A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.
- Awards
- 6 wins & 5 nominations
Livio Andronico
- Bit part
- (uncredited)
Salvatore Basile
- Member of Cheyenne's Gang
- (uncredited)
Aldo Berti
- Member of Frank's Gang Playing Poker
- (uncredited)
Regina Elena Bisio
- Old Woman in the Tavern
- (uncredited)
Joseph Bradley
- Train Station Master
- (uncredited)
Marilù Carteny
- Mourner at Brett McBain's Funeral
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaHenry Fonda originally turned down the role of Frank. Director Sergio Leone flew to the United States and met with Fonda, who asked why he was wanted for the film. Leone replied, "Picture this: the camera shows a gunman from the waist down pulling his gun and shooting a running child. The camera pans up to the gunman's face and...it's Henry Fonda" (until then, with one exception, Fonda had only been cast in "good guy" roles. Leone wanted the audience to be shocked).
- GoofsFrank goes to Morton's train and finds that dead bodies are scattered around. But the train's fireman appears not to be bothered. The engine's safety valve opens frequently, which means that the fireman dutifully keeps doing his job and keeps the boiler at maximum pressure. (The fireman and the driver never appear in the movie, but they must be there.)
- Crazy creditsThe opening credits appear over the three gunmen waiting at the train station.
The film title itself appears at the end of the film.
- Alternate versionsFrank's line upon giving Harmonica his namesake varies from version to version. The Italian translates to "play something for your brother," but the most common English version is "keep your loving brother happy," and the German translates to "play me the song of death." The German movie title was inspired by this line.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Clock (2010)
- SoundtracksDanny Boy
(1913) (uncredited)
Written by by Frederick Edward Weatherly
Hummed and sung a cappella a bit by Simonetta Santaniello
Featured review
This one only gets better with each viewing. Leone's masterful storytelling and Morricone's crazy, beautiful, epic soundtrack; desperate, haunted faces which look like the barren landscapes the story is set in and a plot that unfolds with impeccable pacing to culminate in THE ultimate western finale.
As in Leone's previous films, music isn't just used to add to the atmosphere but is essential to the story, or perhaps even more: Morricone's main musical theme plays the actual role of a (or rather: the) protagonist in the film.
Anyone who thought that the so called "Spaghetti westerns" were nothing but cheap, violent B-movies had to reconsider after seeing this film. It doesn't get any better than this: this is movie history; iconic, classic, unforgettable, epic. For this film, I just run out of superlatives.
My vote: 10 out of 10
Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/
Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/
Favorite Low-Budget and B-movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/
Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/
As in Leone's previous films, music isn't just used to add to the atmosphere but is essential to the story, or perhaps even more: Morricone's main musical theme plays the actual role of a (or rather: the) protagonist in the film.
Anyone who thought that the so called "Spaghetti westerns" were nothing but cheap, violent B-movies had to reconsider after seeing this film. It doesn't get any better than this: this is movie history; iconic, classic, unforgettable, epic. For this film, I just run out of superlatives.
My vote: 10 out of 10
Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/
Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/
Favorite Low-Budget and B-movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/
Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/
- gogoschka-1
- Dec 23, 2013
- Permalink
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,321,508
- Gross worldwide
- $5,435,312
- Runtime2 hours 46 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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