Every Which Way But Loose (1978)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

James Fargo

Writer:

Jeremy Joe Kronsberg (written by)

Release Date:

20 December 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Tagline:

Clint Eastwood will turn you Every Which Way But Loose

Plot:

Philo Beddoe is an easy-going trucker and a great fist-fighter. With two friends - Orville, who promotes prize-fights for him...

Plot Keywords:

Biker | Singer | Beer | Orangutan | Country Music

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Philo Beddoe
Sondra Locke	...	Lynn Halsey-Taylor
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Orville Boggs
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Echo
Walter Barnes	...	Tank Murdock
George Chandler	...	Clerk at D.M.V.
Roy Jenson	...	Woody
James McEachin	...	Herb
Bill McKinney	...	Dallas
William O'Connell	...	Elmo
John Quade	...	Cholla
Dan Vadis	...	Frank
Gregory Walcott	...	Putnam
Hank Worden	...	Trailer Court Manager
Ruth Gordon	...	Ma Boggs

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | UK:12 (re-rating) (2006) | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | UK:AA (original rating) (cut) | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Malpaso Company, The

Trivia:

The final fight scene with Tank Murdock was shot at The Denver Brick Company. The spectators can be seen sitting on cubes of brick and the glow from the round kiln can also be seen.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the scene at the lake, when Pilo jumps out of the tree, he stands up and does a Tarzan impression. The sound is not heard until the view cuts to looking across the lake.

Quotes:

Cholla: You Philo Beddoe?
Philo Beddoe: Do I know you?
Cholla: You're gonna

Movie Connections:

Featured in Clint Eastwood: Director (1982) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I Can't Say No To A Truck Drivin' Man

Clint And Clyde

In Every Which Way But Loose, Clint Eastwood not only shares the screen with lady love Sondra Locke, but with an orangutan named Clyde. He had to call on all his skills to keep the film from being stolen by an ape.

This and its sequel Every Which Way You Can will never be at the top of Clint's cinema achievements, but it's a nice rollicking comedy about a bare knuckle fighter. If it were set in today's times instead of the Seventies, Eastwood's Philo Beddoe would be on the extreme fighting channel.

Seeing Clint's living quarters reminded me of John Wayne's similar arrangements in True Grit with Chin Lee and General Sterling Price the cat. Clyde's quite a bit more the handful than a cat. He lives with Geoffrey Lewis who is his second and corner man in the bare knuckle fighting business and handles all the wagers and Lewis's mother a 'helpless' little old lady with a shotgun, deliciously played by Ruth Gordon.

Making his living as a bare knuckle fighter, Clint just seems to run into people determined to take him down. That includes an involvement with aspiring country singer Sondra Locke whom he spends a good deal of money on and who then takes a powder on him. She's heading east so Clint, Lewis, and Clyde are as well. Along the way they pick up sharp shooting Beverly D'Angelo who saves them on one occasion.

The legendary bare knuckle champion is Denver Tank Murdoch and as that 20th century philosopher Ric Flair opined, to be the best you have to beat the best. So Clint is heading to Denver to find both Locke and Walter Barnes who plays Tank Murdoch with his three amigos.

He also manages to arouse the anger of John McQuade and his Black Widow Biker gang. These people are the sorriest biker gang ever depicted on the big screen. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE manages to best this crowd of losers. But they never give up.

Best in the film are Ruth Gordon and Clyde, not necessarily in that order. I've often thought that the Academy Awards should have a best animal performance in a given year. That year the Oscar gold would have been taken by the orangutan. I wish the film had elaborated a little more on when Eastwood and Lewis break into a zoo to get Clyde's male needs satisfied.

For a lighter and brighter side of Clint Eastwood, don't miss Every Which Way But Loose.