Idaho-Montana Border Hosted Clint Eastwood In 1974 Crime Comedy

Those who might have been traveling throughout eastern Idaho and western Montana in the summer of 1973 may recall a great deal of filming going on for a Clint Eastwood film that many believe is one of his most underrated. Eastwood spent close to two months filming throughout the region and reportedly did a lot of sightseeing in both states.

Clint Eastwood will turn 93 years old on May 31. Many film fans find him to be a national treasure. Eastwood was no stranger to Idaho in the seventies and eighties and filmed a couple of movies in the Gem State during this time period.

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His two most notable films shot in and around central and southern Idaho are Bronco Billy and Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. Bronco Billy was filmed in the Boise area in 1979 and hit theaters a year later. Many locals recall seeing production crews in southern Idaho during the filming.

The one movie many Eastwood fans appeared to really enjoy based on social media comments was Thunderbolt and Lightfoot in which he starred opposite Jeff Bridges. The film was shot mainly in western Montana, according to IMDB. Hell's Canyon scenes were used in place of the Snake River, in which Eastwood and Bridges were attempting to board the Idaho Dream mail boat at one point in the movie. The U.S. mail was actually delivered down this stretch of Hells Canyon beginning in 1919, so the film is factually accurate in that regard.