THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES

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This film starts off with Josey (Clint Eastwood) in the unlikely role of a farmer whose wife and child are killed by a marauding gang.  It’s during the Civil War so naturally Josey’s immediate response is to practise his firearm skills and join the Confederate army.

Fast forward to the end of the War and Josey refuses to take the amnesty on offer from the victors, which is a good decision because it's a trap set by the nasty Union soldiers who are going to massacre Josey’s comrades.

Cue some unconvincing action as Josey gets to a Gatling gun and fights fire with fire.

The upshot of all these preliminaries is that Josie is now a wanted outlaw with a price on his head, pursued by (in an unlikely coincidence) the guy who led the gang that killed Josey’s family, Captain Terrill.

So far so fairly humdrum, and we seem set up for a straightforward revenge narrative.

But that’s not we get at all.  Instead it’s more like a ‘Mosey with Josey’ hangout movie where Josey ambles through the South, shooting the odd guy here and there who’s after the reward on his head, and assembling a diverse bunch of misfits.

Chief among these is Chief Dan George as Lone Watie, who has a droll sense of humour that meshes well with Josey’s. 

Through most of the film it wasn't clear to me whether Josie has any plan other than day-to-day survival.  And I wasn't clear if he knows that Terrill is the guy pursuing him.  It’s just another way in which the revenge motif is not front and centre.

Anyway eventually Josey and his little commune settle down in a property and a small romance develops between Josey and Laura Lee, who is played by Sondra Locke who after this film had a relationship with Eastwood and appeared in several more of his films.

Their idyllic life cannot last because Terrill turns up with loads of men to bring Josie to justice.  

Rather surprisingly we get less of a bloodbath than I was expecting.  Instead, once Terrill is seen off we a satisfyingl ending in which Josie is able to put the past behind him and start a new life.

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