I rank HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER as a better than average Clint Eastwood film with Eastwood himself at the helm as director. It's really a character driven story set against a western backdrop with Clint as the avenger who rides into town presumably to avenge the murder of a man whipped to death while the townspeople shrank back in the shadows merely watching.
We learn later that the whipped man threatened to expose a secret about the town's mine that they were hiding and his name was Marshall Duncan, the man responsible for turning in the outlaws who served prison time and came back for their own brand of revenge.
It's a grim story with some clever plotting and a relentlessly suspenseful tone that keeps you glued to your seat until the final acts of revenge have been executed.
I know none of the players other than Eastwood, but VERNA BLOOM (who reminds me a little of Vera Miles facially), is excellent as the only halfway decent person who recognizes the mission Eastwood is on. He plays the role with his usual grim sense of humor and sarcasm, riding off into the hills after most of the bad guys are disposed of.
The final scene is set up so that he never actually gives his name, but he tells the sheriff inquiring "What's your name?" that he should know to whom he's speaking and the camera pans to the grave marker of Marshal Duncan, indicating perhaps that Clint is the brother of the murdered man. At least that's the implication I get from the ending.
Summing up: Fascinating, mysterious, enigmatic and compelling western is food for thought...but full of graphic violence, not suitable for young kids.
We learn later that the whipped man threatened to expose a secret about the town's mine that they were hiding and his name was Marshall Duncan, the man responsible for turning in the outlaws who served prison time and came back for their own brand of revenge.
It's a grim story with some clever plotting and a relentlessly suspenseful tone that keeps you glued to your seat until the final acts of revenge have been executed.
I know none of the players other than Eastwood, but VERNA BLOOM (who reminds me a little of Vera Miles facially), is excellent as the only halfway decent person who recognizes the mission Eastwood is on. He plays the role with his usual grim sense of humor and sarcasm, riding off into the hills after most of the bad guys are disposed of.
The final scene is set up so that he never actually gives his name, but he tells the sheriff inquiring "What's your name?" that he should know to whom he's speaking and the camera pans to the grave marker of Marshal Duncan, indicating perhaps that Clint is the brother of the murdered man. At least that's the implication I get from the ending.
Summing up: Fascinating, mysterious, enigmatic and compelling western is food for thought...but full of graphic violence, not suitable for young kids.