Why left handed? - Joe Kidd (1972) Discussion

The character, like Eastwood himself, is ambidextrous.

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I'd wondered about that myself. I noticed, for example, that in Kelly's Heroes he uses a Thompson SMG right-handed.

Mind you, I'd expect that considering the camera angle used for the scene, a left-handed hold on the rifle looked better and as Clint is ambidextrous it was possible to do it that way. Can't think of any other reason why Clint would do it.

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[–] Way_Cool_Jr 17 years ago

I have a friend who is right handed and does the same thing, shoots a pistol right handed and a rifle left handed.

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[–] lightfootsalive 17 years ago

Anybody ever been shooting? People are right or left handed, as well as right or left "eyed". If Clint favors his left eye to shoot with, he'd need to hold the rifle lefty or it would be to akward to aim.

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[–] studmuffinthesmasher 16 years ago

Exactly ^

I do the same thing. Left eye dominant and right handed. I can easily look through the sites of a handgun with my left eye while holding it right handed, but not so easily with a rifle. However, doing it for so long, it feels natural. Besides, for some reason it seems right to do all the aiming with your dominant hand. The only thing that blows are right-sided bolt actions.

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[–] Petie3-2 15 years ago

The nuns decided I would be a righty, so I write righty, play golf righty (no lefty clubs when I was growing up) throw righty, bat lefty, kick lefty, shoot pistol and rifle righty but use left eye on pistol, right eye on rifle. I even confuse myself.

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[–] MuleDeer 15 years ago

Interesting answers. I wondered the same thing.

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[–] BigShoe62 16 years ago

I wonder:

Is there any possibility that he actually WAS holding the rifle right-handed, then the negative was reversed in post-production? This has been done in various movies for artistic or continuity reasons. A great (and silly) example is in the film noir movie "Detour," where the film negative was reversed in order for the cars to go from right to left on the screen. This meant that the hitchhiker kept (apparently) climbing in the driver-side doors, and the cars were all driving on the "wrong" side of the road.

Anyway, I have no idea if this was done in Joe Kidd, just a thought.

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[–] Doctor-Phibes 16 years ago

Didn't look reversed, judging by his hat band and scarf. Then there's his mole, but I didn't see it in that shot.

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[–] speccyboy 13 years ago

Interesting question: Why are southpaws (I'm ambidextrous) frowned upon?

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[–] jejozi 12 years ago

Some think it's not "normal", others think it's "dirty" (in some societies you wipe with your left hand, eat with your right.), and some think it's evil.

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[–] MuleDeer 10 years ago

I think he shoots the Spencer rifle left handed in "Unforgiven" also.

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[–] chrisschock 10 years ago

I dont think the shot was reversed as the bolt on the rifle is on the right side of the weapon and closest to Joe's cheek. Of course thats assuming the gun in a right hand bolt design and not a left; furthermore there are very very few left bolt rifles.

So he is just going lefty for whatever reasons.

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[–] layton59 9 years ago

Here is a rundown on most of the guns used in the film JOE KIDD (1972).

http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Joe_Kidd

Clint may just favor left eye over the right eye when using a scoped rifle.

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[–] Captain_Augustus_McCrae 9 years ago

If they had flipped the negative the rifle's bolt would be on the left side of the rifle. In the scene the bolt is, properly, on the right side of the rifle. So no negative flip.

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[–] Bowgart 8 years ago

In most of Clint Eastwood's movies he shoots rifles left handed. There's lots of examples. Also at the end of Dirty Harry he throws his badge left handed. In For a Few Dollars More he does nearly everything left handed, except shoot his handgun. I think Clint is obviously left handed, but was born in an age when left handed kids were forced to use their right hands, and so he is ambidextrous.

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