In 1961, a “tits-and-sandals” movie didn’t impress Clint Eastwood. It would be the most important film he ever watched
In the early 1960s, Clint Eastwood was unimpressed by Sergio Leone’s film *The Colossus of Rhodes*, describing it as a formulaic “tits-and-sandals” epic. Yet when Leone later offered him the lead in *A Fistful of Dollars*, Eastwood took the role despite initially having little interest in the project. Their collaboration helped turn Eastwood into a film star and launched both careers to new heights.
At the time, Eastwood was playing Rowdy Yates on television’s *Rawhide* and wanted a role that could move him into feature films. He had already appeared in *Ambush at Cimarron Pass*, which he later called the worst film ever made. *A Fistful of Dollars* drew on Akira Kurosawa’s *Yojimbo* and cast Eastwood as the Man with No Name; the article says the film’s success helped shape his career.
In short
- Eastwood disliked Leone’s *The Colossus of Rhodes*.
- He later starred in Leone’s *A Fistful of Dollars*.
- The film helped make Eastwood a movie star.
Explained simply
Sergio Leone was an Italian film-maker working in the western genre, while Clint Eastwood was an American actor then best known for the television series Rawhide. Eastwood wanted to move into feature films, but his early film roles had done little to establish him as a star.
Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars drew on the story of Akira Kurosawa’s Japanese film Yojimbo. Eastwood played a mysterious gunfighter known as the Man with No Name, a role that helped make him an international film star and began a lasting association with Leone’s westerns.