i am feathermaye...

We had no idea who the character was supposed to be. "The Man With No Name" as he came to be called (off-screen) rode into a border town on a sorry excuse for a mule, wearing a soiled poncho. Divided by two warring families, this dusty little place called San Miguel is evidently the perfect spot for nefarious smuggling activity, and each family is determined to have all profits for themselves.

Playing one side against the other, in a series of well designed setups, our hero proves himself incapable of being bought as both sides want his services: dealing out sudden death with his Colt. The nameless one's agenda is something else altogether, however, and his lack of loyalty to either side is very nearly his undoing.

The plot is fast and without hesitation. At no point does Leone allow his audience to relax, right up to the breaking point, where, in true Western style, the final, inevitable shoot-out occurs; yet, even here Leone differs, demonstrating how careful editing and cutting between his final players, along with that one-of-a-kind, completely Leone-esque score, creates a tension never before realized.

We hold our breath, even though we think we know the outcome, this film has delivered so many visual surprises that we dare not allow ourselves to think until the explosive gun shots finish in thunderstorm fashion. Through the clearing smoke, we see the nameless one, casually sticking a cigar in his teeth and lighting it with a hand-cupped match. The images are forever burned into our memory.

*This film was re-shot, practically to the letter of its original script as "The Last Man Standing" starring Bruce Willis in the late nineties. The plot, the action, all still worked, but it lacked the main element: Sergio Leone.*
"A Few Dollars More" neatly dovetails its predecessor, as Leone exercises the next step in his Western evolution, this time giving us a singular villain named Indio and a bounty hunter called Colonel Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef), dressed all in black, to rival "The Man With No Name" as they both attempt to capture the elusive bandit, dead or alive!

Failing to make the capture, or to eliminate each other, our nameless hero and the Colonel are left with only one option: to join forces, or face certain death at the hands of Indio and his gang of murdering thieves.

Here again, Leone utilizes his skills to accomplish both the visually artistic, as well as the stunning violence, which became his trademark. The creative use of Indio's musical locket (which plays a timed and deadly tune) to foretell his murderous intent is a singularly ingenious tool, which sets up the final showdown, again in dramatic Sergio Leone style.

"The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" brings the "Dollars Trilogy" to an end as "The Man With No Name" once more takes us into an adventure filled with the greed for stolen gold, the bounty hunter's drive, the blackness in the heart of a vile desperado, and an America torn apart by Civil War.

The scenes depicting the battle of Shiloh are epic, reminding us, if we think upon it, that Sergio Leone witnessed his own version of War. With his nation nearly destroyed in WWII, he surely carried with him a true sense of just how to show us the folly and the stupidity of War.




His use of the graveyard as the final setting, hundreds upon thousands of graves, of which one conceals the stolen gold, the desperado (Eli Wallach) and fellow gunslinger/bounty hunter (again played by Lee Van Cleef) join the nameless one in a final, tension filled gun battle.

Leone went on to make other films, even other Westerns, such as Once Upon A Time In the West, and the Gangster/Mafia Classic Once Upon A Time In America. As expected, these, in themselves were also wonderful films, but we can thank his earlier period, and the "Dollar Trilogy" for bringing his talent to light.

Funny, I am a long way from the nine-year-old boy who was first bedazzled by Leone's handiwork. But, I am still, nonetheless, bedazzled.