the NBC Blue Network from 1927 to 1932. As radio's first major dramatic anthology, it adapted stories and serials from Collier's Weekly in a calculated move to increase subscriptions and compete with The Saturday Evening Post . Airing on the Wednesday prior to each week's distribution of the magazine, the program soon moved to Sundays in order to avoid spoilers with dramatizations of stories simultaneously appearing in

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7502-580: The felons lynched and murdered, or his ghost. Holes in the plot were filled with black humor and allegory , influenced by Leone. The revisionist film received a mixed reception, but was a major box-office success. A number of critics thought Eastwood's directing was "as derivative as it was expressive", with Arthur Knight of the Saturday Review remarking that Eastwood had "absorbed the approaches of Siegel and Leone and fused them with his own paranoid vision of society". John Wayne , who had declined

7623-548: The film as early as 1976 under titles such as The Cut-Whore Killings and The William Munny Killings , but Eastwood delayed the project because he wanted to wait until he was old enough to play his character and to savor it as the last of his western films. Unforgiven was a major commercial and critical success; Jack Methews of the Los Angeles Times described it as "the finest classical western to come along since perhaps John Ford's 1956 The Searchers ". The film

7744-427: The film has been credited with inventing the "loose-cannon cop" genre. Author Eric Lichtenfeld argues that Eastwood's role as Dirty Harry established the "first true archetype" of the action film genre. His lines (quoted above) are regarded by firearms historians, such as Garry James and Richard Venola, as the force that catapulted the ownership of .44 Magnum revolvers to new heights in the United States; specifically

7865-761: The film is listed in The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made . Around the same time, Eastwood starred as one of a group of Americans who steals a fortune in gold from the Nazis, in the World War II film Kelly's Heroes (also 1970), with Donald Sutherland and Telly Savalas . Kelly's Heroes was the last film Eastwood appeared in that was not produced by his own Malpaso Productions. Shot on location in Yugoslavia and London,

7986-508: The film received a more positive reception in France, where it was compared to John Ford 's The Grapes of Wrath , and it has since acquired the very high rating of 93   percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Around the same time, Eastwood directed, produced, and starred in the Cold War -themed Firefox (also 1982). Based on a 1977 novel with the same name written by Craig Thomas , the film

8107-539: The film received mostly a positive reception and its anti-war sentiments were recognized. Siegel directed Eastwood's next film, The Beguiled (1971), a tale of a wounded Union soldier, held captive by the sexually repressed matron (played by Geraldine Page ) of a Southern girls' school. Upon release the film received major recognition in France and is considered one of Eastwood's finest works by French critics. However, it grossed less than $ 1 million and, according to Eastwood and Lang, flopped due to poor publicity and

8228-438: The film was a major success after release, grossing $ 58.1 million in the United States (a record for Eastwood), it was not a critical success. The New York Times critic Nora Sayre panned the often contradictory moral themes of the film, while the paper's Frank Rich called it "the same old stuff". Eastwood teamed up with Jeff Bridges and George Kennedy in the buddy action caper Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974),

8349-465: The film was also widely criticized as being fascistic . After having been second for the past two years, Eastwood was voted first in Quigley's Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll in 1972 and again in 1973. Following Sean Connery 's announcement that he would not play James Bond again, Eastwood was offered the role but turned it down, saying, "that was someone else's gig. That's Sean's deal. It didn't feel right for me to be doing it." He next starred in

8470-434: The film's wooden acting, especially Eastwood's, though a few critics such as Vincent Canby and Bosley Crowther of The New York Times praised his coolness. Leone's cinematography was widely acclaimed, even by critics who disparaged the acting. Stardom brought Eastwood more roles. He signed to star in the American revisionist western Hang 'Em High (1968) alongside Inger Stevens , Pat Hingle , Ed Begley , playing

8591-407: The first time, an actress who would play major roles in six of his films over the next ten years and become an important figure in his life. Kay Lenz got the part of Breezy because Locke, at 29, was nearly twice the character's age. The film, shot very quickly and efficiently by Eastwood and Frank Stanley , came in $ 1 million under budget and was finished three days ahead of schedule. Breezy

8712-413: The fourth Dirty Harry film, Sudden Impact (1983), which is considered the darkest and most violent of the series. By this time, Eastwood received 60 percent of all profits from films he starred in and directed, with the rest going to the studio. Sudden Impact was his final on-screen collaboration with Locke. She plays a middle-aged painter who, along with her sister, was gang-raped years before

8833-543: The horror genre to have a franchise with an anthology format, such as with the Halloween franchise where the third film, Halloween III: Season of the Witch , was meant to be the beginning of a series of anthology horror films, but due to negative reception that plan was shelved. Anthology video games have been very rare since the 1980s. Clint Eastwood [REDACTED] Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930)

8954-446: The lack of Academy Award recognition for him and swore that he would never work for United Artists again. Eastwood's next film The Eiger Sanction (1975) was based on Trevanian 's critically acclaimed spy novel of the same name. Eastwood plays Jonathan Hemlock in a role originally intended for Paul Newman , an assassin turned college art professor who decides to return to his former profession for one last "sanction" in return for

9075-485: The landscapes of the mythic, late 19th-century West become him, never more so than in his new Unforgiven .   ... This is his richest, most satisfying performance since the underrated, politically lunatic Heartbreak Ridge . There's no one like him. Eastwood revisited the western genre in Unforgiven (1992), a film which he directed and starred in as an aging ex- gunfighter long past his prime. Scripts existed for

9196-538: The last episode of the show. The broadcast history was as follows: Alfred Hitchcock Presents , 25 minutes long, aired weekly at 9:30 on CBS on Sunday nights from 1955 to 1960, and then at 8:30 on NBC on Tuesday nights from 1960 to 1962. It was followed by The Alfred Hitchcock Hour , which lasted for three seasons, September 1962 to June 1965, adding another 93 episodes to the 268 already produced for Alfred Hitchcock Presents . Two episodes that were directed by Hitchcock were nominated for Emmy Awards . The first episode

9317-520: The last masculine frontier. Romantic myth, I guess, though it's hard to think about anything romantic today. In a Western you can think, Jesus, there was a time when man was alone, on horseback, out there where man hasn't spoiled the land yet. Eastwood made his only foray into TV direction with the Amazing Stories episode Vanessa in the Garden (1985), which starred Harvey Keitel and Locke as

9438-628: The loner Western Joe Kidd (1972), based on a character inspired by Reies Lopez Tijerina , who stormed a courthouse in Tierra Amarilla , New Mexico , in June 1967. During filming, Eastwood suffered symptoms of a bronchial infection and several panic attacks. Joe Kidd received a mixed reception, with Roger Greenspun of The New York Times writing that it was unremarkable, with foolish symbolism and sloppy editing, although he praised Eastwood's performance. Eastwood's first western as director

9559-498: The magazine. Radio anthology series provided for science fiction , horror , suspense, and mystery genres (all produced in the US, unless noted): The final episode of Suspense was broadcast on September 30, 1962, a date that has traditionally been seen as marking the end of the old-time radio era. However, genre series produced since 1962 include: In the history of television, live anthology dramas were especially popular during

9680-614: The making of the classic film The African Queen . Shot on location in Zimbabwe in the summer of 1989, the film received some critical attention but with only a limited release earned just $ 8.4 million. Eastwood directed and co-starred with Charlie Sheen in The Rookie , a buddy cop action film released in December 1990. Critics found the film's plot and characterization unconvincing, but praised its action sequences. An ongoing lawsuit, in response to Eastwood allegedly ramming

9801-465: The mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California . Eastwood's greatest commercial successes are the adventure comedy Every Which Way but Loose (1978) and its action comedy sequel Any Which Way You Can (1980). Other popular Eastwood films include the Westerns Hang 'Em High (1968), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) and Pale Rider (1985), the action-war film Where Eagles Dare (1968),

9922-581: The moment Clint Eastwood finally earned respect as an artist." Eastwood co-starred with Marsha Mason in the military drama Heartbreak Ridge (1986), about the 1983 United States invasion of Grenada . He portrayed a United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant veteran of the Vietnam War who realizes he is nearing the end of his military service. Production and filming were marred by internal disagreements between Eastwood and long-time friend and producer Fritz Manes, as well as between Eastwood and

10043-509: The most famous episodes remains writer Roald Dahl 's " Man from the South " (1960) starring Steve McQueen and Peter Lorre , in which a man bets his finger that he can start his lighter 10 times in a row. This episode was ranked #41 on TV Guide ' s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. The episode was later referenced and remade in the film Four Rooms , with Quentin Tarantino directing

10164-566: The music achieved its widest audience. A series of literary anthologies with the running title Alfred Hitchcock Presents were issued to capitalize on the success of the television series. One volume, devoted to stories that censors would not allow to be adapted for broadcast, was entitled Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories They Wouldn't Let Me Do on TV —though eventually several of the stories collected therein were adapted. In 1958, Imperial Records released Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Music to Be Murdered By . In 1962, Golden Records released

10285-464: The mystery drama Mystic River (2003) and the war film Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), for which he received Academy Award nominations. He also directed the biographical films Changeling (2008), Invictus (2009), American Sniper (2014), Sully (2016), and Richard Jewell (2019). Eastwood's accolades include four Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards , three César Awards , and an AFI Life Achievement Award . In 2000, he received

10406-506: The only musical of his career, Paint Your Wagon (1969). Eastwood and Lee Marvin play gold miners who buy a Mormon settler's less favored wife ( Jean Seberg ) at an auction. Bad weather and delays plagued the production, and the film's budget eventually exceeded $ 20 million, which was high for the time. The film was not a critical or commercial success, but was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy . Eastwood starred with Shirley MacLaine in

10527-408: The opening were shot for every episode. A version intended for the American audience would often spoof a recent popular commercial or poke fun at the sponsor, leading into the commercial. Hitchcock closed the show in much the same way as it opened, but mainly to tie up loose ends rather than joke. Frequently, a leading character in the story would have seemingly gotten away with a criminal activity. In

10648-650: The poorly-received comedy Pink Cadillac (1989). The film is about a bounty hunter and a group of white supremacists chasing an innocent woman ( Bernadette Peters ) who tries to outrun everyone in her husband's prized pink Cadillac . The film failed both critically and commercially, earning barely more than Bird and marking a low point in Eastwood's career. Eastwood directed and starred in White Hunter Black Heart (1990), an adaptation of Peter Viertel 's roman à clef , about John Huston and

10769-510: The postscript, Hitchcock would briefly detail, usually unconvincingly, how fate (or the authorities) eventually brought the character to justice. Hitchcock told TV Guide that his reassurances that the criminal had been apprehended were "a necessary gesture to morality." Alfred Hitchcock Presents finished at number 6 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1956–57 season, number 12 in 1957–58, number 24 in 1958–59, and number 25 in 1959–60. The series

10890-515: The present day. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), a western inspired by Asa Carter 's 1972 novel of the same name, has lead character Josey Wales (Eastwood) as a pro-Confederate guerrilla who refuses to surrender his arms after the American Civil War and is chased across the old southwest by a group of enforcers. The supporting cast included Locke as his love interest and Chief Dan George as an elderly Cherokee who strikes up

11011-766: The prison film Escape from Alcatraz (1979), the war film Heartbreak Ridge (1986), the action film In the Line of Fire (1993), and the romantic drama The Bridges of Madison County (1995). More recent works include Gran Torino (2008), The Mule (2018), and Cry Macho (2021). Since 1967, Eastwood's company Malpaso Productions has produced all but four of his American films. An Academy Award nominee for Best Actor , Eastwood won Best Director and Best Picture for his Western film Unforgiven (1992) and his sports drama Million Dollar Baby (2004). In addition to directing many of his own star vehicles , Eastwood has directed films in which he did not appear, such as

11132-437: The program to feature himself, Charles Boyer , Joel McCrea , and Rosalind Russell . When Russell and McCrea backed out, David Niven came on board as the third star. The fourth star was initially a guest star. CBS liked the idea, and Four Star Playhouse made its debut in fall of 1952. It ran on alternate weeks only during the first season, alternating with Amos 'n' Andy . It was successful enough to be renewed and became

11253-499: The ratings from October 1960 to April 1961. The Rawhide years (1959–65) were some of the most grueling of Eastwood's career, often filming six days a week for an average of 12 hours a day, but some directors still criticized him for not working hard enough. By late 1963, Rawhide was beginning to decline in the ratings and lacked freshness in the scripts; it was canceled in the middle of the 1965–66 season. Eastwood made his first attempt at directing when he filmed several trailers for

11374-561: The second most commercially successful of the Dirty Harry films, after The Enforcer , earning $ 70 million. It received very positive reviews, with many critics praising the feminist aspects of the film through its explorations of the physical and psychological consequences of rape. Tightrope (1984) had Eastwood starring opposite Geneviève Bujold in a provocative thriller, inspired by newspaper articles about an elusive Bay Area rapist. Set in New Orleans to avoid confusion with

11495-844: The series and is now considered to be in the public domain. Universal Studios released the first five seasons of Alfred Hitchcock Presents on DVD in Region 1. Season 6 was released on November 12, 2013 via Amazon.com's CreateSpace program. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release on DVD-R, available exclusively through Amazon.com. In Region 2, Universal Pictures UK has released the first three seasons on DVD, and Fabulous Films has released all seven seasons on DVD, including all three seasons of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour . In Region 4, Madman Entertainment has released all seven seasons on DVD in Australia. They have also released all three seasons of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour . In 1985, NBC aired

11616-1220: The series has continued to be popular in television syndication for decades, including in the UK, where it is currently being shown on Sky Arts . Actors appearing in the most episodes include Patricia Hitchcock (Hitchcock's daughter), Dick York , Robert Horton , James Gleason , John Williams , Robert H. Harris , Russell Collins , Barbara Baxley , Ray Teal , Percy Helton , Phyllis Thaxter , Carmen Mathews , Mildred Dunnock , Alan Napier , Robert Vaughn and Vincent Price . Such notables as Clint Eastwood , Robert Redford , Inger Stevens , Cedric Hardwicke , Steve McQueen , Audrey Meadows , Bruce Dern , Robert Duvall , Walter Matthau , Robert Loggia , George Segal , Laurence Harvey , Claude Rains , Joan Fontaine , Thelma Ritter , Dennis Morgan , Joseph Cotten , Burt Reynolds , Vera Miles , Tom Ewell , Peter Lorre , Bette Davis , Dean Stockwell , Jessica Tandy , John Gavin , Charles Bronson , Michael Rennie , Phyllis Thaxter , Roger Moore , John Cassavetes , Peter Falk , Teresa Wright , Leslie Nielsen , Ricardo Montalbán , Harry Dean Stanton , and Barbara Bel Geddes , among many others, appeared on

11737-508: The series. The directors who directed the most episodes included Robert Stevens (44 episodes), Paul Henreid (28 episodes), Herschel Daugherty (24 episodes), Norman Lloyd (19 episodes), Alfred Hitchcock (17 episodes), Arthur Hiller (17 episodes), James Neilson (12 episodes), Justice Addiss (10 episodes), and John Brahm (10 episodes). Other notable directors included Robert Altman , Ida Lupino , Stuart Rosenberg , Robert Stevenson , David Swift and William Friedkin , who directed

11858-399: The show, but was unable to convince producers to let him direct an episode. In the show's first season, Eastwood earned $ 750 an episode. At the time of Rawhide ' s cancellation, he received $ 119,000 an episode as severance pay. In late 1963, Eastwood's Rawhide co-star Eric Fleming rejected an offer to star in an Italian-made western called A Fistful of Dollars (1964), filmed in

11979-432: The stories, all the while recounting a droll story of his own failed attempts to deal with a leaky faucet (which at the conclusion of the album leads to Hitchcock "drowning" in his flooded home). The ghost stories are read by actor John Allen with minimal sound effects and music. Allen wrote four of the stories: On 1 August 2024, it was announced that a stage musical adaptation of the series would have its world premiere at

12100-399: The story takes place and seeks revenge for her sister's now-vegetative state by systematically murdering the rapists. The line " Go ahead, make my day " (uttered by Eastwood during an early scene in a coffee shop) has been cited as one of cinema's immortal lines. It was quoted by President Ronald Reagan in a speech to Congress, and used during the 1984 presidential elections . The film was

12221-551: The title role in Bronco Billy (1980), alongside Locke, Scatman Crothers , and Sam Bottoms . Filming commenced on October 1, 1979, in the Boise metropolitan area and was shot in five and a half weeks on a budget of $ 5 million. Eastwood has cited Bronco Billy as being one of the most relaxed shoots of his career and biographer Richard Schickel argued that Bronco Billy is Eastwood's most self-referential character. The film

12342-489: The transition from a TV western to A Fistful of Dollars : "In Rawhide I did get awfully tired of playing the conventional white hat. The hero who kisses old ladies and dogs and was kind to everybody. I decided it was time to be an antihero ." Eastwood was instrumental in creating the Man with No Name character's distinctive visual style and, although a non-smoker, Leone insisted Eastwood smoke cigars as an essential ingredient of

12463-437: The western Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), directed by Don Siegel. The film follows an American mercenary, who becomes mixed up with a prostitute disguised as a nun, and ends up helping a group of Juarista rebels during the reign of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico . Eastwood again played a mysterious stranger – unshaven, wearing a serape-like vest, and smoking a cigar. Although it received moderate reviews,

12584-471: Was High Plains Drifter (1973), in which he also starred. The film had a moral and supernatural theme, later emulated in Pale Rider . The plot follows a mysterious stranger (Eastwood) who arrives in a brooding Western town where the people hire him to protect them against three soon-to-be-released felons. There remains confusion during the film as to whether the stranger is the brother of the deputy, whom

12705-585: Was " The Case of Mr. Pelham " in 1955 that starred Tom Ewell while the second was " Lamb to the Slaughter " in 1958 that starred Barbara Bel Geddes and Harold J. Stone . In 2009 TV Guide ' s list of "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time" ranked "Lamb to the Slaughter" at #59. The third season opener "The Glass Eye" (1957) won an Emmy Award for director Robert Stevens . An episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour titled "An Unlocked Window" (1965) earned an Edgar Award for writer James Bridges in 1966. Among

12826-413: Was a commercial disappointment, but was liked by critics. Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that film was "the best and funniest Clint Eastwood movie in quite a while", and praised Eastwood's directing, intricately juxtaposing the old West and the new West. Released later in 1980, Any Which Way You Can was the sequel to Every Which Way but Loose and also starring Eastwood. The film received

12947-450: Was a manufacturing executive at Georgia-Pacific for most of his working life. As Clint and Jeanne grew older, Ruth took a clerical job at IBM . Eastwood attended Piedmont Middle School , where he was held back due to poor academic scores, and records indicate he also had to attend summer school. From January 1945 until at least January 1946, he attended Piedmont High School , but was asked to leave for writing an obscene suggestion to

13068-591: Was drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War . "He always dropped the Korean War reference, hoping everyone would conclude that he was in combat and might be some sort of hero. Actually, he'd been a lifeguard at Fort Ord in northern California for his entire stint in the military", said Eastwood's former longtime companion Sondra Locke . Don Loomis recalled hearing that Eastwood

13189-529: Was initially criticized for his stiff manner and delivering his lines through his teeth, a lifelong trademark. In May 1954, Eastwood made his first real audition for Six Bridges to Cross , but was rejected by Joseph Pevney . After many unsuccessful auditions, he was eventually given a minor role by director Jack Arnold in Revenge of the Creature (1955), a sequel to the recently released Creature from

13310-438: Was just the kind of character I had envisioned for a long time, keep to the mystery and allude to what happened in the past. It came about after the frustration of doing Rawhide for so long. I felt the less he said, the stronger he became and the more he grew in the imagination of the audience. The Dollars trilogy was not released in the United States until 1967, when A Fistful of Dollars opened on January 18, followed by For

13431-454: Was known by the surname of her second husband, John Belden Wood (1913–2004), whom she married after the death of Clinton Sr. Eastwood was nicknamed "Samson" by hospital nurses because he weighed 11 pounds 6 ounces (5.2 kg) at birth. He has a younger sister, Jeanne Bernhardt (b. 1934). He is of English, Irish, Scottish, and Dutch ancestry. Eastwood is descended from Mayflower passenger William Bradford , and through this line

13552-573: Was not a major critical or commercial success. Once filming of Breezy had finished, Warners announced that Eastwood had agreed to reprise his role as Callahan in Magnum Force (1973), a sequel to Dirty Harry , about a group of rogue young officers (among them David Soul , Robert Urich , and Tim Matheson ) in the San Francisco Police Department who systematically exterminate the city's worst criminals. Although

13673-493: Was originally 25 minutes per episode, but it was expanded to 50 minutes in 1962 and retitled The Alfred Hitchcock Hour . Hitchcock directed 17 of the 267 filmed episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents — four during the first season and one or two per season thereafter. He directed only the fourth of the 93 50-minute episodes, entitled "I Saw the Whole Thing" with John Forsythe . The last new episode aired on June 26, 1965, but

13794-584: Was pre-screened at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities in Idaho during a six-day conference entitled Western Movies: Myths and Images . Invited to the screening were a number of well-known film critics, including Jay Cocks and Arthur Knight; directors such as King Vidor , William Wyler , and Howard Hawks ; and a number of academics. Upon release in the summer of 1976 The Outlaw Josey Wales

13915-498: Was romancing one of the daughters of a Fort Ord officer, who might have been entreated to watch out for him when names came up for postings. While returning from a prearranged tryst in Seattle, he was a passenger on a Douglas AD bomber that ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean near Point Reyes . Using a life raft, he and the pilot swam 2 miles (3.2 km) to safety. Eastwood was discharged in February 1953. According to

14036-753: Was shot before but released after Honkytonk Man . Russian filming locations were not possible due to the Cold War, and the film had to be shot in Vienna and other locations in Austria to simulate many of the Eurasian story locations. With a production cost of $ 20 million, it was Eastwood's highest budget film to that time. People magazine likened Eastwood's performance to " Luke Skywalker trapped in Dirty Harry's Soul". Eastwood directed and starred in

14157-486: Was still relatively unknown as late as a month prior to the film's release, as evidenced by a July 1968 news item by syndicated columnist Dorothy Manners: "The proverbial man in the street is still asking, 'Who's Clint Eastwood? ' " Leonard arranged for Hang 'Em High to be a joint production with United Artists; when it opened in August, it had the largest opening weekend in United Artists' history. Hang 'Em High

14278-569: Was the second-highest-grossing film of 1978. Eastwood starred in Escape from Alcatraz (1979), the last of his films directed by Siegel. It was based on the true story of Frank Lee Morris who, along with John and Clarence Anglin , escaped from the notorious Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1962. The film was a major success; Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic praised it as "crystalline cinema" and Frank Rich of Time described it as "cool, cinematic grace". Eastwood directed and played

14399-459: Was then produced for three more years by the USA Network . Alfred Hitchcock Presents used Charles Gounod 's " Funeral March of a Marionette " (1872) as its theme song. Hitchcock heard it first in F. W. Murnau 's 1927 film Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans . When he was choosing music for his TV show, he remembered the effect Gounod's piece had on him. It was through Hitchcock's program that

14520-514: Was widely acclaimed, with many critics and viewers seeing Eastwood's role as an iconic one that related to America's ancestral past and the destiny of the nation after the American Civil War. Roger Ebert compared the nature and vulnerability of Eastwood's portrayal of Josey Wales with his Man with No Name character in the Dollars westerns and praised the film's atmosphere. The film would later appear in Time 's "Top 10 Films of

14641-631: Was widely praised by critics, including Archer Winsten of the New York Post , who called it "a western of quality, courage, danger and excitement". Before Hang 'Em High ' s release, Eastwood had already begun working on Coogan's Bluff (1968), about an Arizona deputy sheriff tracking a wanted psychopathic criminal ( Don Stroud ) through New York City. He was reunited with Universal Studios for it after receiving an offer of $ 1 million – more than double his previous salary. Jennings Lang arranged for Eastwood to meet Don Siegel ,

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