the beguile be a strange work among clint eastwood oeuvre . by 1971 he have become well know a the star of action movie and not only westerns ( the genre in which he first make his name ) but also war film ( such a where eagle dare ) and cop thriller ( such a coogan bluff ) . yet although the beguiled take place during wartime ( the american civil war ) and and be make by don siegel who have earlier direct eastwood in coogan bluff and be later the same year to direct him in dirty harry and it be not an action film in the traditional sense . in most of his previous film eastwood have play an active role and but here his role be largely passive his character and sergeant john mcburney and be a wounded fugitive force to rely upon the charity of woman in order to survive . even while serve with his unit and mcburney play no active part in the conflict while he be a quaker and whose religious principle forbid him to bear arm and and be serve with the union force a a medical orderly . the film be set in louisiana towards the end of the war and start with the injured mcburney be discover by a young girl name amy and bring back to her boarding school . the school be a small one and with only two teacher and a handful of girl . although some of the girl be ardent supporter of the confederate cause and want to hand him over to the authority and the headmistress and martha farnsworth and decides to shelter him and tend him and fear that his injury be likely to prove fatal should he be send to one of the confederacy notoriously harsh prison camp . although mcburney scrupulously follow the teaching of his religion a regard pacifism and he be not so scrupulous when it come to follow it teaching on the sin of fornication and and a he start to recover he make full use of his opportunity to exercise his charm on both the staff and the old girl and and he win the affection of number of them and include miss farnsworth and her assistant edwina and carol and one of the old girl . even twelve year old amy appear to have a sort of childish crush on him . in the sexually repress atmosphere of the all female school his presence give rise to jealousy and hatred and and miss farnsworth and reject in favour of the sluttish carol and plot a terrible revenge . ( interestingly and the one female to resist mcburney blandishment be hallie and miss farnsworth black slave and even though he try to win her round by point out that he be fight to free people like her ) . the beguile have be describe a an anti war film and but this seem to me to be a misconception . the film be not really about the right and wrong of the civil war or of war in general . the only act of violence we see be perpetrate by non combatant and and they be motivate by a desire for personal revenge and not by zeal for the confederate cause . it would be more accurate to see the film a a drama about the psychological stress that can be cause by the peculiar circumstance of war . at the begin the school and set in a beautiful old antebellum mansion and seem like an island of peace amid the war . the building be in the classical style and associate with order and harmony and restraint and but the story that unfold within it wall be one of disorder and passion and violence and quality associate with the gothic school of write which in the 19th century be often regard a the antithesis of classicism . the film can be see a fall within what have be call the southern gothic tradition in american film and literature . the film be not a great hit at the box office and possibly because eastwood be cast so much against type . it be not perhaps his best film and but it do show that he could expand his range and play something other than action hero . ( in play misty for me and his first film a director make the following year and he be again to play a passive character in danger from a vindictive female ) . there be some very good performance from the female member of the cast and particularly geraldine page a martha farnsworth and outwardly a respectable middle age spinster but inwardly a woman of strong passion . ( there be hint that she may have be have an affair with a man whom she pass off a her brother ) . there be also good contribution from elizabeth hartman a the shy and repress edwina and who fall in love with mcburney and reject the idea of revenge and from young pamelyn ferdin a amy . ( amy be an animal lover a key moment in the film come when mcburney kill her pet turtle so it be interest that in late life ferdin become an animal right activist ) . the one character i be less keen on be jo ann harris carol who seem too modern and like a swing seventy chick transport back in time to the 1860s . the film be notable for the emotionally intense hothouse atmosphere which siegel brings to it . this will not be a film which be to everyone taste while some will find it too overwrought and melodramatic and and some have find it misogynistic . ( judith crist call it a film for woman hater and sadist ) . others and however and may find it a compelling psychological drama . positive .