For a Few Dollars More (1965)

Two bounty hunters with the same intentions team up to track down a Western outlaw.

Director:

Sergio Leone

Writers:

Sergio Leone (scenario), Fulvio Morsella (scenario)

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volontè

Top Rated Movies #117 | 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Monco
Lee Van Cleef	...	Col. Douglas Mortimer
Gian Maria Volontè	...	El Indio (The Indian)
Mara Krupp	...	Mary - Hotel Manager's Beautiful Wife (as Mara Krup)
Luigi Pistilli	...	Groggy, Member of Indio's Gang
Klaus Kinski	...	Juan Wild - The Hunchback
Luis Rodríguez	...	Manuel, Member of Indio's Gang (as Luis Rodriguez)
Benito Stefanelli	...	Luke 'Hughie'
Panos Papadopulos	...	Sancho Perez, Member of Indio's Gang (as Panos Papadopoulos)
Aldo Sambrell	...	Cuchillio
Roberto Camardiel	...	Tucumcari station clerk (as Robert Camardiel)
Joseph Egger	...	Old Prophet (as Josef Egger)
Tomás Blanco	...	Tucumcari sheriff (as Tomas Blanco)
Lorenzo Robledo	...	Tomaso, Indio's Traitor
Dante Maggio	...	Carpenter in cell with El Indio

Storyline

Drifting from town to town, the poncho-clad Man with No Name and the lightning-fast right hand rides into the town of El Paso, in search of the maniacal escaped convict, El Indio. It's been eighteen short months since the deadly confrontation in A Fistful of Dollars (1964), and this time, the solitary stranger, now a professional bounty hunter, will have to go against his beliefs and do the unthinkable: join forces with the hawk-eyed marksman, Colonel Douglas Mortimer, to collect the hefty reward. Now, as El Indio and his cut-throats have already set their sights on robbing the crammed-with-cash Bank of El Paso, the stage is set for a bloody showdown at high noon, against the backdrop of silent double-crosses and fragile allegiances. But, is it worth dicing with death for a few dollars more?

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Plot Keywords:

mexico | shoulder holster | spaghetti western | new mexico desert | alamogordo new mexico | 

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Taglines:

The man with no name is back... The man in black is waiting! As if one wasn't enough . . . as if death needed a double!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni has claimed that Sergio Leone rescued Lee Van Cleef's career by casting him as Colonel Douglas Mortimer. Van Cleef hadn't appeared in a movie since The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), and reputedly was drinking heavily. Leone agreed to pay him one thousand dollars a week for nine weeks' work. This movie's massive success made Van Cleef a huge star in Europe. Vincenzoni reckons that Van Cleef made the equivalent of $10 million working on "Spaghetti Westerns" over the next ten years.

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Goofs

At the very beginning, Mortimer (Lee van Cleef) pulls the communication cord in the passenger car, to stop the train at Tucumcari. However, when the train draws to a stop, Mortimer emerges from the horse box, which has no access from the passenger car.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Train Conductor: Tickets. Tickets, please. Tickets. Tickets. Thank you. Tickets.
Col. Douglas Mortimer: Is this part of Tucumcari?
Train Conductor: We should pass there in about three to four minutes.
Col. Douglas Mortimer: Thanks.
Carpetbagger on Train: Well, eh, excuse me, but you made a mistake, Reverend. I couldn't help hearing you're going to Tucumcari. I sell goods around here, and I gotta tell you, you're on the wrong train. I think the nearest stop to Tucumcari is Amarillo. By getting off at Santa Fe and returning by way of Amarillo, you should be able to get right where... ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The title credits disappear as if being shot by a gun.

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Alternate Versions

The Swedish cinema version was shortened by 1m 2sec in the assault scene. The video version from Warner is probably the same censored version.

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Connections

Referenced in Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

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Soundtracks

For A Few Dollars More
(uncredited)
Composed by Ennio Morricone

User Reviews

The finest example of the Spaghetti Western revolution

Italian director Sergio Leone changed the face of the Western genre in 1964 when he introduced what would be known as the "Spaghetti Western" with the brilliant "Per un Pugno di Dollari" ("A Fistful of Dollars"). Not only the films looked grittier, violent and realistic; the characters in Leone's westerns became complex men with complex and obscure moral codes, very far away from the classic clear moral opposites of previous westerns. "Per Qualche Dollaro in più" ("For a few dollars more"), is the epitome of all this. It is a powerful, raw and ruthless masterpiece that transcended its genre and became one of the best movies of all-time.

"For a Few Dollars More", the second in the so-called "Dollars trilogy" (a group of films by Leone with the same style), is the story of two different yet very similar men, Manco (Clint Eastwood) and the Colonel Douglas Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef) are two bounty hunters who are after the criminal named "El Indio" (Gian Maria Volontè). An unlikely alliance occurs between the two lone wolves as they decide to cooperate and divide the reward, but are these two killers after "Indio" for the same reason?

Written by Fulvio Morsella and Sergio Leone himself, the film's main characteristic is the complex moral code the main characters follow. They are no longer the perfect clean heroes of classic westerns, both Manco and the Colonel have well-developed attitudes, motivations and purposes; they are neither completely good nor completely bad, they are just real. The story unfolds with a fine pace and good rhythm, it is probably the best structured of the "Trilogy" and the easiest to follow. It is also the one that represents the elements of the Spaghetti Western style the best.

Stylistically, the film follows closely the conventions established by Leone's previous film but it takes them to the next level. The excellent use of minimalistic cinematography and the superb musical score by Ennio Morricone complement Leone's realistic vision of Westerns and completely redefined the genre's conventions. "For a Few Dollars More" is a violent tale of two hunters, and visually the film transmits the same emotions the characters feel. No more myths, the Westerns never felt this real.

Clint Eastwood's super performance as Manco is very important for the success of the film, as he is the one that takes the audience through this brave new world, however, the star of the film is Lee Van Cleef as Colonel Mortimer. In one of his best performances ever, Van Cleef manages to be both menacing and interesting, giving life to Leone's brilliant script with great talent. Gian Maria Volontè as Indio complements the two big talents as the crazed criminal with a dark past, he is the perfect counterpart of the two lone wolves.

"Per qualche dollaro in più" is a near flawless movie, as every piece of the puzzle falls into the right place to create a marvelous and unforgettable picture. It's only minor problem may be the dubbing, but fortunately, it still is superior to the one heard in other Italian productions of the same time and it doesn't hurt the film.

Fans will always argue about which of the three films of the "trilogy" is the best, and while personally I prefer "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" over this one, it is just a matter of personal taste as this film is as perfect as that one. A real classic that changed the face of Western as we knew it. 10/10

Details

Country:

Italy Spain West Germany

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

10 May 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

For a Few Dollars More

Filming Locations:

Desierto de Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$600,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$15,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Europee Associate (PEA), Arturo González Producciones Cinematográficas, Constantin Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1