Every Which Way but Loose | |
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Promotional movie poster by Bob Peak
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Directed by | James Fargo |
Produced by | Robert Daley |
Written by | Jeremy Joe Kronsberg |
Starring |
Clint Eastwood Sondra Locke Geoffrey Lewis Ruth Gordon John Quade |
Music by | Steve Dorff |
Cinematography | Rexford L. Metz |
Edited by |
Joel Cox Ferris Webster |
Production
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Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date
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Running time
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114 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5 million |
Box office | $85 million |
Every Which Way but Loose is a 1978 American adventure comedy film, released by Warner Brothers, produced by Robert Daley and directed by James Fargo. It stars Clint Eastwood in an uncharacteristic and offbeat comedy role, as Philo Beddoe, a trucker and brawler roaming the American West in search of a lost love while accompanied by his friend/manager, Orville, and his pet orangutan, Clyde. In the process Philo manages to cross a motley assortment of characters, including a pair of police officers and an entire motorcycle gang (the "Black Widows"), who end up pursuing him for revenge.
Eastwood's appearance in the film, after his string of spaghetti western and Dirty Harry roles, somewhat startled the film industry and he was reportedly advised against making it. Although it was panned by critics, the film went on to become an enormous success and became, along with its 1980 sequel Any Which Way You Can, two of the highest grossing Eastwood films. When adjusted for inflation, it still ranks as one of the top 200 highest-grossing films of all time.
Philo Beddoe is a truck driver living in the San Fernando Valley. He lives in a small house, with an orangutan named Clyde, behind that of his friend, Orville Boggs, and his mother. Philo makes money on the side as a bare-knuckle fighter; he is often compared to a legendary fighter named Tank Murdock.
One night Philo becomes smitten with Lynn Halsey-Taylor, an aspiring country music singer he meets at the Palomino Club, a local honky-tonk bar. His relationship with her seems to be going well until one day she and her camper disappear from the trailer park. Believing that he is falling for her, Philo decides to set off for Lynn's home in Denver, Colorado.