Every Which Way but Loose (1978)

★ 6.1 1h 50m IMDb

Action Comedy Drama Romance Adventure

Philo Beddoe is your regular, easygoing, truck-driving guy. He's also the best bar-room brawler west of the Rockies. And he lives with a 165-pound orangutan named Clyde. Like other guys, Philo finally falls in love - with a flighty singer who leads him on a screwball chase across the American Southwest. Nothing's in the way except a motorcycle gang, some cops, and legendary brawler Tank Murdock.

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Cast

Clint Eastwood as Philo Beddoe Age 95 · San Francisco, California, USA Clinton "Clint" Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American film actor, director, producer, composer, and former politician. Following his breakthrough role on the TV series "Rawhide" (1959–65), E...

Sondra Locke as Lynn Halsey-Taylor Died 2018 · Shelbyville, Tennessee, USA Sondra Locke (May 28, 1947 - November 3, 2018) was an American actress, singer and film director. She made her film debut in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968), for which she was nominated for an Aca...

Geoffrey Lewis as Orville Boggs Died 2015 · Plainfield, New Jersey, USA Geoffrey Bond Lewis (July 31, 1935 – April 7, 2015) was an American character actor. His filmography includes television shows such as Law & Order: Criminal Intent and My Name is Earl, as well as fil...

Manis as Clyde Manis was a trained orangutan that played Clyde as Clint Eastwood's sidekick in the 1978 box office hit Every Which Way But Loose. Its 1980 sequel, Any Which Way You Can (1980), did not feature Manis,...

Beverly D'Angelo as Echo Age 74 · Columbus, Ohio, USA Beverly Heather D'Angelo (born November 15, 1951) is an American actress who starred as Ellen Griswold in the National Lampoon's Vacation films (1983–2015). She has appeared in over 60 films and was n...

Director James Fargo

Cast Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Manis, Beverly D'Angelo, Walter Barnes, George Chandler, Roy Jenson, James McEachin, Bill McKinney

John Chard 7/10 Nov 17, 2019

I think he's spending too much time with Clyde.

Every Which Way But Loose is directed by James Fargo and written by Jeremy Joe Kronsberg. It stars Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Beverly D'Angelo and Manis The Orangutan.

It surprised the studio executives, even had them sweating about the release, but the adventures of Philo Beddoe (Eastwood) and his pet Orangutan proved to be a smash hit at the box office.

Beddoe is a trucker who also happens to make money by bare knuckle fighting, and he's very good at it. Clyde the orangutan is a full on personality himself, and between them they wind up being trailed by vengeful coppers and a very incompetent motorcycle gang. Philo's brother Orville (Lewis) is along for the ride and polar opposite love interests come into play via Lynn Halsey-Taylor (Locke) and Echo (D'Angelo).

Plot is very thin on the ground, we are in fact viewing a series of events that are mined for comedy purpose - which totally work. Action comes by way of the punch ups Philo gets into, with Eastwood as always proving to be one of the better punch throwing actors of his generation, while Lewis shines bright as the best friend and voice of reason to Philo.

The love story sub-plot involving Lynn and Philo - and its subsequent revelations - feels a touch out of place, since this is such a chilled and relaxed comedy picture. Which is the key, the makers know what they are doing, they are having fun and ask the audience to do the same. The public lapped it up and ensured that a sequel of similar tropes would follow. That also proved to be popular since it was more of the same.

Open the beer and popcorn and just run with it, it was never meant to be high art etc. 7/10

r96sk 6/10 Jan 19, 2022

A bit forgettable, if nothing terrible.

Clint Eastwood is solid enough, while the supporting Geoffrey Lewis, Sondra Locke and Ruth Gordon have a couple of moments. The plot is a little meandering and doesn't hold enough entertainment, even with an orangutan being present throughout <em>'Every Which Way but Loose'</em>.

I found the pacing to be slower than I would've liked and the characters opposite the lead to be boring, whether it be John Quade & Co. or the pair of police officers. I will say that I actually did enjoy the music used, which is arguably the film's main plus if I'm honest.

I can't say I'm expecting much from <em>'Any Which Way You Can'</em>, the sequel, but I'll give it a chance no doubt.