A truly great film, with many wonderful acts and interactions. I've searched the internet and haven't found any essays on the character Fletcher. There has been discussion of the impact on the actor and his career, but I find the back-story and depth to the character to be interesting and a significant contribution to the film.

Isn't he Dean Wormer's great grand father ?

He was Harry Callahans boss, the Mayor of San Francisco

That is my all-time favorite western, and one of the greatest movies ever made, IMO.

There is complexity there in the characters that hollywood is either utterly incapable, or (more likely) unwilling to replicate nowadays.



[Fletcher knows he's talking to Josey Wales]
Fletcher : I think I'll go down to Mexico to try to find him.

Josey Wales : And then?

Fletcher : He's got the first move. I owe him that. I think I'll try to tell him the war is over. What do you say, Mr. Wilson?

Josey Wales : I reckon so. I guess we all died a little in that damn war.


The Chief Dan George quotes alone are among the greatest in cinema.

Great flick and John Vernon had a good role. "There's another old saying, Senator: Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining."

John Vernon was in a lot of stuff and also did voice overs for video games and animated film. But I think his best role was Fletcher. You might check out a great movie he was in that you dont see very often: Charley Varrick.
Its a heist movie starring Walter Matthau.

"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life son" Animal House.

Great character in a great movie. I never saw him as a bad guy, like the red legs were, but rather a conflicted character trying to sort through it all and mitigate the losses for his men as best possible.

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:
That is my all-time favorite western, and one of the greatest movies ever made, IMO.

There is complexity there in the characters that hollywood is either utterly incapable, or (more likely) unwilling to replicate nowadays.

Agreed, in general. Although, from time to time, I think "Unforgiven" is a better film. But I enjoy "Josey Wales" more.

quote:

Originally posted by slabsides45:
Great character in a great movie. I never saw him as a bad guy, like the red legs were, but rather a conflicted character trying to sort through it all and mitigate the losses for his men as best possible.

agree

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Y'all talked me into watching the movie again this morning... with an eye on the Fletcher character... was quite interesting in the end for sure.

His 'logic' to not go back with the two rangers was that there was no way in hell 5 pistoleros could out do Josey Wales and so he was going to go down there and look for him... this of course while Josey stands at the bar watching them all and bleeding.

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
this of course while Josey stands at the bar watching them all and bleeding.

And, all his guns were empty so he was, in fact, defenseless.

John Vernon was definitely an accomplished actor. A few of his other films come-to-mind. Where he played opposite Lee Marvin in Walker. He was also cast as a syndicate front-man in Charly Varrick supporting Walter Matthau, Andy Robinson, and Joe Don Baker.
Fletcher: "Look at those boys over there: tied-down guns. Bounty hunters. Come out of a war, got no other way to make a livin’. Every last mother’s son of them wants that money you got on Wales’ head. Now, you and me didn’t ride all that way for that. I don’t want to hear Wales dead… I want to SEE Wales dead."

quote:

The Chief Dan George quotes alone are among the greatest in cinema.

My favorite: Chief Dan George to Clint Eastwood - "We are known as the Indians that are easy to sneak up on. White people have been sneaking up on us for years."

That’s Andrew Robinson in the picture with Matthau...he was the bad guy in Dirty Harry.


This is John Vernon...

I watched it last week as well. It's a great movie with a lot of depth.

Chief Dan George.” Now spit”. He got more out of those two words than actors today blabbering all through their movie.

I just saw Vernon last night in Brannigan on Amazon Prime.

Satch, you got that right.

I too just watched this movie yet again in the last week or so; it’s among my 5 favorite Westerns.

Fletcher was, of course, double-crossed by the senator and had no idea that the plan was to murder the surrendering Confederate irregulars. I thought Fletcher’s motivation was pretty simple. He knew that from all appearances, he had a hand in the murder of his own troops. He knew he’d spend the rest of his life awaiting Wales’ return for revenge, “A man like Wales lives for the feud.” He goes on saying something like, “Because of what you did, I have to hunt Wales down…”

Josey Wales would have ultimately killed Fletcher, the senator, and as many of the soldiers involved in the murders as he could—no matter what the cost. So many great things about the movie and the characters in it, but that resolution scene at the end, really puts a bow on it.