[Clint Eastwood] wanted to work with John Wayne in a western, but the feeling wasn't mutual. "I gave him a piece of material that I thought had potential for us to do as a younger guy and an older guy. He wrote me back critical of it. He had seen High Plains Drifter, and he didn't think that represented Americana like She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and other John Ford westerns. I never answered him".

(Interestingly, the Duke and Clint both did share the same director: Don Siegel. He of course directed Eastwood in several movies, most notably DIRTY HARRY. Siegel also shot Wayne's last film, THE SHOOTIST.)