Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
"C'era una volta il West" (original title)

Epic story of a mysterious stranger with a harmonica who joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.

Director:

Sergio Leone

Writers:

Sergio Leone (screenplay), Sergio Donati (screenplay),

Stars:

Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards

Top 250 #24 | 5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Claudia Cardinale	...	Jill McBain
Henry Fonda	...	Frank
Jason Robards	...	Cheyenne
Charles Bronson	...	Harmonica
Gabriele Ferzetti	...	Morton - Railroad Baron
Paolo Stoppa	...	Sam
Woody Strode	...	Stony - Member of Frank's Gang
Jack Elam	...	Snaky - Member of Frank's Gang
Keenan Wynn	...	Sheriff - Auctioneer
Frank Wolff	...	Brett McBain
Lionel Stander	...	Barman

Storyline

Story of a young woman, Mrs. McBain, who moves from New Orleans to frontier Utah, on the very edge of the American West. She arrives to find her new husband and family slaughtered, but by who? The prime suspect, coffee-lover Cheyenne, befriends her and offers to go after the real killer, assassin gang leader Frank, in her honor. He is accompanied by Harmonica on his quest to get even. Get-rich-quick subplots and intricate character histories intertwine with such artistic flair that this could in fact be the movie-to-end-all-movies.

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Plot Keywords:

harmonica | assassin | widow | epic | revolver | 

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Taglines:

There were three men in her life. One to take her... one to love her... and one to kill her.

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Genres:

Adventure | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for western violence and brief sensuality

Details

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 1968 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Once Upon a Time in the West

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Finanzia San Marco, Rafran Cinematografica, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

175 min 165 min (international) 137 min (1970)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Henry Fonda prepared for his role as the villain "Frank" by arriving in Italy with a pair of brown colored contact lenses and a grown mustache. When Sergio Leone saw them, he ordered them removed. Leone had planned an important close-up shot of Frank's entrance and wanted the audience to instantly recognize Fonda with those blue eyes.

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Goofs

As Frank and his gang ride away from the train, tire tracks are visible in the dirt.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Station agent: Hey - hey hey hey hey, if you want any tickets, you'll have to go around to, eh, to, eh, the front of the, eh... oooh, well, I s'pose it'll be all right.

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Crazy Credits

Lionel Stander receives on screen credit in the original U.S. theatre release prints even though his part was completely cut out of this shortened version.

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Connections

Edited into Posse (1993)

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Soundtracks

"Danny Boy"
(1913) (uncredited)
Written by by Frederick Edward Weatherly
Hummed and Sung a cappella a bit by Simonetta Santaniello

User Reviews

The Best Western of All Time bar none!

The "fourth" and best of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy, 'Once Upon A Time In The West' is a sprawling, operatic masterpiece of cinematography. The languid pacing only accentuates the meticulously presented scenes and the Ennio Morricone score is powerful, poignant and haunting. Each major character has his own musical theme. Henry Fonda's character has a menacing and jarring score which chills and thrills me every time I hear it (I bought the soundtrack too!). Fonda as Frank is the "coldest villain in screen history" as I have read in other reviews and was cast against type in this film. When the camera pans up into his passionless blue eyes early in the movie, one sees what a brilliant piece of casting it was to have him as the villain. This movie is a metaphor on the death of The Old West and the final word on how a (spaghetti) Western should be. Not to be missed!