Rare Clint Eastwood Western Where He's Outshined By a Female Lead Is Available on Prime

Summary:

• Clint Eastwood, famous for his 1960s spaghetti Westerns, turns out not to be the main center of attention in all his movies.
• There is a western comedy, where his character is outperformed by the female heroine, around whom the movie’s plot revolves.

The cultural icon of masculinity, Clint Eastwood made his name known worldwide with his role of the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy of spaghetti Westerns, the genre which he totally nailed. Surprisingly, he was not the leading star of all his old Westerns, and there is quite a peculiar exception in his filmography.

The said exception is titled Two Mules for Sister Sara. Here the accomplished actor portrayed Hogan, a strict mercenary, making his way through the wilderness until he meets a woman, whom he saves from a criminal gang.

She turns out to be a brave nun, raising money to assist Mexican revolutionaries in their war with French occupying forces. Then Hogan decides to escort her to safety to the Mexican camp, agreeing on the assumption they’d blow up a French fort on their way.

The movie does have plenty of the obligatory cliches that can characterize Eastwood’s movies: gun violence, spectacular dawns and the conventional scene of the actor’s hero lighting dynamite sticks with a cigar. However, the character of Sister Sara is the one that draws a clear distinction with other classic spaghetti Westerns.

The main heroine, brilliantly played by Shirley MacLaine, is not so simple as her initial position in the movie implies, and further development of the plot and the actress’ acting reveal her strong-willed nature, compatible with the one of Eastwood’s Hogan.

“Some of Eastwood’s lines are overwritten and tired, but Shirley MacLaine was phenomenal and makes this a real gem,” highly praises this female character Redditor @Moxely, also stating this movie “has some of the best humor in a western”.

Two Mules for Sister Sara, Don Siegel’s 1970 masterpiece, is set during the French intervention in Mexico. While Eastwood is playing his nearly ordinary Western character, this film is really worth watching because of MacLaine’s fierce heroine.

The movie is overall highly praised for its excellent blend of action, story and humor, which makes it a prominent title in the lists of best Westerns of all time – even though its Rotten Tomatoes score sits at a mediocre 71%.

You can check out the greatness of Two Mules for Sister Sara, as it’s available on Prime.