8.0/10
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252 user 125 critic

Fistful of Dollars (1964)

Per un pugno di dollari (original title)
A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.

Director:

(as Bob Robertson)

Writers:

(story) (as A. Bonzzoni), (dialogue) | 5 more credits »
Reviews
Popularity
2,808 ( 92)

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1 win & 2 nominations. See more awards »
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Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
Joe
...
...
Ramón Rojo (as John Wells) (as Johnny Wels)
Wolfgang Lukschy ...
John Baxter (as W. Lukschy)
...
Esteban Rojo (as S. Rupp)
Joseph Egger ...
Piripero (as Joe Edger)
...
José Calvo ...
Silvanito (as Jose Calvo)
...
Consuelo Baxter (as Margherita Lozano)
...
Julián (as Daniel Martin)
Benito Stefanelli ...
Rubio (as Benny Reeves)
...
Chico (as Richard Stuyvesant)
Bruno Carotenuto ...
Antonio Baxter (as Carol Brown)
...
Rojo gang member (as Aldo Sambreli)
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Storyline

An anonymous, but deadly man rides into a town torn by war between two factions, the Baxters and the Rojo's. Instead of fleeing or dying, as most other would do, the man schemes to play the two sides off each other, getting rich in the bargain. Written by Andrew Hyatt <dres@uiuc.edu>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

This is the man with no name. Danger fits him like a glove. See more »

Genres:

Western

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

| |

Language:

|

Release Date:

18 January 1967 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

A Fist Full of Dollars  »

Filming Locations:

 »

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Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$14,500,000
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

When Clint Eastwood arrived on the set, he was struck by how little the Italian crew and writers knew about the American West they were filming about. For example, he had to point out that coonskin caps were worn by frontiersmen and trappers in the Davy Crockett era, circa the 1820s, not by gunfighters and townsmen in the American West and Mexico of the 1870s, as the scriptwriters had written. See more »

Goofs

In all the desert scenes, there are no cacti visible. Cacti are found only in North and South America, making it obvious that this was filmed in the Old World; in this case, Spain. See more »

Quotes

Juan De Dios: You'll get rich here, or you'll be killed. Juan De Dios tolls the bell again.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in CCTV (2011) See more »

Soundtracks

Sweet Betsy from Pike
(uncredited)
Written by John A. Stone
Performed by Clint Eastwood
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

A western classic and the movie that launched the careers of Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood.
31 May 2003 | by See all my reviews

'A Fistful Of Dollars' is a wonderful movie which, despite having an enormous following of fans around the world, sometimes gets unfairly dismissed in my opinion. For two reasons - firstly because the second and third movie in Leone/Eastwood "Man With No Name" trilogy ('For A Few Dollars More' and 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly') are so damn good it's easy to overlook this one. Despite being made on a much tighter budget and being less ambitious than the sequels to follow, it's still one of the greatest westerns ever made in my opinion. The second reason is the Yojimbo thing. Now movie buffs frequently slam 'A Fistful Of Dollars' as being a rip off of Kurosawa's 'Yojimbo', which I think is extremely misleading. I'm not disputing that Leone was familiar with Kurosawa (I have no idea one way or the other), but one name I rarely hear ANYONE mention is Dashiel Hammett. Hammett's hard boiled crime classic 'Red Harvest' was published THIRTY YEARS before 'Yojimbo' and features the same central premise of an anti-hero playing two rival groups off against each other. So if anyone deserves acknowledgement as uncredited inspiration for Leone (AND Kurosawa) it's Hammett. Anyway, this is an absolutely brilliant movie and it launched Clint Eastwood, a popular TV actor, into being a major movie star, and likewise put Sergio Leone on the map. I can't recommend 'A Fistful Of Dollars' highly enough, it's pure entertainment, and very, very cool!


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