Friday, 20 November 2009

The Beguiled: The Storyteller 1971

Most Wanted
This is an item I have long been after. Filmed in 1971, during the making of The Beguiled, The Storyteller is the first Documentary short ever directed by Eastwood. Shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, under the Malpaso Production Company, it has a running time of 12 minutes.
Although I have only seen short clips from this documentary, it's right up there among my most wanted of Eastwood items. It has never been made commercially available, although I do know it exists on 16mm film, could it be in your attic! If so, drop me a line.
The hunt for this documentary short shouldn't of really been necessary at all, had Universal seen fit to release it. Why it wasn't added to their DVD or Blu-ray release of The Beguiled is totally beyond me? What a superb additional feature this would of made..
I would also of been happy to let them use my set of original radio spots, had they asked nicely!
It has certainly been a long running argument, but I've always believed that the companies involved should at least put out an open call, way in advance of producing these DVD or Blu-ray sets. It seems clearly evident to me that it is the fans and the genuine collectors that not only hold the most interesting items, but also have the common sense to know 'what' exactly should be included within these DVD and Blu-ray packages.

Reminds a little of the closing from The Towering Inferno...
Paul Newman: 'Ok, I'm asking...'
Steve McQueen: 'You know where to find me...'
If only it were that easy...

Above: Eastwood as he appears in The Beguiled: The Storyteller
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12 comments:

  1. Anonymous14 November 2010 at 03:24

    Hi,

    This is a inquiry for the webmaster/admin here at theclinteastwoodarchive.blogspot.com.

    Can I use part of the information from this post right above if I provide a backlink back to your website?

    Thanks,
    Thomas

    ReplyDelete
  2. Clint's archive15 November 2010 at 10:44

    Hello thomas, could you give a bit more info in regards to where it is to be published? Is it on the web? Or perhaps a publication?
    Thanks
    TCEA

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous19 December 2010 at 23:17

    I am really Glad i came across this website.Added theclinteastwoodarchive.blogspot.com to my bookmark!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Clint's archive24 December 2010 at 00:31

    Many thanks,
    Drop by any time
    TCEA

    ReplyDelete
  5. west w.22 July 2011 at 04:29

    Does anyone know the name of the plantation that The Beguiled was filmed at? It is an impossible piece of trivia to find.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ravindranadh6 July 2012 at 10:14

    is it available to download??
    The Beguiled: The Storyteller???

    ReplyDelete
  7. Clint's archive7 July 2012 at 10:32

    Hi Ravin, Welcome to the Clint Eastwood Archive. I have never seen this on the net or available to download. If ever you come across it, please do let me know.
    Thanks for leaving a message.
    The Clint Eastwood Archive.

    ReplyDelete
  8. west w.7 July 2012 at 13:34

    Anyone ever figure out the name of that plantation "The Beguiled" was filmed at?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Clint's archive8 August 2012 at 20:06

    Hi West W
    The location was the Ashland-Belle Helene mansion near Baton Rouge, Louisianna.

    Mission Accomplished

    TCEA

    ReplyDelete
  10. sleestakk16 May 2018 at 06:29

    Found your post on this short film when looking for more info about it. Tonight (May 15, 2018) the Chicago Film Society screened a 35mm print of this obtained directly from the Universal archives (they screened it along with Coogan's Bluff). Print looked great and the film was fascinating to view. Just wanted to drop a note on this in case you were still looking for it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Clint's archive16 May 2018 at 07:10

    Hello sleestakk, thank you for your comment.
    Lucky you! I would still love to see this, funny enough it was shown by the BI in London a couple of years back, but unfortunately I could not make it. As I remember it was shown with The Beguiled. Still looking for it, yes. But it is hard to obtain (in 16mm) - I guess the real grievance I have about it is the fact that Universal have never used it for their Blu-ray or DVD releases on either Coogan's Bluff or The Beguiled. This is such an important piece, and would of been key as a bonus feature - I just don't understand it, maybe it is just lazy on Universal's part? I just wished it was released. Clint, if you should be reading, how about sorting me out a copy...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Felipe3 June 2020 at 15:39

    I completely agree with the comments here, it should have made it to the DVD or BluRay releases.

    Glad to read there are still a few prints around. I do hope that eventually they resurface again and make it into a new re-issue of the movie, but it does not seem likely :(.

    ReplyDelete