Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West ( is a 1968 epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone, who co-wrote it with Sergio Donati based on a story by Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci and Leone. It stars Henry Fonda, cast against type as the villain, Charles Bronson as his nemesis, Jason Robards as a bandit and Claudia Cardinale as a newly widowed homesteader. The widescreen cinematography was by Tonino Delli Colli and the acclaimed film score was by Ennio Morricone.
Plot
A train arrives at the Old West town of "Flagstone" where a man with a harmonica (later dubbed "Harmonica") overcomes an ambush by killing three men in dusters. Although Harmonica was expecting to meet an outlaw named Frank, he concludes by the dusters the men belonged to the outlaw Cheyenne's gang. It is not yet revealed why Harmonica seeks Frank. Meanwhile, Frank and his gang murder Brett McBain and his three children as they prepare for a celebration at his ranch called "Sweetwater." Shortly thereafter, a former prostitute arrives at Sweetwater and reveals she is Jill McBain, who married McBain a month before in New Orleans. Frank leaves evidence at the murder scene implicating Cheyenne. Jill is shocked at the murders and searches for a motive. Frank is a hired gun for railway tycoon Morton, who directed Frank to intimidate, not murder, McBain. McBain intended to profit by building a watering station on Sweetwater, because he knew the railroad from Flagstone would eventually pass through his property. However, if the station was incomplete by the time the railroad reached Sweetwater, the property would revert to the railroad. McBain's murder puts Morton at odds with Frank, who desires the land for himself. Jill's unexpected appearance makes her the owner of Sweetwater as McBain's surviving widow.
Cast
- Al Mulock
- Aldo Berti
- Aldo Sambrell
- Antonio Molino Rojo
- Benito Stefanelli
- Bruno Corazzari
- Charles Bronson
- Claudia Cardinale
- Claudio Scarchilli
- Conrado San Martín
- Don Galloway
- Enzo Santaniello
- Fabio Testi
- Frank Braña
- Frank Wolff
- Gabriele Ferzetti
- Henry Fonda
- Jack Elam
- Jason Robards
- John Frederick
- Keenan Wynn
- Lionel Stander
- Lorenzo Robledo
- Marco Zuanelli
- Paolo Stoppa
- Ricardo Palacios
- Robert Hossein
- Saturno Cerra
- Sergio Leone
- Spartaco Conversi
- Woody Strode
More details
| author | Bernardo Bertolucci Dario Argento Sergio Donati Sergio Leone |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Wild West |
| director | Sergio Leone |
| editor | Nino Baragli |
| events | American frontier American pioneer amorality anonymity capitalism community building frontier justice identity masculinity revenge |
| genre | western |
| keywords | build buy capture confine duster expect force former prostitute hang harmonica hired gun kill married old west older brother railroad worker railway car sexual encounter spinal tuberculosis survive the old west unfinished wait want |
| musicBy | Ennio Morricone |
| producer | Fulvio Morsella |
| publisher | Euro International Films Paramount Pictures |
| recordedAt | Almería Arizona Cinecittà La Calahorra Utah |
| theme | epic spaghetti western transport |