Clint Eastwood, 96, Called This Flopped 1980 Western Film ‘a Favorite Project of Mine’

After a 72-year acting career, mumblings have begun to spread that Clint Eastwood has retired. With 73 acting credits and 4 Academy Awards under his belt, Eastwood has had a career unlike many. With films such as the Dirty Harry series (1977-1988), Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Gran Torino (2008)—to name a few—Eastwood achieved a height of fame that can’t be replicated.

Now, at age 96, the legendary actor’s son, Kyle, has seemingly confirmed Eastwood is done acting. Although the actor himself hasn’t commented on this, his son did share a tidbit in an interview with France 3.

“I have a lot of good memories of working with him,” Kyle Eastwood said late last year. “Now he’s retired, he’s 95 years old. But I’ve been very lucky to be able to work with him on a lot of films. It was a great experience for me.”

However, one of the beloved actor’s Western films didn’t quite hit the mark for many fans. But it is one that Eastwood still considers one of his favorites. Keep scrolling to learn more about the 1980 Western film.

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This 1980 western film is Eastwood’s favorite

There have been a slew of incredible films with Eastwood front and center, as well as quite a few with him behind the screen. While Eastwood became known for redefining westerns and popularizing the “Spaghetti Western” (a subgenre of Western films made by European production companies), not every Western film was a hit.

In 1980, Eastwood directed and starred in the Western/comedy film Bronco Billy. The movie followed Bronco Billy (Eastwood), the leader of a struggling Wild West show. When he convinces a spoiled, newlywed heiress to join as his assistant after being deserted by her husband, she brings nothing but more bad luck to the crew.

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Despite the comedy aspect of the film, fans were expecting more of the violent and gritty scenes that defined most of Eastwood’s films at the time. Bronco Billy was more of a charming and lighthearted film, something audiences weren’t expecting. However, even though it wasn’t beloved by fans, Eastwood has good feelings about the film.

“It was a favorite project of mine,” Eastwood shared of Bronco Billy in an older interview. “I liked the film. It had some. […] there was some purity, a certain fighting against the cynicism of our day. There was a certain element of it that I always enjoyed the story. Maybe it was old-fashioned, maybe too old-fashioned, but it was a good film for me. It received a lot of attention from people that maybe didn’t like the other films. You can’t do the same thing all the time. […] I’d still be in Italy doing Westerns like I started. There’s a time to move on and try something else.”

Bronco Billy wasn’t a success, but it wasn’t a box office flop either. The film grossed $24.3 million on a $6.5 million budget. Now, 45 years later, Bronco Billy has become a cult classic.