IMDb > High Plains Drifter (1973)
High Plains Drifter
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High Plains Drifter (1973) More at IMDbPro »

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High Plains Drifter (1973) -- A gunfighting stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago and is hired to bring the townsfolk together in an attempt to hold off three outlaws who are on their way.
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Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   14,099 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 23% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Clint Eastwood
Writer:
Ernest Tidyman (written by)
more
Contact:
View company contact information for High Plains Drifter on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 August 1973 (USA) more
Genre:
Thriller | Western more
Tagline:
Welcome to Hell more
Plot:
A gunfighting stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago and is hired to bring the townsfolk together in an attempt to hold off three outlaws who are on their way. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
Weekly DVD & Blu-Ray Chopping List 10/27/2009
 (From Fangoria. 24 October 2009, 10:01 PM, PDT)
Obituary: Us character actor John Quade dead at 71
 (From Monsters and Critics. 14 August 2009, 10:15 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Supernatural Western ? more (134 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Clint Eastwood ... The Stranger
Verna Bloom ... Sarah Belding
Marianna Hill ... Callie Travers (as Mariana Hill)

Mitch Ryan ... Dave Drake (as Mitchell Ryan)
Jack Ging ... Morgan Allen
Stefan Gierasch ... Mayor Jason Hobart
Ted Hartley ... Lewis Belding
Billy Curtis ... Mordecai

Geoffrey Lewis ... Stacey Bridges
Scott Walker ... Bill Borders
Walter Barnes ... Sheriff Sam Shaw
Paul Brinegar ... Lutie Naylor
Richard Bull ... Asa Goodwin
Robert Donner ... Preacher
John Hillerman ... Bootmaker
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
105 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Iceland:16 | USA:R (MPAA rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Spain:18 | Argentina:16 | UK:X (original rating) | Canada:18+ (Ontario - 2006) | Brazil:18 | Netherlands:12 | South Africa:16LV | Australia:M (cable rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (heavily cut) | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 (heavily cut) | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Norway:(Banned) (1983-2003) (cinema release) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Germany:BPjM Restricted
Filming Locations:
Inyo National Forest - 351 Pacu Lane, Bishop, California, USA more
Company:
Malpaso Company, The more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Shortly after the film's release, Clint Eastwood wrote to John Wayne, suggesting that they make a western together. Wayne sent back an angry letter in reply, in which he denounced this film for its violence and revisionist portrayal of the Old West. Eastwood did not bother to answer his criticisms, and consequently they did not work together. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: All houses in the city (Lago) have modern window glass of the type float glass and not "handmade" as they were until the mid-19th century. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
The Stranger: Beer... and a bottle.
Lutie Naylor: Ain't much good, but it's all there is.
[brings drinks]
Lutie Naylor: You want anything else?
The Stranger: Just a peaceful hour to drink in.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Columbo: Double Exposure (#3.4)" (1973) more

FAQ

Is there a book of this film?
So who exactly is the stranger?
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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
9 out of 13 people found the following comment useful.
Supernatural Western ?, 20 July 2008
9/10
Author: JohnRouseMerriottChard from United Kingdom

High Plains Drifter (1973) Supernatural Western ? A lone gunman with no name and seemingly with no past, rides into the dusky town of Lago. The residents of Lago at first view the stranger with suspicion, but when news of some outlaws that are out for blood, are on their way to town, they ask the stranger for his help.

This is Clint Eastwood's first Western film that he directed , and it's clear and evident that the guy not only loves the genre that made his name, he also knows what makes it work. Obviously having worked for Sergio Leone, Eastwood was making notes because High Plains Drifter oozes the mythical aura of many of Leone's best films, and thankfully the result is one of the best offerings in the 70s for the Western genre.

The film opens with our mysterious drifter slowly coming out of the beautiful sprawling haze and into Lago, just the sound of the horse breathing and the clop of its hooves can be heard {the sound mix here is incredible}, it's a gloriously mysterious opening. Yet Eastwood is just toying with us tho, for a quick jolt of sex and violence snaps us out of the beatific warmth and into a quite hauntingly cold and morally challenged place. From here on in the stranger will demand all manner of odd things from the residents of Lago, he seems to be toying with them and revelling in their discomfort, Lago quickly resembles an arid hellhole. You see, Lago has a dark secret, and our mysterious stranger has a purpose, and it's this purpose that makes High Plains Drifter a truly wonderful picture.

A well known fact now is that the great man of the genre, John Wayne, wrote Eastwood to strongly complain about his harsh vision of the West, one can only think the Duke failed to grasp the post Vietnam feel of a 70s made Western. It's a great directorial effort from Eastwood, and doubly it's a great performance from him as well, the perfect role which accentuates his rugged Western leanings. Eastwood would direct the similarly themed Pale Rider in the 80s and then the magnificent Unforgiven in the 90s, a Western great in each decade for sure.

Mysterious and magnificent, High Plains Drifter 9/10.

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Total Male Fantasy (spoilers) thenewchic
It was not a rape! simon12345
what a end ! megaskunk
Clint Eastwood and rape scenes dazfiddy
The WORST BAD GUYS EVER??? zmystico
Stranger as Duncan? Not sure. alden1010
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