Happy Christmas and Yearly review 2022

Happy Christmas and yearly review 2022-

Considering that 2022 has been something of a quiet year, we have still managed to somehow conjure up almost 80 new posts which I hope you have all enjoyed. Of course, like any other year, a great deal of material continues to be added to the dedicated film or subject pages and are there for you to discover whilst generally browsing. 

I would also like to thank everyone who continues to send material to me in order to either use on the archive or just to add to the collection - so often it’s sent as a simple ‘thank you’ gesture and in return for the dedication and time I put into the Archive - You are all extremely thoughtful and I thank you, sincerely. 

So, a brief recollection of 2022:

We began in January with some rather nice rare bits of material such as FYC ads for Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, we had a nice photo opp which also featured Cimino and Clint, we also featured some rare Hang ‘em high material which was donated by our friends Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall of Cinema Retro magazine. We also looked at the struggle to obtain Richard Jewel on Blu-ray within the UK - which was really the first sign of something much darker to come. 

In February I posted When in Rome… April 1964, which included some of my personal collection of rarely seen photos while Clint was in town for the filming of A Fistful of Dollars. I followed this up with When in Rome… The return visit. Spaghetti & Skateboarding, a collection of more familiar shots taken in Rome during 1965 and Clint’s return to film For a Few Dollars More. We also reported that Dirty Harry was scheduled to hit the big screen again at the BFI, and also posted On Location: Rare Candids from The Beguiled including some previously unseen photos. In February we also posted a lengthy feature on Clint’s Crew: Cinematographer Tom Stern which included a rare interview and the complete feature from International Cinematographers Guide Magazine. I concluded February with a fascinating look at the rarely seen Dollar Trilogy in German Paperback form. 

In April we reported about the shabby treatment afforded to Cry Macho in the UK, in Time gentlemen please? Have Warner Bros pulled the plug on Clint? We moved straight to a more positive vibe with Clint & Sondra Behind the cover: The Photo shoot for People Weekly Magazine, Feb 1978 which featured a superb assortment of rarely seen photographs. In mid April we also posted the A Fistful of Dollars Rare UK Double Crown poster and the Carmel Magazine cover shot of Winter 2020 which featured a wonderful shot of Clint in his youth. Also in April I featured a piece on The WMS Gaming Fistful of Dollars Slot Machine, including a rare piece of advertising from my collection. We also took a first glimpse look at Giuseppe Tornatore’s heartfelt tribute to film composer Morricone and featured the new trailer. And we rounded off April with a lovely full page advertisement for Clint’s Burning Bridges single kindly sent to me by Dave Worrall.

May 1st, I posted a piece I had written called Clint & Wayne in The Hostiles - the John Wayne / Clint Eastwood project that never happened. In May I also scanned and posted some rare magazine features such as OUI Magazine: Clint Eastwood Interview, June 1978, Clint Eastwood: Numero Uno! Cosmopolitan Magazine, Article from October 1975 and Rona Barrett's Gossip Magazine Article Circa 1974 Clint Eastwood: Champion of the Year. I also posted a very rare piece on The Man with No Name arrives in the UK. May also featured A Fistful of Dollars: Rare UK Teaser campaign in use, a set of super pages donated to me again by Dave Worrall showing the great Fistful of Dollars teaser campaign in use within the trade press. And keeping with the Dollar theme, we concluded May with a look at the MGM Dollar Trilogy Home Entertainment Campaign of 2000.

We kicked off June with a fabulous set of colour photos from the Magnum Force: Shipyard sequence, and featured a super Photo op with Clint and Don on location for Dirty Harry. We also featured The Enforcer Rare Set of 16 Mexican Lobby Cards. Half way through the year, there was a real sense that A Fistful of Dollars was shining through as the dominant focus of 2022 and that continued when I featured the Rare 1965 German A Fistful of Dollars 7” Single - First Pressing. Also in June we featured some great In the Line of Fire Rare Original 1993 Storyboards, and the ultra rare Dirty Harry UK Double Crown poster. We also posted another original Mediascene Magazine Article November - December 1973, and an original letter from Clint in reference to a print of Paint Your Wagon. 

In July we posted some funky Italian Photobustas from Dirty Harry, and also an original pamphlet advertising the Holiday Inn with a certain rooftop pool… also in July I posted an early Eastwood signed letter to a fan from March 1962, and reproduced an article on Clint’s memories of being a lifeguard at Fort Ord pool complete with some great photos on his return. To round off July we posted a seldom seen Joe Kidd poster from Greece.

We opened August with a major feature reproduction of Screenwriter David Peoples talks about the lost ending Clint Eastwood cut from Unforgiven and featured a Clint mini season Fox promo from 2004. I also embarked on constructing a picture feature for The Man who loved Cat Dancing Premiere. I also managed to locate a Paramount / Wink Paint Your Wagon colouring competition! Also in August I completed a restoration on NATO’s Male Star of the Year 1971 Rare Warner Bros One Day Advertisement, and a feature on The Fate of the Dirty Harry Trestle.

In September we reported on Clint’s involvement in the Why On Earth Documentary and a small feature on the The Clint Eastwood Youth Program of 1985-86. We also found proof that Paul Newman was to originally star in The Eiger Sanction!

October brought news of a major new French publication, DVDvision le mook Clint Eastwood & Dirty Harry (hopefully due out very soon), and I touched again upon the ongoing whispers around Clint at Warner Bros and the lack of a Blu-ray release of Cry Macho in the U.K. all in the post ‘A farewell to Silver Screen Legends?’ I’m not liking this continuing story at all - but feel obliged to keep touching upon it. 

In November I put together an original piece - Peter Tevis Pastures of plenty: The evolution of a theme which looked at the coming together of the Fistful of Dollars theme (A Fistful of Dollars rising to the surface again in 2022…), I also posted some great examples of the  Ennio, il maestro French Grande Posters. 

We opened December with a close look at a Rare Japanese The Good, The Bad and The Ugly LP which was new to most of us. It  was also great to feature our dear friend Sally Stevens again and her book, I Sang That. I also featured some very unusual Magnum Force 'endangered species' ads - which just had to be posted! We came full circle once again with the A Fistful of Dollars 6 sheet poster, one that hardly ever shows its face and sold in auction on Dec 21st. 

In Memoriam:

Sadly, 2022 also saw the passing of some working colleges and co-stars from the Eastwood circle of friends. We said farewell to Mitchell Ryan, Fred Ward, L.Q. Jones, Wolfgang Peterson and Irene Cara – all of whom made the Eastwood light shine so brightly and will be missed dearly.

Finally, Thank you to everyone for your continued support - and especially to my team of correspondents and helpers who do a fabulous job. 

Have a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Darren, The Clint Eastwood Archive