Malpaso Productions
Encyclopedia
Malpaso Productions, originally known as The Malpaso Company, is Clint Eastwood
's production company
. It was established in 1967 by Eastwood's financial adviser Irving Leonard
for the film Hang 'Em High
, using finances from the Dollars trilogy
. Leonard had served as President of the Malpaso Company until his death in December 1969.
, located south of Carmel
, California
, where Eastwood has spent much of his life. The name "Malpaso" is Spanish for "bad pass" or "bad step." When Eastwood agreed to take the role of the Man with No Name
, his agent told him that it would be a "bad step" for his career. After the Dollars Trilogy
made it big and Eastwood decided to run his own production company, he thought "Malpaso" would be an appropriately ironic choice.
The company is known for being efficiently run, with movies being filmed in much less time than most production companies.
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
's production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
. It was established in 1967 by Eastwood's financial adviser Irving Leonard
Irving Leonard (accountant)
Irving Leonard was an American financial adviser to Hollywood film stars of the 1950s and 1960s and an associate film producer. He began as a cost accountant in Washington, D.C and later moved into the film industry. Amongst his notable clients were James Garner and Clint Eastwood...
for the film Hang 'Em High
Hang 'Em High
Hang 'Em High is a 1968 American Western film directed by Ted Post and produced and co-written by Leonard Freeman. It stars Clint Eastwood as Jed Cooper, an innocent man who survives a lynching, Inger Stevens as a widow who helps him, Ed Begley as the leader of the gang that lynched him, and Pat...
, using finances from the Dollars trilogy
Dollars Trilogy
The "Dollars Trilogy" , also known as the "Man with No Name Trilogy", refers to the three Spaghetti Westerns starring Clint Eastwood and directed by Sergio Leone: A Fistful of Dollars , For a Few Dollars More , and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly .A Fistful of Dollars is an unofficial remake of...
. Leonard had served as President of the Malpaso Company until his death in December 1969.
History
The name is derived from Malpaso CreekMalpaso Creek
Malpaso Creek is a small, coastal stream south of Carmel in Monterey County, California, USA. It is the northern border of Big Sur in central coastal California. The mouth of the creek is located at Little Malpaso Beach where there are tide pools and a narrow cave...
, located south of Carmel
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Carmel-by-the-Sea, often called simply Carmel, is a small city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, the town is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where Eastwood has spent much of his life. The name "Malpaso" is Spanish for "bad pass" or "bad step." When Eastwood agreed to take the role of the Man with No Name
Man with No Name
The man with no name is a stock character in Western films, but the term usually applies specifically to the character played by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy."...
, his agent told him that it would be a "bad step" for his career. After the Dollars Trilogy
Dollars Trilogy
The "Dollars Trilogy" , also known as the "Man with No Name Trilogy", refers to the three Spaghetti Westerns starring Clint Eastwood and directed by Sergio Leone: A Fistful of Dollars , For a Few Dollars More , and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly .A Fistful of Dollars is an unofficial remake of...
made it big and Eastwood decided to run his own production company, he thought "Malpaso" would be an appropriately ironic choice.
The company is known for being efficiently run, with movies being filmed in much less time than most production companies.
The Malpaso Company
- Hang 'Em HighHang 'Em HighHang 'Em High is a 1968 American Western film directed by Ted Post and produced and co-written by Leonard Freeman. It stars Clint Eastwood as Jed Cooper, an innocent man who survives a lynching, Inger Stevens as a widow who helps him, Ed Begley as the leader of the gang that lynched him, and Pat...
(1968) - Coogan's BluffCoogan's Bluff (film)Coogan's Bluff is a 1968 American Universal film directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Don Stroud, and Susan Clark...
(1968) - Paint Your WagonPaint Your Wagon (film)Paint Your Wagon is a 1969 American musical film starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. The movie was adapted by Paddy Chayefsky from the 1951 stage musical by Lerner and Loewe, set in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California.-Plot:...
(1969) - Two Mules for Sister SaraTwo Mules for Sister SaraTwo Mules for Sister Sara is an American-Mexican western film starring Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine set during the French intervention in Mexico. The film was released in 1970 and directed by Don Siegel. It was to have been the first in a five-year exclusive association between Universal...
(1970) - The BeguiledThe BeguiledThe Beguiled is a 1971 drama film directed by Don Siegel, starring Clint Eastwood and Geraldine Page. The script was written by Albert Maltz and is based on the 1966 Southern Gothic novel written by Thomas P. Cullinan, originally titled A Painted Devil...
(1971) - Play Misty for MePlay Misty for MePlay Misty for Me is a 1971 American psychological thriller film, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, in his directorial debut. Jessica Walter and Donna Mills co-star. The original music score was composed by Dee Barton.-Plot:...
(1971) - Dirty HarryDirty HarryDirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
(1971) - Joe KiddJoe KiddJoe Kidd is a 1972 American western film starring Clint Eastwood and Robert Duvall, written by Elmore Leonard and directed by John Sturges....
(1972) - High Plains DrifterHigh Plains DrifterHigh Plains Drifter is a 1973 American Western film, with a hint of the supernatural, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood and produced by Robert Daley for The Malpaso Company and Universal Pictures. Eastwood plays a mysterious gunfighter hired by the residents of a corrupt frontier mining town...
(1973) - BreezyBreezyBreezy is a 1973 American romantic drama film, starring William Holden and Kay Lenz. It was written by Jo Heims, and was the third film directed by Clint Eastwood, who appears uncredited as a man in crowd on a pier.-Plot:...
(1973) - Magnum ForceMagnum ForceMagnum Force is a 1973 American police thriller film and the second to feature Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan after the 1971 film Dirty Harry. Ted Post, who also directed Eastwood in TV's Rawhide and the feature film Hang 'Em High, directed the second film in the Dirty Harry series...
(1973) - Thunderbolt and LightfootThunderbolt and LightfootThunderbolt and Lightfoot is a 1974 American crime film written and directed by Michael Cimino and starring Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy, and Geoffrey Lewis.-Plot:...
(1974) - The Eiger SanctionThe Eiger SanctionThe Eiger Sanction is a 1972 thriller novel by Rodney William Whitaker, written under the pseudonym Trevanian. The story was made into a film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood in 1975.Whitaker wrote a sequel entitled The Loo Sanction....
(1975) - The Outlaw Josey WalesThe Outlaw Josey WalesThe Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 American revisionist Western film set during and after the end of the American Civil War. It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood , with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Sam Bottoms, and Geraldine Keams.The film was adapted by Sonia Chernus and Philip Kaufman...
(1976) - The EnforcerThe Enforcer (1976 film)The Enforcer is a 1976 American film, and the third in the Dirty Harry film series. Directed by James Fargo, it stars Clint Eastwood as Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan, Tyne Daly as Inspector Kate Moore and DeVeren Bookwalter as terrorist leader/main antagonist Bobby Maxwell.-Plot:In Marin County,...
(1976) - Every Which Way but Loose (1978)
- Escape from AlcatrazEscape from Alcatraz (film)Escape from Alcatraz is a 1979 American thriller film, directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood. It dramatizes possibly the only successful escape attempt from the maximum security prison on Alcatraz Island. The film co-stars Fred Ward, and also features Patrick McGoohan as the...
(1979) - Any Which Way You CanAny Which Way You Can* Beers To You** Written by Steve Dorff , John Durrill , Sandy Pinkard and Snuff Garrett ** Sung by Ray Charles and Clint Eastwood* Any Which Way You Can...
(1980) - FirefoxFirefox (film)Firefox is a 1982 American action film produced, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. It is based upon the 1977 novel of the same name written by Craig Thomas....
(1982) - Honkytonk ManHonkytonk ManHonkytonk Man is a 1982 American drama film set in the Great Depression. Clint Eastwood, who produced and directed, stars with his son, Kyle Eastwood. Clancy Carlile's screenplay is based on his novel of the same name...
(1982) - Sudden ImpactSudden ImpactSudden Impact is a 1983 American crime thriller and the fourth film in the Dirty Harry series, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood...
(1983) - TightropeTightrope (film)Tightrope is a 1984 American suspense thriller produced by and starring Clint Eastwood and written and directed by Richard Tuggle.-Plot:A young woman walks home from her birthday party. She is stalked by a man in distinctive sneakers. After dropping one of her presents, a police officer offers to...
(1984) - City HeatCity HeatCity Heat is a 1984 American action-comedy film starring Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds. The film was released in North America in December 1984. The pairing of Eastwood and Reynolds in a Prohibition-era action-comedy seemed to give the film the potential to be a hit...
(1984) - Pale RiderPale RiderPale Rider is a 1985 American western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the lead role. This movie has plot similarities to the classic Western Shane , including in its final scene, as well as previous Eastwood films featuring his Man with No Name character and his 1973...
(1985) - Heartbreak RidgeHeartbreak RidgeHeartbreak Ridge is a 1986 American war film, starring Clint Eastwood and Mario Van Peebles, surrounding the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada, West Indies. A portion of the movie was filmed on the island itself....
(1986) - RatboyRatboyRatboy is a film released in 1986 and directed by and starring Sondra Locke. Though the film had a troubled production and was both a critical and commercial failure , it has maintained somewhat of a cult status throughout the years due to its make-up effects designed by Rick Baker.Ratboy did...
(1986) - BirdBird (1988 film)Bird is a 1988 American biographical film, produced and directed by Clint Eastwood of a screenplay written by Joel Oliansky. The film is a tribute to the life and music of jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker...
(1988)
Malpaso Productions
- The Gauntlet (1977)
- The Dead PoolThe Dead PoolThe Dead Pool is a 1988 American action thriller film about the manipulation of a "dead pool" game by a serial killer, whose efforts are foiled by a hardened detective. It is the fifth and final film in the Dirty Harry series, set in San Francisco, California and starring Clint Eastwood as...
(1988) - Pink Cadillac (1989)
- White Hunter Black HeartWhite Hunter Black HeartWhite Hunter Black Heart is a 1990 American film, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as John Wilson, based on the book by Peter Viertel. Viertel also co-wrote the script with James Bridges and Burt Kennedy. The film was based on several Golden Age of Hollywood movie producers...
(1990) - The RookieThe Rookie (1990 film)The Rookie is a 1990 American action film directed by Clint Eastwood and produced by Howard G. Kazanjian, Steven Siebert and David Valdes. It was written from a screenplay conceived by Boaz Yakin and Scott Spiegel. The film stars Charlie Sheen, Clint Eastwood, Raúl Juliá, Sônia Braga, Lara Flynn...
(1990) - UnforgivenUnforgivenUnforgiven is a 1992 American Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood with a screenplay written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after he had hung up his guns and turned to farming...
(1992) - A Perfect WorldA Perfect WorldA Perfect World is a 1993 drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who befriends a young boy , and ends up embarking on a road trip with the child...
(1993) - The Bridges of Madison CountyThe Bridges of Madison County (film)The Bridges of Madison County is a 1995 American romantic drama film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Robert James Waller. It was produced by Amblin Entertainment and Malpaso Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment...
(1995 with Amblin EntertainmentAmblin EntertainmentAmblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its...
) - The Stars Fell on HenriettaThe Stars Fell on HenriettaThe Stars Fell on Henrietta is a 1995 drama film from Warner Bros., directed by James Keach and produced by Clint Eastwood.-Plot:The setting is early America during the oil boom. An elderly, down on his luck 'oil man', Mr. Cox finds himself in the town of Henrietta...
(1997) - Absolute PowerAbsolute Power (film)Absolute Power is a 1997 American political thriller produced, directed by, and starring Clint Eastwood as a thief who witnesses a murder. The screenplay by William Goldman is based on the 1996 novel of the same name written by David Baldacci...
(1997) - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
- True CrimeTrue Crime (1999 film)True Crime is a 1999 American mystery drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, and based on Andrew Klavan's 1997 novel of the same name. Eastwood also stars in the film as a journalist covering the execution of a death row inmate, only to discover that the convict may actually be innocent.-Plot:Steve...
(1999, with The Zanuck Company) - Space CowboysSpace CowboysSpace Cowboys is a 2000 science fiction film directed by Clint Eastwood. Eastwood also stars in the film alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner as four older "ex-test pilots" who are sent into space to repair an old Soviet satellite...
(2000, with Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow PicturesVillage Roadshow PicturesVillage Roadshow Pictures is an Australian motion picture production company. It is a subsidiary of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, an Australian entertainment company. Most of its films are co-produced in partnership with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema...
) - Blood Work (2002)
- Mystic RiverMystic River (film)Mystic River is a 2003 American drama film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood, starring Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney and Emmy Rossum. The film was written by Brian Helgeland, based on Dennis Lehane's novel of the same...
(2003, with Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow PicturesVillage Roadshow PicturesVillage Roadshow Pictures is an Australian motion picture production company. It is a subsidiary of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, an Australian entertainment company. Most of its films are co-produced in partnership with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema...
) - Million Dollar BabyMillion Dollar BabyMillion Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman...
(2004, with Warner Bros. Pictures and Lakeshore EntertainmentLakeshore EntertainmentLakeshore Entertainment Group is an American independent film production company founded in 1994 by Tom Rosenberg and Ted Tannebaum . Lakeshore Entertainment is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California...
) - Flags of Our FathersFlags of Our Fathers (film)is a 2006 American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the book of the same name written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who were involved...
(2006, Warner Bros. Pictures with DreamWorks Pictures and Amblin EntertainmentAmblin EntertainmentAmblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its...
) - Letters from Iwo JimaLetters from Iwo Jimais a 2006 war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, and starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the...
(2006, with Warner Bros. Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures and Amblin EntertainmentAmblin EntertainmentAmblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its...
) - Rails & TiesRails & TiesRails & Ties is a 2007 drama film that marks the directorial debut of Alison Eastwood, the daughter of Clint Eastwood. The film stars Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden and was written by Micky Levy.- Plot :...
(2007) - ChangelingChangeling (film)Changeling is a 2008 American drama film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by J. Michael Straczynski. Based on real-life events in 1928 Los Angeles, the film stars Angelina Jolie as a woman who is reunited with her missing son—only to realize he is an impostor. She confronts the city...
(2008, with Universal PicturesUniversal Pictures-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, Relativity MediaRelativity MediaRelativity Media is an American independent motion picture production and investment company based in West Hollywood, California.- Company :...
and Imagine EntertainmentImagine EntertainmentImagine Entertainment is a film and television production company founded in 1986 by director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer.Its productions include the television series 24 and Arrested Development and the films Apollo 13 , A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code .-Organization:Karen...
) - Gran Torino (2008, with Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow PicturesVillage Roadshow PicturesVillage Roadshow Pictures is an Australian motion picture production company. It is a subsidiary of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, an Australian entertainment company. Most of its films are co-produced in partnership with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema...
) - InvictusInvictus (film)Invictus is a 2009 biographical sports drama film directed by Clint Eastwood starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.The story is based on the John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation about the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World...
(2009, with Warner Bros. Pictures and Spyglass EntertainmentSpyglass EntertainmentSpyglass Entertainment is an American film production company, co-founded by Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum in 1998. The studio was founded with an investment from European media conglomerates Kirch Group and Mediaset, and a five-year distribution deal with The Walt Disney Company...
) - HereafterHereafter (film)Hereafter is a 2010 American drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, from a screenplay by Peter Morgan and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film tells three parallel stories about three people affected by death in similar ways - all three have issues of communicating with the dead; Matt Damon plays...
(2010, with Warner Bros. Pictures, Amblin EntertainmentAmblin EntertainmentAmblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its...
and The Kennedy/Marshall CompanyThe Kennedy/Marshall CompanyThe Kennedy/Marshall Company ' is an American film-production company, based in Santa Monica, California, founded in 1992 by Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, who are married....
) - J. EdgarJ. EdgarJ. Edgar is a 2011 biographical drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, from a script by Dustin Lance Black. The film focuses on the career of FBI director J...
(2011, with Warner Bros. Pictures, Imagine EntertainmentImagine EntertainmentImagine Entertainment is a film and television production company founded in 1986 by director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer.Its productions include the television series 24 and Arrested Development and the films Apollo 13 , A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code .-Organization:Karen...
and Wintergreen Productions)