Burt Reynolds Accidentally Starred In One Of His Worst Westerns Thanks To Clint Eastwood

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The year was 1966, and actor Clint Eastwood had already established himself as a global movie star with "A Fistful of Dollars," directed by Sergio Leone. Leone's film hadn't yet been released in the United States, but "Fistful" was such a hit that actors in both America and Italy were taking notice. Eastwood had previously established himself in the TV series "Rawhide," playing Rowdy Yates in 217 episodes of the show. Leone's "Fistful" took Eastwood's already-known Western hero image and updated it in a more stylish manner, borrowing (quite heavily and without permission) from Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo." 

The rest of the world immediately ran to imitate that film's success, and already-profitable Italian Westerns, nicknamed Spaghetti Westerns, continued to proliferate. At the time, a young and upcoming actor name Burt Reynolds was following a similar career arc to Eastwood. He had small parts in mainstream Hollywood movies, and played one of the lead characters on a TV series called "Riverboat." He, too, would have loved the acclaim of a stylized Italian Western under his belt, and even got advice to that effect from Eastwood himself. The two were friends. Eastwood advised Reynolds to look up a Western director named Sergio, knowing that he did good work. 

There was, however, a bit of a mix-up. Reynolds did indeed find an Italian director named Sergio, and he did indeed learn that Sergio had a Western lined up, but it turns out it was the wrong Sergio. Reynolds talked to Sergio Corbucci, the director of "Django," as well as several peplum films and crime movies. Reynolds agreed to make Corbucci's Western, assuming that he was the one who made "A Fistful of Dollars." Reynolds unwittingly agreed to make "Navajo Joe," a racist Western that, afterwards, the actor long considered one of his worst films. The story is detailed in Howard Hughes' book "Once Upon A Time in the Italian West: The Filmgoers' Guide to Spaghetti Westerns."

It seems there was also some chaos on Corbucci's end of production as well. Reynolds was looking for Sergio Leone, while Corbucci was thinking he'd be able to secure the talents of American star Marlon Brando. Corbucci's producer, the late (an inimitable) Dino De Laurentiis, gave him a script called "A Dollar a Head," and promised his director that Brando was already attached. Either De Laurentiis was lying, or Brando dropped out, leaving Corbucci to find a new leading man. He said that Reynolds, hoping to star in a Western anyway, was a suitable replacement because he kind of looked a little bit like Brando. 

The resulting film was "Navajo Joe," a violent picture about a Navajo man (Reynolds) fighting off a wicked criminal named Duncan (Aldo Sanbrell) and his army of goons in order to protect a small village and get revenge for his village being slaughtered. Navajo Joe wants a dollar a head for every bandit he kills. Yes, the not-at-all Navajo actor Reynolds played a Navajo character. This kind of white-actors-as-nonwhite-characters casting was sadly common in the world of Westerns. 

Reynolds is on record in Hughes' book saying that he hated his costumes in "Navajo Joe," and that he was directed oddly. He was ordered to deepen his voice, which he felt he didn't do well, and, weirdly, he was asked to shave his arms. Reynolds also hated his wig, feeling it made him look like Natalie Wood. He later would lambaste the movie, saying that it was "so awful it was only shown in prisons and airplanes because nobody could leave. I killed ten thousand guys, wore a Japanese slingshot and a fright wig."

Despite Reynolds' opinion, some Spaghetti Western enthusiasts still speak highly of the violence and grit in "Navajo Joe." It also boasts an excellent score from Ennio Morricone, the composer behind Leone's Westerns.

And all this because Reynolds mixed up his Sergios.