A brooding loner (Eastwood) arrives in a secluded California town, situated just twelve miles from the Nevada line, and the residents are hoping he’ll assist them as they brace for the imminent release of three men seeking revenge from the local prison. "High Plains Drifter," made in 1973, marks Clint's third time behind the camera—though he also contributed some unrecognized work to “Dirty Harry.” It shares similarities with his later film, "Pale Rider,” but their characters differ significantly: Preacher embodies righteousness and safeguards deserving individuals, while the Stranger is driven by vengeance, delivering punishment to those deemed wrongdoers. The scarcity of genuinely decent people in Lago leads you to support the Stranger’s actions to some extent, yet it simultaneously makes it difficult to feel sympathy for the townspeople. There's a sense of hollowness and monotony that detracts from the film’s impact. Nevertheless, this remains an important Eastwood Western and endures due to its distinctive, almost satirical style. Marianna Hill portrays the blonde character, Callie; she was thirty years old during filming. Viewers familiar with “Star Trek” might recall her performance in the episode "Dagger of the Mind" from seven years earlier. She was one of the most charming actresses on Star Trek and had roles in many television programs throughout the 60s and 70s, along with appearances in several films including Elvis' "Paradise, Hawaiian Style,” this movie, and even the unsettling horror film "Messiah of Evil” (also known as “Dead People”), which was released the following year. This represented the high point of her career, after which she stopped acting in 1977. The runtime is 1 hour, 44 minutes, and filming took place at Mono Lake, California—the town depicted as Lago—which lies northeast of Yosemite National Park (with the lake’s western edge falling within the park's boundaries), and also at Winnemucca Lake in Nevada, approximately 170 miles directly north of Mono Lake. GRADE: B/B-

Source on TMDB