"Gauntlet" Draft Script
 

The Gauntlet is a classic Clint Eastwood movie, both starring Clint and directed by him. Eastwood plays a down-and-out cop who falls in love with a prostitute (Sondra Locke) whom he is assigned to escort from Las Vegas to Phoenix in order for her to testify against the mob.

This is an original pre-production author's draft script with the original title of "Gauntlet" by Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack. Although the basic structure is the same as the final film, along with substantial parts of the dialog, there are also significant differences.

The language is much stronger for one thing. There are also a few scenes that deviate significantly from what got committed to film including the opening, the Train and Motel scenes as well as the finale itself. There are also several separate scenes that got merged later on. In this version Shockley (Clint Eastwood) is actually an LA cop and their final destination is Los Angeles and not Phoenix, Arizona as in the movie.

There are many pages dedicated to describing and justifying the Gauntlet bus drive at the end of the movie, suggesting this was a hard sell initially for the screenwriters.

The script is all on white paper with blue card end covers and brass fasteners. The paper shows its age but is otherwise in perfect condition.

An incredible view into the origins of a classic seventies movie.