Photo Opportunity #62 Do you feel lucky?

Photo Opportunity #62 Do you feel lucky?

I’ve been wanting to post this shot for a while now – it’s just so cool. The photo is of course from the original Dirty Harry (1971). The scene is the famous bank robbery attempt which happened as Harry was about to bite down into his hot dog from the diner across the street. 

Clint would share this iconic scene with the late great Albert Popwell, an actor who had first appeared opposite Clint in the tough New York thriller Coogan’s Bluff. Popwell would go on to appear (as different characters) in the first 4 Dirty Harry movies. As the Bank robber in the first, and as the murderous pimp in Magnum Force (1973). He appeared as militant Big Ed Mustapha in The Enforcer (1976), a film Popwell said he had not planned on being in. Another actor had been cast in the role of Mustapha in The Enforcer but director James Fargo felt the other actor did not have the proper feel for the role. With time getting down to the wire, Fargo and Eastwood immediately put in a call for their self-described "good luck charm." Popwell later portrayed Dirty Harry's detective colleague Horace King in Sudden Impact (1983). In 1988, Popwell was offered a role in The Dead Pool - the last film in the series - but could not appear due to a scheduling conflict.

He died at age 72 in 1999, from complications following open-heart surgery. He will always be remembered for the Bank Robbery scene, and a long association with Clint – an association of which he was incredibly proud. 

Happy Birthday Clint

Happy Birthday Clint

It hardly seems possible that another year has passed and we find ourselves celebrating Clint’s Birthday once again. At 95 (a nonagenarian apparently) it certainly confirms Clint as the ‘elderly statesman’ of the film industry. I have no idea how Clint will be celebrating his Birthday, but I’d Hazzard a guess that he will be enjoying the time quietly and relaxing over a fine glass of wine with his closest family and friends – and why not?

As always, and on behalf of all the fans, and everyone here at the Archive, we would like to extend our best Birthday wishes and salute this remarkable achievement. 

Trying to come up with something new to accompany and illustrate this post is a task which has started to become increasingly harder. So instead, I thought I’d go through some bags – and see if anything leaped out that had not already been featured on the Archive. I ended up going through a large bag which had a great deal of oversized pages, trade ads, large newspaper cuttings – all of which were much too large for a simple pass through the scanner. 

One of these cutting was a double page spread from Screen International, dated August 14th – 20th 1992. Because it was so large (approx. 20” x 13” and in 2 halves) it had gotten a bit beaten and battered over the last 30+ years (haven’t we all) – but it still remained a treasured piece. Eventually I broke this down into 4 separate passes through the scanner then stitched it all back together before restoring it here on the Archive on Clint’s Birthday.

Unforgiven marked a huge turning point in Clint’s career and marked the beginning of a fruitful and rewarding period. Having the fans behind and supporting your work was always a given, but to also gain the respect from pretty much every critic around the world – well, that was new territory. It seemed that Clint’s work was finally being recognised and applauded – much like the man today. 

Below: Rare Unforgiven fully restored one day trade advertisement 1992 

FLASHBACK: Darlington Raceway September 1963

FLASHBACK: Darlington Raceway September 1963

On the eve of Clint turning 95, I thought I’d take us back, just as Clint was about to turn international film star. Here is a wonderful little piece on Clint attending the Darlington Raceway for the Labour Day Southern 500 on September 2nd 1963. 

Clint was there to actually form part of the judging team for the annual beauty contest. Naturally if there was a chance of a Photo opportunity, pictured behind the wheel of one of the track cars, you were certainly going to take it! Its not known if Clint actually took this car for a spin around the track or just jumped in the driver’s seat for the photo. However, if we know the then – 33-year-old Clint, and his love of cars, I’m betting he took it around a couple of times. 

The Southern 500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern 500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race distance is 501 miles (806 km) and consists of 367 laps. From 1950 to 2003, and again since 2015, the race has been held on Labor Day weekend. The Southern 500 is largely considered one of the Crown Jewels of the NASCAR calendar, and has been nicknamed NASCAR's "oldest superspeedway race." For decades, the race has been considered by competitors and media as one of the more difficult and challenging races on the NASCAR schedule, owing much to the track's unusual, asymmetrical egg-shape, rough pavement, and overall unforgiving nature. Darlington Raceway itself has a long and storied reputation as the "Track Too Tough to Tame." 

Below: The original program for the 1963 Southern 500

Below: Here’s something rather special, a vintage documentary capturing everything of the 1963 event. If you look closely around the 8.00 min mark you will spot Clint at the beauty contest. Of course, the most significant thing about this event is the timeline. Although Clint was still filming TV’s Rawhide, it would be just 7 months before Clint was jetting off to Rome to make a little European western called The Magnificent Stranger – I wonder where it all went from there?

             

*This video may only play on Youtube

The Clint Eastwood Headset Stand

The Clint Eastwood Headset Stand

So, here’s the thing, I’m not quite sure how I got here, but certainly glad I did! I think it was because I went on line a couple of weeks back looking for classically styled set of headphones. I’d been wanting a new set for some time now, picked up a set and really happy. Then I think those clever little algorithms or cookies got to work, threw 2 + 2 together and recommended this rather cute Headset / Gamer stand – yes, in the shape of Clint. 

To be honest, I never gave a headset stand/holder a second thought? I suppose I belonged to the ‘throw them in the drawer after use’ brigade – and suddenly decided to style it up. I found myself returning to look at this over and over again, I was drawn. This wasn’t just a bust like head of Clint – this was more like vintage Harry ’71 style, the big hair, the sharp features, yes, certainly interested…

I finally decided to take a leap of faith and give one a go. So, I had a nice plain brown box arrive nice and quickly this afternoon – and I’ve got to say I was really impressed. It’s made of a strong type of plastic, not at all soft or flexi, probably an injection moulding of some kind, I really can’t be sure. But the detail makes it unmistakably Clint. The base of the neck is perfectly level making if easy to stand anyway. It is all in a cool white stone look and is really effective. The material looks as if it can be painted a particular colour if you so wish, but I must admit, I like this cool white finish. Just perfect for the headset too. Of course, it can also be put to good use if you are a gamer, and can work equally well for your headset.

It's unusual yes, but certainly something you don’t see every day. Therefore, I thought I’d drop a link here to the company’s page. They not only offer Clint, but several other great celebrity stands and in great detail too. An innocent bit of fun which also works well on a good practical level. Excellent.

Find out more HERE

Those missing scores – Come on Malpaso – make it happen!

Those missing scores – Come on Malpaso – make it happen!

At the weekend I projected Pale Rider. I hadn’t watched it for a while, but I have to admit, I still enjoy this one a great deal – in fact, I tend to pull it more than Unforgiven. I just love its mysticism and its entire spiritual edge. I was reminded once again of how good the Lennie Niehaus score is too. Its heavenly, ghostly undertones really add so much to the film’s atmosphere. It’s probably the closest thing to a classic Jerry Fielding score – which is no surprise. Theirs is certainly an influence there, those military style drums still echo Fielding’s name and of course Niehaus had worked with Jerry Fielding as an orchestrator in the past. There are many varying elements to Pale Rider’s score, great depth, and I still think it deserves more. One could argue that it’s perhaps a bit short in terms of length? But so many scores from the Niehaus era continue to remain unreleased? Surely, gathering a collective over 3 or 4 CDs in order to showcase these scores would go a long way in filling a great deal of gaping shelf spaces.

On reflection, there are some major titles here that have still bever seen the light of day. Title such as Tightrope, True Crime, The Rookie, White Hunter, Black Heart, Heartbreak Ridge and the aforementioned Pale Rider – all remain in vaults still gathering dust. Surely compiling these scores over 3 or 4 discs would stir more than enough interest - not only to Eastwood collectors, but soundtrack collectors in general… Package it well, and let it fly. It’s really hard to understand why Malpaso Records doesn’t get on to this and oversee it as a project. If anything, it would act as a lasting tribute to Niehaus and his long collaboration with Eastwood.  

It was just a thought...

I came about writing this piece as a result of looking around, just to see if I could find any news on a possible Pale Rider or True Crime future releases – there was nothing of course. However, the mission wasn’t an entire failure, as I did discover that the Diana Krall single Why Should I Care (from True Crime) did get a release. I should have realised this of course, remembering that I did see a promotional video at some point – which in turn should have told me there was a release. I just didn’t make the connection. 

I did a bit of looking around and was surprised to find a CD single release. On the Verve label (IMPDS 3114), it was an American release – but I I was lucky enough to find one here in the UK. It was nice to finally have something from True Crime in a jewel case with film artwork on it. So, I dug a little deeper, (while I was on the scent) just to see if there were any alternative cover designs or anything else I might had missed – which there wasn’t… But then there was a wonderful German promo which raised its head. This great little gem came with a different card sleeve and came attached to a glossy A4 card folder and featured a shot of Clint tinkling the Piano keys with Krall. The whole thing was obviously fully tied in and co promoting the movie as well as Krall’s album. I’d never seen this before – so naturally swooped in to secure it. A couple of nice little pieces that help breach the gap to some small degree – but the really still is a long way to go. Come on Malpaso – make it happen. 

Below: The U.S. CD Single Diana Krall single Why Should I Care

Below: The rare promotional copy on CD with alt card sleeve and glossy folder

The Return of the U/A Heathrow girls Summer of 1967!

The Return of the U/A Heathrow girls Summer of 1967!

For many years now, we here on the Archive have prided ourselves on the photos based on Clint’s 1967 trip to the UK – and specifically the photo shoot that took place at London’s Heathrow airport upon Clint’s arrival. 

It was United Artists who were responsible for the welcoming party consisting of 3 poncho clad beauties who were there to greet Clint. It’s become something of a ‘thing’ now among a few of the Archive’s staff – Kevin Wilkinson and Davy Triumph especially. The hunt to discover any new photos from this shoot is always a cause to celebrate. So, when Kevin dropped this one in my mail box this week – I was grinning all over. 

I was so tempted to keep this one for our Photo Opportunity for June, but excitement (I’m afraid) simply got the better of me. It’s funny, but with this collection of shots getting larger and larger, it does beg the question, ‘Just how many photos were taken in total from this shoot?’ The three U/A girls dressed in cowboy hats, ponchos and toy guns are Sue Melody, Sandra Marshall and Anita McGregor. I’d love to know if these three ladies are still out there today?

Whatever the answer is, if we continue to discover them, we’ll continue to save and keep them here. I have also added this newly discovered shot to the rest of the existing photos in the original post found HERE 

Great find Kev! 

The Bridges of Madison County, 30 years Next Month

The Bridges of Madison County, 30 years Next Month

I was looking through a major pile of clippings and cuttings this week, and discovered this nice little piece which I thought I’d reproduce here on the Archive, just as the 30th Anniversary of its U.S. release is coming up next month. I have to say I think there is so much to be admired about Clint’s movie in which he co-starred with Meryl Streep. I really don’t understand why the film isn’t mentioned more? Perhaps fans just had a problem with Clint as a leading romantic role, but I really think both Eastwood and Streep really made this an absorbing and touching movie. So, if stuck for something to watch one wet weekend, here’s a suggestion and a timely reminder – pull this one off the shelf, dust it off and give it another go with fresh eyes. Personally, I never get tired of this minor masterpiece. 

I’m not sure what Magazine this article appeared in, there is a Magazine called Nikon Owner, and I know that one particular issue had a cover featuring Clint in The Bridges of Madison County. However, I can’t be sure if this is the same issue.