A Clint Eastwood Western Had To Shoot In Another Country Due To This One Condition

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Don Siegel's 1970 Western film "Two Mules for Sister Sara" starred Shirley MacLaine as the titular Sara, a nun who, because of her actions involving the French Intervention in Mexico, requires protection from the nation's many lurking French soldiers while she traverses the Mexican deserts, as she wanted for being a Juarista (that is, a supporter of President Benito Juárez). She then happens upon the company of Hogan (Clint Eastwood), a former Union soldier who fought in the U.S. Civil War. Hogan and the nun soon bond over her propensity for cussing and her taste for whiskey (she doesn't behave like the other nuns he's met), and the pair even wind up bombing a train together (!), with Hogan drunkenly admitting at one point that he thinks Sara's hot. He even comes to assist Sara in her efforts to aid certain Mexian revolutionaries, with other secrets coming to light along the way.

"Two Mules for Sister Sara" was filmed in Mexico over the course of 65 days. Seigel has gone on record (in Judith M. Kass' 1975 two-in-one biography "Hollywood Professionals: Tod Browning, Don Siegel") about his troubles with producer Marty Rackin, whom he knew would re-cut the movie. As such, Siegel worked closely with his cinematographer, Gabriel Figueroa, to shoot as efficiently as possible, in the hopes that Rackin wouldn't be able to ruin too much in the editing room.

Eastwood also recalled the "Sister Sara" shoot in the book "Clint Eastwood: Interviews," edited by Robert E. Kapsis and Kathie Coblentz, and his memories were about his intended co-star, the Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor. It seems that Taylor wanted to play the role of Sister Sara, as she had handed Eastwood the script while visiting the set of "Where Eagles Dare," which Eastwood was making with her then-husband, Richard Burton. Universal Pictures were happy to have her, of course, but she did have an odd stipulation: Taylor would only film in a location that was geographically close to her wherever her husband was working. So, because Burton was in Mexico at the time, Siegel and Eastwood (themselves frequent collaborators) went there to film.

At the time, Burton was filming the war movie "Raid on Rommel," which was shooting in San Felipe, Mexico. Because Taylor wanted to work close to wherever Burton was at the time, Siegel, Eastwood, and the crew trekked to the deserts outside of San Felipe to film. The setting was appropriate, however, as "Two Mules for Sister Sara" was set in Mexico anyway. As Eastwood pointed out, though, there were, in his words, "other problems" that caused Taylor to drop out. While "Two Mules for Sister Sara" was filming, Universal's musical "Sweet Charity" (starring MacLaine) was due to be released, so it cast MacLaine opposite Eastwood instead of Taylor, hoping to preemptively capitalize on her forthcoming acclaim. As Eastwood described the scenario:

"[Elizabeth Taylor and I] wanted to do it together, and the studio approved of the combination, but she was going through some deal where she didn't want to work unless it coincided with Richard's working, so we had it set up to do in Mexico while Richard was working there on something else. But then there were some other problems. And I think the studio kind of leaned toward Shirley MacLaine, because they had such high hopes for 'Sweet Charity' at that time. It required some writing, and the casting of Shirley stretched the imagination a bit."

It stretched the imagination because Sister Sara is a Mexican character, and MacLaine is certainly not Mexican. Eastwood noted that Sofia Loren would have been perfect for the role, although a Mexican actor would have been ideal. As for "Two Mules for Sister Sara," the film itself is well-liked but not beloved. Few rank it as one of Eastwood's best works, but (in general) no one hates it.

Fun trivia: Taylor also made a film in 1970 called "The Only Game in Town," in which she starred with Warren Beatty. That means she was replaced on " Two Mules for Sister Sara" by her then-current co-star's actual sister, MacLaine.