In some ways it was awful, even by the last of his Spaghettis, he shared a room with Eli Wallach, alternating use of the single bed. Communication with Leone was minimal and that is exactly what worked. Eastwood's approach to this taciturn killer, all growls, squints and swift draws on a cheroot that made him nauseous, now a tidy witticism: "Don't just do something, stand there!"

"I was a big fan of John Ford, and Sergio was too, but his approach was so different: he had no restrictions, he'd kind of go off and do what he wanted even if it was somewhat satirical. It was certainly different from me."

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly is undoutedly the highpoint of their mysterious bonding: contained within its wild, swaggering style, is a sad cry against the cost of war, with Spain's Almeria standing in for a desert state in Civil War USA. "It was long, ten weeks on that one," he's never been one for the long haul of production. Still, the result is a gleaming pleasure that enthrals generation after generation. "I think everybody likes to delve into them," says Eastwood, who wriggled free of the terse killer when Leone came calling for Once Upon A Time In The West. "I remember when I was doing White Hunter Black Heart in Africa," he laughs. "We had all these British actors, and almost every actor said, "Hell, I would like to do a Western with you. I grew up on those Spaghetti Westerns.'"

Clint Eastwood On... Where Eagles Dare
(1968, BRIAN G. HUTTON) "My agent felt it would be a great idea to pair up with an actor senior to me," starts Eastwood as mystified by the ways of agents as anyone. "In this case it was Richard Burton." Based on an Alistair MacLean novel, this brusque, often incomprehensible, but entirely entertaining bit of WWII derring-do seems predicated on the idea good-looking stars look even better in Nazi uniforms. From Eastwood's point-of-view it was a good payday ($800,000) even if he got second billing, and an opportunity to prove himself a on different ground. "It wasn't a role that was very challenging for me," he admits, "but I got to go to Austria and work with a lot of new people. I on those experiences."

Its barrage of nifty stunts and snowy locations, and the ping pong of double crosses that make up the twist ending, have granted the film a bank holiday charm. Although it was a long, arduous shoot - all the fuss Eastwood hates - he and Burton got on swimmingly. "Richard was quite a character," he laughs fondly, "and of course he was with Miss Taylor at the time, they were sort of the couple. I was the young guy who didn't have to worry too much."