Clint Eastwood in the 1980s Schickel argued that the character of Bronco Billy is Eastwood's most self-referential work. Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" wrote that the film was "the best and funniest Clint Eastwood movie in quite a while", praising Eastwood's directing and the way he intricately juxtaposes the old West and the new. Later in 1980, he reprised his role in the sequel to "Every Which Way But Loose" entitled "Any Which Way You Can". The film was another box-office success and was among the top five highest-grossing films of the year. Later on Wednesday, December 17, 1980 he appeared in the
Clint Eastwood directed and starred in "The Gauntlet" opposite Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney, and Mara Corday. Eastwood portrays a down-and-out cop assigned to escort a prostitute from Las Vegas to Phoenix to testify against the mob. Although a moderate hit with the viewing public, critics had mixed feelings about the film, with many believing it was overly violent. Ebert, in contrast, gave the film three stars and called it "... classic Clint Eastwood: fast, furious, and funny." The following year, he starred in "Every Which Way But Loose" in an uncharacteristic offbeat comedy role. He played Philo Beddoe, a