As you may know, The Flickcast has been around for a minute. Well, more like ten years. During that time we’ve amassed a great deal of amazing content and much of it is still relevant today. So, we figured, why not share it with an entirely new audience?

In that spirit we’re bringing back one of our favorite features: Western Wednesdays. And we’re kicking it off with a favorite: Two Mules for Sister Sara. Written by the gifted Elizabeth Rappe, Western Wednesdays explores a different film in the Western genre each week with Elizabeth offering her unique take on the film, details about the production and whole lot more. They’re great to read, especially if you’re a fan of the Western like we are.

We’re pleased to bring you the first installment of what we’re now calling “Western Wednesdays Again.” Enjoy!

– Chris

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I used to hate Westerns. I live in the wide and rugged expanse of Colorado, grew up in the shadow of the Rockies, and see cowboy boots on a daily basis. Heck, I even did a volunteer stint at a western museum. I couldn’t stand watching films that were basically set in my own backyard, even if the days of gunslingers and posses were long gone.

Later, I finally came around. I can’t say when this shift happened — probably upon my first adult viewing of Lonesome Dove, or maybe even as recent as James Mangold’s remake of 3:10 to Yuma. But I suddenly found Westerns to be a lot of fun, and I’ve enjoyed going back and watching all John Wayne and John Ford offerings that I’ve missed due to my snobbery.

Because I’m the type of girl who overshares everything, I thought it would be fun to chronicle this obsession, and encourage others to ride along with me. Thus, Wednesday Westerns was born. Every Wednesday, I’m going to explore this dusty and acrid genre, finding the good, the bad, and the ugly examples along the way.

I hope you’ll watch and discuss along with me — and I’m going to try and make as many selections from online streaming options to prevent you from putting off the ride.

I was hoping to launch this with a film that was daring and unusual, and one that I hadn’t seen before. But while browsing Instant Netflix, I discovered that one of my all-time favorites was available: Two Mules For Sister Sara.  As much as I hate being obvious (and if you know my Clint Eastwood fandom, it’s terribly cheap of me to do it), I can’t resist the opportunity to write about this one, and encourage more people to watch it.

Two Mules for Sister Sara occupies a weird, misty period of Eastwood’s career. Released in 1970, it was post Sergio Leone, but right before he became Dirty Harry, and gunned himself into grim and humorless typecasting. The late 1960s were a period he was still willing to smile onscreen, and the film reportedly bombed because of that.

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