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Why did the first collaboration between Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood have a difficult start?

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Don Siegel, wearing a hat and sunglasses, stands beside Clint Eastwood, also in sunglasses and a suit, on the set of the film Dirty Harry with a large studio light overhead. — Don Siegel Don Siegel (left) and Clint Eastwood during the filming of *Dirty Harry* (1971).

The first collaboration between Clint Eastwood and director Don Siegel on the 1968 film Coogan’s Bluff faced a difficult start for several reasons.1

Eastwood was initially reluctant to work with Siegel because he had been told that director Alex Segal would be at the helm, and he was hesitant to work with the "other Siegel". Furthermore, the production process was strained by frequent arguments between the star and the director, as well as the fact that the script underwent numerous rewrites. Despite these early tensions, the two eventually developed a long-term friendship and professional partnership that significantly influenced Eastwood’s own future directorial style.12