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Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
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After the release of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Sergio Leone was offered several western stories to shoot for various studios around the world. Many popular leading actors of the day were to be cast in them, including Charlton Heston, Kirk Douglas, Rock Hudson and James Coburn. But Leone was not interested in shooting anymore western pictures. As far as he was concerned, he told all there was to tell in that genre. He was leaning more towards a story he read called The Hoods which he would later make into Once Upon a Time in America (1984).
United Artists, which released his 'No Name' trilogy, tried desperately to get him to change his mind, but to no avail. Finally, Paramount came up with a solution; an almost unlimited budget and the promise of one of the actors in the film being Henry Fonda, a man whom Leone had wanted to work with badly and tried to recruit for the second of his 'No Name' films, For a Few Dollars More. Leone immediately began work on a new idea, a western to pay homage to all of the classics he loved. Although his style would be similar to other work he did, his location and story would be quite different.
For almost the entire year of 1967, Leone, along with film critics Bernando Bertolucci and Dario Argento, developed a story set in the Monument Valley section of Arizona. This location was totally alien to other efforts Leone had produced, filming in Spain and Italy. Leone felt this location was only logical since the majority of John Ford's western classics were shot there. With story development by Bertolucci and Argento and screenplay rewrites by Sergio Donati, Once Upon a Time in the West was born.
Although Paramount promised Fonda, the aging actor was hesitant to come aboard. After a visit by Leone to Fonda's house where they discussed the project, a phone call from Fonda's friend Eli Wallach convinced him. Wallach, who had played Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, told Fonda he would have the time of his life and assured him as to the credit of his friend Leone. Leone also noticed Fonda was unsure about playing a character as dark as Frank, the ruthless gunman who would stop at nothing to get access to the fortune of the McBain land. Leone pictured for Fonda the prospect of a camera shot of a family that had just been gunned down in cold blood and the camera rising to reveal the face of Fonda as the gunman. The idea of the audience gasping in shock at this amused Fonda, a man who throughout his career had played American icons like Abraham Lincoln and Wyatt Earp. Fonda relished in the role and he would admit later that of all the characters he played, Frank was his favorite.
When Fonda first appeared on set to play Frank, he had gotten brown contact lenses and grew facial hair, feeling this would exemplify the character better. Leone ordered Fonda to lose both, explaining that Fonda's natural blue eyes would serve this purpose to show the pure evil of the man and his silver hair the look of experience. This ploy worked, making Frank even more terrifying as a man who did not look the part but was as evil as a western villain could be.
Charles Bronson was hired to play Harmonica, another actor Leone had tried to recruit in an earlier project but was unable to. James Coburn was considered but he requested too much money. Bronson was perfect for the part of a man who said little but made a big impact. Bronson stayed in character throughout the film, even off camera, keeping pretty much to himself. Jason Robards, a veteran stage actor, played Cheyenne, a man wrongfully accused of the crime Frank commits in the beginning of the story. Cheyenne would investigate this matter and with Harmonica's help, who also had a vendetta on Frank, would prove his innocence.
Unknown Italian actress Claudia Cardinale was cast as Jill, a former prostitute and the widow of the murdered Brett McBain. Many actresses were rumored to be up for the role, including Raquel Welch and Ursula Andress. Cardinale was perfect as Jill, an attractive smarter-than-she-looks woman who inherited McBain's millions. Throughout the film, she would influence the three male actors in different ways, mostly Cheyenne. In one scene, Cheyenne tells Jill she reminds her so much of his mother. She was the sweetest woman he ever knew and the biggest (bleep) in town.
Italian actor Gabriele Ferzetti's take on the part of Morton, the rail baron dying from a muscular illness similar to Lou Gehrig's disease, is definitely noteworthy. He shows a wide range of emotions in Morton, a man confined to his specially made railroad car as his railroad is completed from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He knows he will die soon and hopes to get to the Pacific before he does. The sadness in his eyes as he looks at a painting of the ocean in his car is moving. The sound of the ocean, the musical interlude and the closeup of Morton's face (one of Leone's trademarks) is touching.
A device called "leitmotifs" is apparent in the film. Ennio Morricone, who worked with Leone throughout his 'No Name' trilogy, uses this strategy to identify each of the main characters. Harmonica, Frank, Jill, Cheyenne and Morton all have musical phrases in the film. The Harmonica itself is a character in the movie. Whenever Bronson played the instrument, you knew soon someone was about to die.
This is first apparent in the opening sequence when Harmonica steps off of a train at a station to be met by three gunmen. As the train leaves, the three men see no one get off the train and start to leave. Then they hear the harmonica and Bronson is seen on the other side of the train. One of the best lines in the movie is at this moment. Harmonica asks if they brought him a horse. The one gunman, played by veteran film actor Jack Elam, says they were shy one horse, for there were three horses and four of them. Harmonica's response is they brought two too many. Harmonica guns down the men and continues on his way.
This opening scene was not only entertaining as a showdown in the film, but surrounded the opening credits, making it one of the most enjoyable opening credits in film history. The three gunmen, played by Elam, Woody Strode and Al Kulock, take positions at various sections of the station. Elam sits in a rocking chair and plays with a fly, eventually capturing it in his gun barrel, amused at the sound of it fighting uselessly to escape. Kulock sits near the end of the station while Strode stands under a water tower, the water filling up the brim of his hat. Each sound adds to the suspense of the approaching train, including the sound of a creaking windmill in the background. When a crew member tried to oil the windmill fearing it would interfere with the soundtrack, Leone scolded him saying he wanted the sound for volume. It is rumored that the three men from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach, were originally approached by Leone for these parts, but it has never been confirmed. Sadly, Al Kulock committed suicide shortly after filming this scene.
Several instances can be seen in this film that may appear familiar to western film fans. Not only are the locations the same as in past productions, but other items are worth mentioning. Frank's outfit is similar to the same outfit Fonda's character played in Warlock (1959). The opening station sequence is not unlike the opening to High Noon (1952). The McBain murder has scenes similar in aspect to scenes in The Searchers (1956) and Shane (1953). And the final duel where Harmonica places the harmonica Frank gave him as a boy in Frank's mouth before he dies is repeated later in The Quick and the Dead (1995) where Sharon Stone's character places her father's badge in a dying Gene Hackman's hand.
Even though the film was a success in Europe, it was considered a flop in the US at its 1969 release. This was mainly due to the fact that despite Leone's best efforts to keep the film as short as possible (learning from the edits to his past films), Paramount still cut out twenty minutes of the movie, from 165 minutes to 145 minutes. This included completely cutting out the scene at the saloon where we are introduced to Cheyenne for the first time and he meets both Harmonica and Jill, and the scene at the end where Cheyenne dies. This, plus other scene edits and omissions, confused the audience and the film suffered as a result. Since then, the film has grown cult status and the missing footage has been found and incorporated back into the picture in a DVD released in 2003. This version is available at www.amazon.com.
Once Upon a Time in the West started Leone on a second unintended trilogy, the 'Once Upon' trilogy as fans like to call it. Following would be the cult favorite Duck, You Sucker (aka A Fistful of Dynamite) (1972) and Once Upon a Time in America (1984), which would be Leone's last film. Once Upon a Time in the West would not only grow to be a significant movie in Leone's career, but would be called by some as the best western ever made.
For more on this film, see these external links:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Time_in_the_West
www.rottentomatoes.com/m/once_upon_a_time_in_the_west/
See my commentary on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
www.examiner.com/x-24897-West-Palm-Beach-Epic-Movie-Examiner
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