Once Upon a Time in the West (part 3)

Trivia:

Fearing filmgoers’ reaction to a nearly three-hour epic that wasn’t nearly as action packed as Leone’s first three Westerns, producers cut about 20 minutes from the version of the film that premiered – and flopped – in the United States.

In a DVD extras interview, Henry Fonda says he wasn’t certain quite how to portray such an evil character. He even ordered brown contacts to wear over his blue eyes. That was the opposite of what Leone wanted. He wanted the shock of filmgoers seeming Henry Fonda, with his bright blues eyes, show up on screen as the villain.

In the same DVD extras, Leone says he really didn’t want to make another Western after the Dollars trilogy. The next film he wanted to make was “Once Upon a Time in America.” But U.S. producers asked for another Western first.

Portions of the film were shot in Monument Valley, the hallowed ground John Ford used so effectively in his films. In order to make the footage shot in Italy match, Leone had red dust imported and used in some scenes, including the way station scene where we first meet Cheyenne.

The three-hour film features just 25 pages of dialogue. There’s virtually no dialogue for the first 12 minutes. And of the first 10 characters we meet, seven die in the film’s first 20 minutes.

The Supporting Players

Jack Elam as a Frank gang member in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Woody Strode as a Frank gang member in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Al Murdock as a Frank gang member in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Frank Wolff as Brett McBain in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Simonetta Santaniello as Maureen McBain in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Stefano Imparato as Patrick McBain in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Enzo Santaniello as Timmy McBain in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

More Trivia:

Mickey Knox is credited with the dialogue in the English version. A former actor blacklisted during the McCarthy era, he moved to Paris and Rome to work. He adapted more than 100 Italian and French films to English. Those also included Leone’s “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”

The film was a massive hit in France and Germany, ranking among the all-time most popular films. In fact, duster coats became such a fashion trend in France that department stores with escalators posted warnings to keep the coats away from the edges to prevent jamming.

While most American members of the cast got to use their own voices for the English print, the voice of Claudia Cardinale was dubbed by Joyce Gordon, wife of actor Bernard Grant, who dubbed
Gabriele Ferzetti, the Morton character.

Leone considered this film as the beginning of a new trilogy that would eventually include “Duck You Sucker” (1971) and “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984).

Claudia Cardinale said she knew Leone for years before they discussed her potential role in this film. At the time, he didn’t even have a script. She became the first major female character in one of his Westerns.

For the opening scene with Jack Elam and the fly, the crew tried to use a fake fly, but couldn’t get the realistic look they wanted. So they used honey on Elam’s face to attract a real fly. The one trapped in the gun, however, was fake.

Sergio and Ennio Morricone recorded the entire score for this film before filming began.

Paolo Stoppa as Sam, Jill McBain’s driver, in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Lionel Stander as the bartender in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Maco Zuanelli as Wobbles in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Gabriele Ferzetti as Morton in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Aldo Sambrell as a Cheyenne gang member in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Keenan Wynn as the sheriff in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Dino Mele as Harmonica as a boy in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Claudio Mancini as Harmonica’s brother in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)