Why Clint Eastwood Rejected One of The Biggest Westerns That Russians Loved

The king of Westerns, Clint Eastwood, was reportedly not convinced by one of Hollywood’s most ambitious Westerns and rejected it. The Gregory Peck-starrer MacKenna’s Gold was one of the most exciting Westerns of the time and a huge hit in the Soviet Union, but Eastwood reportedly turned down the lead role.

Eastwood, at the time, had gained fame as the lead of the Western TV show Rawhide and for the Dollars Trilogy. The actor was searching for the right project to return to Hollywood when MacKenna’s Gold was offered to him. However, the actor rejected the script and chose Hang ‘Em High instead.

Even a Legendary Cast Couldn’t Get Clint Eastwood to Choose Mackenna’s Gold

Clint Eastwood has led and directed many Westerns throughout his career. Before the Dirty Harry star was the face of the genre, he was only recognized for his work on Rawhide and Spaghetti Westerns. After starring in Italian movies for years, Eastwood hoped to make a grand return to Hollywood. That is when MacKenna’s Gold came into the picture.

Written by Carl Foreman and directed by J. Lee Thompson, MacKenna’s Gold was an ambitious project at the time and featured Gregory Peck and Omar Sharif. It would have been a perfect vehicle for Eastwood, who hoped to re-enter Hollywood with a bang. However, Eastwood was reportedly not impressed with the script.

The Gran Torino star mentioned in the book Conversations with Clint that he was offered the movie and had met Foreman multiple times, but he just did not like the script.

I talked to Carl Foreman on several occasions, but I didn’t care for the script…They kept saying, ‘Wow, but you get to work with a lot of well-known actors.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but I just don’t like the script.’

Clint Eastwood rejected MacKenna’s Gold and chose a lead role in Hang ‘Em High, instead, which put him on the map as a star. Ultimately, it seemed to be a good decision for the actor-filmmaker, with no harm done.

Russia’s Favorite Western Has A Star Wars Connection

While Clint Eastwood rejected one of the most ambitious productions at the time, he seemed to have dodged a bullet, as MacKenna’s Gold did not perform as well as it was expected to. Despite a star-studded cast, including the legendary Gregory Peck and Omar Sharif in the lead, the film received mixed reviews and did not earn much at the box office.

However, the film performed well outside the USA, with the film becoming a classic in India and the Soviet Union. The film’s legacy also includes a major connection to Star Wars. Filmmaker George Lucas was a student at USC at the time and was invited, along with other student filmmakers, to film something on the location.

Lucas made the short documentary 6-18-67 on the sets of MacKenna’s Gold. It was reportedly not a usual documentary and was described more as a visual poem, capturing images of the Arizona desert where the crew shot the film. Carl Foreman appreciated Lucas’ work ethic and vision (via Behind the Scenes).

George really knew his camera, and he played with his camera, and it was around and about the film – he was doing the desert more than anything else, but in the desert was the film company with its parasols and all that shimmering in the distance, and he played around with little things where the sun was shining and the film company was working. 

While MacKenna’s Gold may not have achieved the greatness it was intended to, it certainly featured future legends such as Lucas and Clint Eastwood.

Have you watched MacKenna’s Gold? Did Clint Eastwood make a mistake rejecting it? Comment below.

MacKenna’s Gold is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.