Clint Eastwood wanted to remake the classic Spaghetti Western The Great Silence, but the studio wouldn’t let him recreate its harrowing ending. Clint Eastwood’s Westerns supercharged the waning genre during the 1960s and 1970s, offering a darker, more violent portrayal of the Old West.

This kicked off in earnest with Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy, where Clint played the mythical Man with No Name. Leone is the most famous Sergio of the Spaghetti Western genre – but the late, great Sergio Corbucci shouldn’t be overlooked either. Corbucci has several great Westerns to his name too, with the most famous being 1966’s Django.

Corbucci’s films had style and substance, where he mixed great action and visuals with meaningful themes. The Great Silence is considered Corbucci’s masterwork, telling the story of a mute gunfighter called “Silence” who faces off against a vicious bounty hunter in a snowy frontier town.

Viewers used to John Wayne-style Westerns – where the good guy prevails and righteousness wins the day – should steer clear of The Great Silence. The film was partly inspired by the deaths of Che Guevara and Malcolm X, with Corbucci’s The Great Silence underlining that no matter how hard the heroes fight, sometimes evil will still triumph.

Clint Eastwood Wanted To Remake The Bleakest Western Ever, The Great Silence

The Great Silence is best remembered for its heartbreaking ending, where Silence faces off with Klaus Kinski’s villain, Loco. Instead of a classic, honorable duel, Loco’s men fire wounding sH๏τs at Silence before he can shoot, with Loco then shooting the mute gunslinger in the head.

Moments later, Silence’s lover Pauline (Vonetta McGee) also dies when she tries to avenge his death. Moments after that, Loco mᴀssacres the outlaws that Silence was trying to rescue. The Great Silence’s pessimistic ending caps off a dark movie, which despite its heavy tone, is still an incredible piece of work.

The Dollars trilogy made Eastwood the face of Spaghetti Westerns during this time, and 20th Century Fox bought the rights to The Great Silence so Clint could lead a remake. They also had plans to distribute the original film in the U.S. – until the studio head actually watched it.

20th Century Fox Shut Down Clint Eastwood’s Remake Of The Great Silence

Filmmaker Alex Cox (Repo Man) is a scholar of The Great Silence, and in a video for International Film Series on YouTube, he explains why the Clint version of The Great Silence died in development. Cox claims that 20th Century Fox co-founder Darryl Francis Zanuck “swallowed his cigar” when he saw The Great Silence’s ending.

Zanack was so offended by the tone and finale of Corbucci’s epic that he vowed the studio would never it. That, in essence, also killed the planned remake with Clint, who wanted to retain the downbeat final scene.

A Clint Eastwood remake of The Great Silence would have taken the star’s reputation for not saying much to the extreme; it also would have slid in nicely with his other Western from this era, like Hang ‘Em High and High Plains Drifter. In classic Eastwood fashion, the star soon moved on to other projects.

Two Happy Alternate Endings Were Filmed For The Great Silence

Corbucci was aware of the almighty downer he had created for The Great Silence’s ending, and created two alternate finales for international viewers. For those who find the final scene too heartbreaking, they must seek out the “happy” ending, where Silence is saved by Sheriff Burnett (Frank Wolff) at the last moment.

With Burnett’s help, Silence guns down Loco and his men. Burnett frees the outlaws, offers Silence a job as Pauline tends to his wounds, and Silence even smiles before the credits roll. The Great Silence’s “happy” ending is a huge overcorrection, closing on such a gleeful note that it feels like a bitter parody on Corbucci’s part.

The other alternate ending is more ambiguous. Silence turns up for the duel and is wounded by Loco’s men. Instead of delivering the killing sH๏τ, Loco seems to change his mind and orders his men to leave the bar. Whether Loco’s men leave town peacefully or Silence survives his wounds is left up to audiences to decide.

Zanack must not have been aware of The Great Silence’s alternate happy finale, as there is no sign that any version of the film included it. That’s just as well, since the Western needed to end with the almighty body blow it currently delivers.

Joe Kidd Was Made As A Compromise To The Big Silence

Perhaps sensing that getting a remake of one of the bleakest Westerns ever made off the ground was a non-starter, Clint moved on to a more audience-friendly film instead. What’s real interesting about 1972’s Joe Kidd is the way it remixes several elements from The Great Silence.

Sure, Clint’s тιтle character is way talkier than Silence – where he’s aided with dialogue from the late, great Elmore Leonard – and it has a happy ending, but the DNA of the Corbucci film is there. Kidd uses Silence’s distinct C96 “Broomhandle” pistol, and both take place in harsh landscapes (The Great Silence features endless snow and Joe Kidd has endless desert).

Both films also feature heroes going up against corrupt forces and making a stand – it’s just that Joe Kidd’s stand goes way better. The Great Silence is comfortably the greater film, however, with Clint’s Western being one of his more lukewarm outings in the genre.

Source: International Film Series/YouTube