I just finished watching High Plains Drifter for about the 10th time, and this time it was extra special, seeing it with Vanessa. She really enjoyed it quite a bit.
Clint Eastwood plays a man known only as “The Stranger”, and he literally appears out of the haze of the heat of the desert. He strides right into town, and within the first 15 minutes of the movie he kills 3 men and “rapes” a woman. The woman turns out to be the town slut, so there’s nothing to cry about. He befriends a little person named Mordecai, and discovers that the town is fearful of the impending release of 3 men. The leader being Stacey Bridges (Played masterfully by fabulous character actor Geoffrey Lewis).
The Stranger decides to help the townspeople in exchange for getting all kinds of stuff from the town, because of an unlimited credit line that the mayor gives him. This leads to quite a few of the store owners to get pissed off since they have to provide him with free stuff. Such as the saloon owner having to give away free beer and whiskey. The climax is nothing short of essentially being a horror movie. The creepy music that plays throughout adds to the creepy atmosphere.
That is the greatest asset to this movie. It’s a horror/western. When I first saw it during one of those “24 hours of Eastwood” marathons that TBS would air the day before Thanksgiving, as well as on Thanksgiving. I got the drift that it was a different western than the few that I had already seen, but over the years as I’ve seen it more and more times, I’ve come to really appreciate it, and there are days where it’s my favorite western. It’s definitely worth making a blind buy or at least a rental.
Rene’s song of the day: “Bogota, 1984” by John Barry.
Thanks for reading my blog and see you next time!