Possibly the ‘strangest’ looking triple-bill, ever!

There have certainly been some strange looking movie advertisements and posters over the decades, but this one recently sent to me by one of administrators Davy Triumph, really is a curiosity.

This is an original flyer from the Shadyside Drive-in theatre situated in Albertville, Alabama. Sadly, there is no year for this great triple bill, but the drive in was opened on June 7, 1951. Car capacity was listed at 400. Owners/operators were Thomas Orr, Martin Theatres then from 1975 until closing in the early-1980’s was United Amusements. However, one giveaway is the artwork, which suggests it couldn’t of been earlier than 1970…

Which brings us to the artwork? So, the triple bill showing (which took place for four days, one summer in June) consisted of A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and Hang ‘em High. There’s certainly no problem with that line-up.  

But the artwork used on this flyer is confusing to say the least? A Fistful of Dollars uses artwork which has no association at all with the film? It took a good, educated eye (our other administrator, Kevin Wilkinson) to spot that this was in fact, an altered piece of art (left) from Tony Anthony’s ‘Stranger’ western trilogy, more specifically, The Stranger Returns (1967). Like Clint’s ‘man with no name’ character, Tony Anthony’s character was also cast simply as a ‘stranger’ - a man with no name. This raises the question as if there was some degree of confusion from the team who put this flyer together, and is enhanced further by the next film, For a Few Dollars More. Here it gets even stranger. The artwork used here is from Clint’s Universal film Two Mules for Sister Sara! One is left asking the question – if the team responsible had even heard of the Dollar trilogy?

Finally, order is restored when it comes to the movie Hang ‘em high – which at least uses some correct artwork. It’s also interesting that the flyer also includes the tagline ‘Try a little tenderness’ a tagline that was originally used to promote the double bill showing of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly / Hang ‘em high. One thing is for sure, it’s certainly a mixed bag and has to be one of the strangest forms of Eastwood advertising we’ve come across. I guess it takes all sorts.

70s Bikes, Trucks and Hairy friends

I thought it would be nice to finish off the month of February with a 1970s flashback. These great photos were taken at Clint's Carmel, timber beach house or nearby in the surrounding woodland.  

Prepare to get saddle sore - An Eastwood Fest at the NFT

‘A lifetime in movies is the same as a lifetime in any profession: you are constantly a student’

 Clint Eastwood

With a huge body of work as an actor and director, Clint Eastwood turns 90 in May and we mark the occasion with this bijou season featuring some iconic yet sometimes morally ambiguous roles. Whether it be a ‘dirty’ cop who challenges how far a democratic society should go to protect itself, a bounty hunter who uses the ruthless methods of the criminals he hunts against them, or a war veteran who finds himself either caught up in a gang war or working for a drugs cartel, Eastwood is able to hold his own as an anti-hero. Having learned his directing craft from being on set with some of the very best, Eastwood creates films that are always challenging, powerful and traditionally accomplished pictures. For a full list of movies being show, check out the list below.

Clint Eastwood: Loner, Lover, Star Tuesday 31 March 2020 18:15 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

A richly illustrated series of presentations about Eastwood’s image and star persona.

In a richly illustrated group of presentations, film scholars Lucy Bolton, Hannah Hamad and Julie Lobalzo Wright will examine Clint Eastwood’s star persona. Join us for an insightful discussion on how physicality influenced his image, his particular brand of masculinity, and his complex relationship to female characters throughout different phases of his career.

The Mule Wednesday 29 April 2020 18:15 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Dirty Harry Monday 30 March 2020 20:50 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Tightrope Tuesday 31 March 2020 20:20 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

A Fistful of Dollars Tuesday 31 March 2020 20:40 Studio On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Unforgiven Wednesday 01 April 2020 20:30 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Mule Thursday 02 April 2020 18:20 Studio On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

A Fistful of Dollars Friday 03 April 2020 18:15 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Enforcer Saturday 04 April 2020 18:10 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

A Fistful of Dollars Sunday 05 April 2020 13:50 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Tightrope Friday 10 April 2020 18:00 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Unforgiven Saturday 11 April 2020 18:00 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Dirty Harry Sunday 12 April 2020 14:30NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Enforcer Sunday 12 April 2020 20:15 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Gran Torino Monday 13 April 2020 17:30 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Tightrope Thursday 16 April 2020 20:50 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Unforgiven Monday 20 April 2020 18:10 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Mule Tuesday 21 April 2020 20:40 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

A Fistful of Dollars Saturday 25 April 2020 13:50 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Gran Torino Tuesday 28 April 2020 20:40 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Dirty Harry Thursday 30 April 2020 18:20 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

For a Few Dollars More Monday 30 March 2020 18:05 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

A Fistful of Dollars Relaxed Screening: Monday 30 March 2020 18:15 Studio General Admission On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Escape from Alcatraz Wednesday 01 April 2020 18:10 Studio On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Thursday 02 April 2020 14:00 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Magnum Force Thursday 02 April 2020 20:35 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Friday 03 April 2020 14:30 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Friday 03 April 2020 18:10 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Friday 03 April 2020 20:25 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Saturday 04 April 2020 15:10 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Saturday 04 April 2020 18:00 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Saturday 04 April 2020 20:20 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Sunday 05 April 2020 14:15 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

For a Few Dollars More Sunday 05 April 2020 16:00 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Sunday 05 April 2020 16:50 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Sunday 05 April 2020 19:00 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Sunday 05 April 2020 19:45 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Monday 06 April 2020 18:10 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Monday 06 April 2020 20:15 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Tuesday 07 April 2020 14:30 Studio On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Tuesday 07 April 2020 18:10 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Escape from Alcatraz Tuesday 07 April 2020 18:20 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Tuesday 07 April 2020 20:30 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Wednesday 08 April 2020 14:30 Studio On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Wednesday 08 April 2020 18:05 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Wednesday 08 April 2020 20:25 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Thursday 09 April 2020 18:10 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Thursday 09 April 2020 20:20 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Friday 10 April 2020 14:30 Studio On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Friday 10 April 2020 18:10 Studio On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Friday 10 April 2020 20:20 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

White Hunter, Black Heart Friday 10 April 2020 20:35 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Saturday 11 April 2020 15:20 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Saturday 11 April 2020 18:05 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Saturday 11 April 2020 20:25 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Sunday 12 April 2020 14:00 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Sunday 12 April 2020 17:00 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Magnum Force Sunday 12 April 2020 17:15 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Sunday 12 April 2020 19:45 Studio On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Pale Rider Monday 13 April 2020 14:35 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Monday 13 April 2020 14:40 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Monday 13 April 2020 17:00 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Monday 13 April 2020 19:50 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Tuesday 14 April 2020 17:45 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Tuesday 14 April 2020 20:25 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Wednesday 15 April 2020 18:10 Studio On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Wednesday 15 April 2020 20:25 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Thursday 16 April 2020 18:05 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Outlaw Josey Wales Thursday 16 April 2020 20:25 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

For a Few Dollars More Saturday 25 April 2020 16:15 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Saturday 25 April 2020 19:30 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Pale Rider Sunday 26 April 2020 17:50 NFT1 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

White Hunter, Black Heart Monday 27 April 2020 18:10 NFT2 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Escape from Alcatraz Wednesday 29 April 2020 20:30 NFT3 On sale 10-03-2020 11:30 am

Clint Eastwood Says Electing Michael Bloomberg Is "the Best Thing We Could Do"

'The Mule' actor also said he wished President Trump acted "in a more genteel way" and stopped "calling people names." by Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter..Seemingly undeterred by the withering reviews out of the former New York City mayor's first appearance at a Democratic debate, Clint Eastwood is expressing some early support for Michael Bloomberg for president.

Asked about his views on President Donald Trump and the current political scene in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, The Mule actor and self-professed libertarian said "The politics has gotten so ornery.” While he said he agrees with “certain things that Trump’s done," he added that he wished the president acted “in a more genteel way, without tweeting and calling people names. I would personally like for him to not bring himself to that level."

He then told the reporter, "The best thing we could do is just get Mike Bloomberg in there."

Eastwood, who has historically leaned conservative on the political spectrum, famously criticized former President Barack Obama and once served as the Republican mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea between 1986 and 1988. During a speech in August 2016, he appeared to express his plans to vote for Trump, saying, "I’d have to go for Trump… you know, ’cause [Hillary’s] declared that she’s gonna follow in Obama’s footsteps.”

Above: Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg 2006 National Board of Review awards, Best Film – Letters from Iwo Jima

The actor-director also took the opportunity of his latest interview to clarify his position on a controversy over the depiction of a female journalist in his latest film, The Ballad of Richard Jewell. In the film, written by Billy Ray and based off of a Vanity Fair story by Marie Brenner and book by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen, Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Kathy Scruggs is portrayed as having exchanged sex for the name of a bomb suspect (Jewell, who was falsely accused) with an FBI agent. The AJC has publicly denied that this portrayal contains any truth; Scruggs died in 2001.

Eastwood told the WSJ that the AJC was "ultimately responsible" for Jewell's early death at age 44 in 2007 (Jewell died due to heart failure after complications from diabetes). He added of the film's portrayal of Scruggs, “Well, she hung out at a little bar in town, where mostly police officers went. And she had a boyfriend that was a police officer. Well, we just changed it in the story. We made it a federal police officer instead of a local."

Actor Olivia Wilde, who portrayed Scruggs in the film, said of her role to The Hollywood Reporter in December: "I have an immense amount of respect for Kathy Scruggs." She added, "She’s no longer with us, she died very young, and I feel a certain responsibility to defend her legacy — which has now been, I think unfairly, boiled down to one element of her personality, one inferred moment in the film."

As for AJC's fierce rebukes of the portrayal of Scruggs in the film, Eastwood said the publication was working to erase its "guilt" due to a "reckless story" naming Jewell. He added that he wished Warner Bros., which produced the film, had told AJC to "go screw themselves."

Clint Eastwood Photo Opportunity #17

Here’s something rather wonderful. It was one of our UK correspondents (and great friend) Davy Triumph who first brought this photo to my attention earlier this month. I would of loved to have posted it back then, but the truth is - it was totally obliterated with watermarks. The result being – it was a major distraction and totally destroyed the actual image. Davy (being Davy), took one for the team on this occasion and actually ended up buying the photo from the States - in order to get it saved, here on the Archive in a clean (watermark free) state.

The photo is an incredibly rare one. Clint is seen in the top half of his High Plains Drifter garb, matched up only with a pair of white Tennis shorts! Gun in one hand, Tennis racket in the other, it’s clear that the mood is relaxed. With the lack of beard we’ve made an educated guess that this was taken in advance of filming, perhaps at pre-production stages. The lack of beard could also indicate that it was arguably taken during the same photo session which subsequently resulted in the cover photo used for Iain Johnstone’s book The Man with No Name (1981).

In fact, what we do know, (thanks to the original cutting on the reverse) is that it was used for publicity purposes and to tie in with KMSP-CH9’s ‘Squint like Clint’ TV season - a week long run of Clint’s movies which was beginning here with A Fistful of Dollars.

I can’t really offer any logical explanation as to why they decided to use a candid High Plains Drifter photo; perhaps they were simply more taken by the unusual, comedic aspect of the photo? I guess we’ll never really know. However, I’m sure we’re all certainly grateful that they did!

Thanks again Davy!    

 Below: The Man With No Name book by Iain Johnston 1981

Ennio Morricone ‎– For a Fistful of Dollars Rare LP

I was fortunate enough to finally obtain this rare Ennio Morricone LP last week. I’ve been after this particular version for a good many years now, and it was thanks to friend of the Archive, Rocco who kindly sold me this. The 1977 Netherlands LP (RCA International ‎– CL 17146), is in terms of content,  pretty much the same as the basic RCA Camden issue, except of course for the amazing artwork which is very  different. For this particular release they have used the concept art from the original Yugoslavian poster (as well as the Spanish and Italian re-release poster). I always loved this poster and luckily have one in my collection – and probably the reason why this LP was always high on my list and so appealing to me. The album was made in Holland by Inelco Nederland from master recordings owned or controlled by RCA Records. I’m very grateful to Rocco who does have a stock of soundtrack albums which he will be listing from time to time, so be sure to check out his page here 

Below: The original Yugoslavian poster

The Gauntlet Original Lobby set from former Yugoslavia

The former Yugoslavia is the territory that was up to 25 June 1991 known as The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). Specifically, the six republics that made up the federation - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia (including the regions of Kosovo and Vojvodina) and Slovenia.

Film memorabilia from the former Yugoslavia has become more popular in recent decades, and because of its history, has started to find its place with collectors. I have several Eastwood posters from the 70s and 80s and can be found on these pages. However, Lobby cards or sets are a little harder to find. Friend of the Archive Steve Saragossi, sent me this set from The Gauntlet (1977) that he had spotted on the internet. I took a little time to restore them to some degree as I thought they would be nice to save here. As Steve pointed out, a lot of these photos, whilst looking familiar at first glance, do have some subtle differences. For this reason, I certainly think they deserve a place here for all to enjoy. The size of this set are 17 x 24 cm. Many thanks Steve.