In 1978, Clint Eastwood decided that what he really needed was a different kind of star vehicle. Having made a string of action movies throughout the '70s, he now wanted to try and appeal to a different sort of audience. Everyone thought he was mad, but 1978's "Every which way but loose" turned out to be his most financially successful film to date.

Clint plays trucker Philo Beddoe, the greatest bare-knuckle fighter on the West Coast. His two greatest buddies are Orville, a mechanic, and Clyde, his orang-utan. As played by Geoffrey Lewis, Orville is the perfect buddy, one that you'd happily spend hours with drinking in the local bar and listening to country music.

"Every which way..."'s very thin plot about Philo and his good-natured companions travelling cross-country to look for a sullen, fickle country singer whom he has fallen for (Sondra Locke) is really just a hook on which to hang a series of very loose comic set pieces. There's little structure to the film. Ruth… more »

In 1978, Clint Eastwood decided that what he really needed was a different kind of star vehicle. Having made a string of action movies throughout the '70s, he now wanted to try and appeal to a different sort of audience. Everyone thought he was mad, but 1978's "Every which way but loose" turned out to be his most financially successful film to date.

Clint plays trucker Philo Beddoe, the greatest bare-knuckle fighter on the West Coast. His two greatest buddies are Orville, a mechanic, and Clyde, his orang-utan. As played by Geoffrey Lewis, Orville is the perfect buddy, one that you'd happily spend hours with drinking in the local bar and listening to country music.

"Every which way..."'s very thin plot about Philo and his good-natured companions travelling cross-country to look for a sullen, fickle country singer whom he has fallen for (Sondra Locke) is really just a hook on which to hang a series of very loose comic set pieces. There's little structure to the film. Ruth Gordon hams merrily away as Orville's grouchy old Ma. The Black Widow motorcycle gang continually receive a pasting from Clint whenever they try to go after him. Country music plays endlessly on the radio. Clyde is a real scene-stealer. Somehow, this all works very well. It is not without its charm and some scenes are very funny. It's all very good-natured stuff.

1980's "Any which way..." sees Philo being challenged by the Mafia to take on their East Coast champ, a human killing machine called Jack Wilson. This second film is tighter, with a clearer structure and the humour is even broader than before. Opinions vary amongst Clint fans as to which is better. I would go for the first film, if only because Geoffrey Lewis is in it more, though, to be honest, they're virtually interchangeable.

Some critics harshly condemn these films for being "silly", but that is rather like describing grass as being green. It's nice to have both films in one package, especially at such a reasonable price.