Henry Fonda is Jack Beauregard, an aging gunfighter planning one last kill — the man who murdered his brother — before retiring to Europe.
Terrence Hill is Nobody, the almost mythical bum who follows Beauregard, makes sure he stays alive and, finally, stages one last gunfight sure to put Beauregard in the history books forever.
How are the two connected?
Beauregard’s brother, the Nevada Kid, was partners in a mine with a man named Sullivan and a man named Red.
Now, Nevada Kid and Red are dead and only Sullivan remains.
And he’s using that played-out mine to launder the gold stolen by the Wild Bunch with its 150 fearsome men on horseback.
It’s those 150 riders Nobody wants to see Beauregard take on — single-handedly no less.
And that’s a fight Beauregard would rather dodge.
After all, he has a date with a ship in New Orleans to whisk him off to Europe and a quieter future.
Henry Fonda as Jack Beauregard gets his first glimpse of Nobody in My Name is Nobody (1973)
Terence Hill as Nobody arrives in town and starts making plans for Beauregard in My Name is Nobody (1973)
Review:
Sergio Leone was co-producer of the film, directed by the talented Tonino Valerii, and they serve up a late Spaghetti that falls short of Leone’s classics, but is still certainly worth watching.
Along the way, they poke fun at some of the scenes from Leone’s earlier Westerns and turns some of the old Western cliches on their collective heads.
Once confronted with his brother’s killer, for instance, Beauregard accepts a payoff rather than gunning down the man. After all, he explains to Nobody, his brother was a snake.
The film succeeds despite some hard-to-take comic turns, ala Terrence Hill, of course.
For instance, Nobody shares an old fable with his gunfighter friend. Seems there was this baby bird who fell out of a tree and kept chirping loudly because he was cold.
A friendly cow came along, lifted its tail and crapped all over the bird. The baby bird kept chirping. Then a coyote came along, cleaned off the bird, and promptly ate it.
The moral, Beauregard decides in a brilliant final scene: Those who throw dirt on you aren’t always trying to hurt you, and those who clean you off aren’t always trying to pull out out of a jam.
But, most of all, when you’re up to your nose in shit, keep your mouth shut. It’s the moral of these new times, he says.
Jean Martin as mine owner Sullivan, getting a warning from the Wild Bunch in My Name is Nobody (1973)
Antonio Palombi as Grandpa Joe, a former partner in the mine, in My Name is Nobody (1973)
Directed by:
Tonino Valerii
Cast:
Terence Hill … Nobody
Henry Fonda … Jack Beauregard
Jean Martin … Sullivan
Piero Lulli … Sheriff
Mario Brega … Pedro
Marc Mazza … Don John
Neil Summers … Squirrel
Rainer Peets … Big Gun
Benito Stefanelli … Porteley
R.G. Armstrong … Honest John
Leo Gordon … Red
Antonio Palombi … Grandpa Joe
Also with: Antoine Saint-John,Franco Angrisano, Tommy Polgár,Hubert Mittendorf, Emil Feist, Carla Mancini, Luigi Antonio Guerra, Angelo Novi, Ullrich Müller, Claus Schmidt, Karl Braun, Steve Kanaly, Geoffrey Lewis, Larry Melton, Antonio Molino Rojo, Alexander Allerson, Maurice Kowaleski, Jess Hill, Frank Trolio, Renato Pinciroli, Lance Gordon
aka:
Il mio nome e Nessuno
Mr. Nobody
Score: Ennio Morricone
R.G. Armstrong as Honest John, one of the men gunning for Beauregard in My Name is Nobody (1973)
Leo Gordon as Red, former partner of Beauregard’s brother in My Name is Nobody (1973)
Memorable lines:
Outlaw to Sullivan: “Two things go straight to a man’s heart: Bullets and gold.”
Nobody: “The secret to a long life is to try not to shorten it.”
Nobody: “You know, since I was a boy, I always dreamed of you like that. An immense open plain, 150 pure-bred sons of bitches on horseback and you facing them — alone.”
Nobody, showing Beauregard his hat: “Four shots, one hole. Just like the good ol’ days.”
Beauregard: “There were never any good ol’ days.”
Nobody: “I see it clear as crystal. Jack Beauregard, standing alone, facing the Wild Bunch. Just think of it. You’ll be written up in all
the history books.”
Beauregard: “And you’ll be down on earth reading them, while I’m up there playing on a harp.”
Beauregard: “Disappointed?”
Nobody: “Yep, thought I could count on your brotherly feelings.”
Beauregard: “Beats me how kids like you think because a man is older than you he goes along with old-fashioned notions like ‘blood’s thicker than water. Sure, Nevada’s my brother. But he was a grade A skunk who shot people in the back. What’s more, he stole $10,000 off me. I’m not risking my life to avenge him.”
Nobody: “Sometimes you run smack into your destiny on the very road you’re taking to get away from it.”
Neil Summers (left) as Squirrel, irate over how a shooting game is going in My Name is Nobody (1973)
Marc Mazza as Don John, squaring off with Nobody in My Name is Nobody (1973)
Trivia:
Sergio Leone produced the film, and there’s been much debate over how much of a role he had in directing it. Check out that opening scene. It’s certainly reminiscent of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and “Once Upon a Time in the West.”
At one point in the film, Beauregard is in a cemetery with Nobody. One of the names on a tombstone: Sam Peckinpah.
Henry Fonda continued acting until 1981 (“On Golden Pond”), but this marked his last major role in a Western. He had a bit role in “Wanda Nevada” (1979).
Piero Lulli as the sheriff and bet collector during the barroom shooting game in My Name is Nobody (1973)
Terence Hill as Nobody makes a point at gunpoint in My Name is Nobody (1973)
Henry Fonda as Jack Beauregard, taking on the Wild Bunch, in My Name is Nobody (1973)
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This is my most favourite western ever! Great acting, great scenes, funny, wise and nostalgic all at the same time. Certainly worth watching!