My Name Is Nobody
Encyclopedia
My Name is Nobody is a 1973 Spaghetti Western
comedy film
. The film was directed by Tonino Valerii
and, in some scenes, by Sergio Leone
. It was written by Leone, Fulvio Morsella and Ernesto Gastaldi
. Leone was also the uncredited executive producer. The cast includes Terence Hill
, Henry Fonda
, and Jean Martin
.
) is a tired, aging legendary gunslinger who just wants to retire in peace in Europe to get away from young gunmen constantly trying to test themselves against the master. The film opens with three rascals ambushing Beauregard in a barbershop. After Beauregard has dispatched them, the barber's son asks his father if there is anyone in the world faster than Beauregard, to which the barber replies "Faster than him? Nobody!"
'Nobody' (Terence Hill
) idolizes Beauregard and wants to see him die in a blaze of glory going against the infamous Wild Bunch singlehanded. The Wild Bunch are a gang of bandits who launder their loot of stolen gold via a fake goldmine. The owner sends them after Beauregard because the latter's now-dead brother was in on the deal.
Nobody dogs Beauregard through the west, encountering many who wish him dead, and pesters him to let him stage his grand finale. Eventually, the grand shoot-out does take place by a railway line. Nobody arranges for Beauregard to shoot at the Wild Bunch's mirrored-concho-decorated saddles which, he's discovered, contain sticks of dynamite, thus letting a few good shots eliminate many of the men. To escape, the two board a train that Nobody has stolen.
Finally, Nobody fakes a very public showdown with Beauregard, "killing" him and allowing him to slip away quietly. A street sign, marking where the gunfight took place, says "Nobody Was Faster On The Draw". Beauregard boards a boat for Europe and a quiet retirement, while Nobody takes up his own life of adventure.
and its sequel Trinity Is Still My Name
. With the casting of the classic Westerner Henry Fonda, the contrast between the old and new (dying) West was clear.
Inside jokes in the film include invocations of director Sam Peckinpah
: his name on a tombstone, the villains being known as "the Wild Bunch
", and use of the duster
coats which (though Leone introduced them in Westerns) Peckinpah vigorously exposed on screen.
R.G. Armstrong (erroneously credited with middle initial "K"), Geoffrey Lewis, and Steve Kanaly
also appear in the film, which was shot in New Mexico, New Orleans, and Leone's favorite Spanish locales in Almeria
. This is the second time Fonda worked with Leone, the former being Fonda's first turn as a villain, in the classic Once Upon a Time in the West
. Noted French actor Jean Martin
plays the film's main antagonist.
Leone directed several scenes of the film, including the opening scene and the final showdown with the Wild Bunch, but Tonino Valerii
was the overall director. After the film's release, it was promoted as a Sergio Leone film, much to the frustration of both men.
, is a very eclectic one and incorporates a large range of styles.
His whimsical main theme for the Nobody character presages many of his later non-Western scores. Morricone's adaptation of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries
, which he combines with the wailing voices from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
for the Wild Bunch's theme is particularly creative and typical of the movie's sense of humor. Morricone also adapted Paul Anka's song My Way
for Jack Beauregard's theme.
The inventiveness of the score, combined with Morricone's spoofs of his trademark style, has made this soundtrack among his most popular.
Traces of his music from "Once Upon a Time in the West
" can also be heard.
The main theme was later used for the 2004 BBC3 black comedy Nighty Night
.
The film was Fonda's final western, filmed in New Mexico
: Mogollon
, Acoma Pueblo
, Gallup
; Colorado
, Louisiana
: New Orleans and in Spain
. Hill has said it remains his favorite film among those in which he starred, largely because of Sergio Leone's involvement.
A loose sequel, titled A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe
(also called Nobody's the Greatest), was released in 1975.
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
. The film was directed by Tonino Valerii
Tonino Valerii
Tonino Valerii is an Italian film director, most known for his Spaghetti Westerns. Valerii started his film career as an assistant director on Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, before moving on to direct by himself...
and, in some scenes, by Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter most associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre.Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots...
. It was written by Leone, Fulvio Morsella and Ernesto Gastaldi
Ernesto Gastaldi
Ernesto Gastaldi is an Italian screen writer.Born in Graglia, province of Biella, he has written under the pseudonyms Julian Berry, Julyan Perry and Ernst Gasthaus....
. Leone was also the uncredited executive producer. The cast includes Terence Hill
Terence Hill
Terence Hill is an Italian actor. He is best known for starring in multiple action and western films together with his longtime filmpartner Bud Spencer.-Biography:...
, Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
, and Jean Martin
Jean Martin
Jean Martin was a French actor of stage and screen. Martin served in the French Resistance during World War II and later fought with the French paratroopers in Indochina. Theatrically, he is perhaps best-known for originating two roles in Samuel Beckett's most famous plays: Lucky in Waiting for...
.
Plot
Jack Beauregard (Henry FondaHenry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
) is a tired, aging legendary gunslinger who just wants to retire in peace in Europe to get away from young gunmen constantly trying to test themselves against the master. The film opens with three rascals ambushing Beauregard in a barbershop. After Beauregard has dispatched them, the barber's son asks his father if there is anyone in the world faster than Beauregard, to which the barber replies "Faster than him? Nobody!"
'Nobody' (Terence Hill
Terence Hill
Terence Hill is an Italian actor. He is best known for starring in multiple action and western films together with his longtime filmpartner Bud Spencer.-Biography:...
) idolizes Beauregard and wants to see him die in a blaze of glory going against the infamous Wild Bunch singlehanded. The Wild Bunch are a gang of bandits who launder their loot of stolen gold via a fake goldmine. The owner sends them after Beauregard because the latter's now-dead brother was in on the deal.
Nobody dogs Beauregard through the west, encountering many who wish him dead, and pesters him to let him stage his grand finale. Eventually, the grand shoot-out does take place by a railway line. Nobody arranges for Beauregard to shoot at the Wild Bunch's mirrored-concho-decorated saddles which, he's discovered, contain sticks of dynamite, thus letting a few good shots eliminate many of the men. To escape, the two board a train that Nobody has stolen.
Finally, Nobody fakes a very public showdown with Beauregard, "killing" him and allowing him to slip away quietly. A street sign, marking where the gunfight took place, says "Nobody Was Faster On The Draw". Beauregard boards a boat for Europe and a quiet retirement, while Nobody takes up his own life of adventure.
Cast
- Henry FondaHenry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
as Jack Beauregard - Terence HillTerence HillTerence Hill is an Italian actor. He is best known for starring in multiple action and western films together with his longtime filmpartner Bud Spencer.-Biography:...
as Nobody - Jean MartinJean MartinJean Martin was a French actor of stage and screen. Martin served in the French Resistance during World War II and later fought with the French paratroopers in Indochina. Theatrically, he is perhaps best-known for originating two roles in Samuel Beckett's most famous plays: Lucky in Waiting for...
as Sullivan - R.G. Armstrong as Honest John
- Karl Braun as Jim
- Geoffrey Lewis as Leader of the Wild Bunch
- Steve KanalySteve KanalySteven Francis "Steve" Kanaly is an American actor, best known for his role as Ray Krebbs, foreman of the Southfork Ranch, on the television soap opera Dallas from 1978 to 1989. He reprised the role for the final episode of the series in 1991, and again for the made-for-TV reunion movie Dallas:...
as False Barber - Leo GordonLeo GordonLeo Vincent Gordon was an American movie and television character actor as well as a screenplay writer and novelist. He specialized in playing brutish bad guys during more than forty years in film and television....
as Red - Neil Summers as Squirrel
- Antoine Saint-JohnAntoine Saint-JohnAntoine Saint-John is a French actor.Born in Avignon, France, he found work as a stage actor until the early '70s, when he began working on films. Most of his films are virtually unknown outside of Europe...
as Scape
Production
By the 1970s, the spaghetti Western had almost become a parody of itself. The serious westerns were primarily violent, low-budget films that were barely distributed outside of Italy. Meanwhile, slapstick parodies of the genre were becoming more popular. Sergio Leone and his team decided that if anyone was going to make the ultimate "joke" version of the genre, they should be the ones. Terence Hill was cast not only for box-office, but because he had in a short time become something of an icon of the genre. Hill had started the comedy spaghetti craze with the hugely successful movies They Call Me TrinityThey Call Me Trinity
They Call Me Trinity also known as My Name is Trinity, is a 1970 Italian spaghetti western film starring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer.-Plot summary:...
and its sequel Trinity Is Still My Name
Trinity Is Still My Name
Trinity Is Still My Name also known as All the Way Trinity is a 1971 Italian spaghetti western film directed by Enzo Barboni. It is a sequel to They Call Me Trinity, also starring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer.-Plot:...
. With the casting of the classic Westerner Henry Fonda, the contrast between the old and new (dying) West was clear.
Inside jokes in the film include invocations of director Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
: his name on a tombstone, the villains being known as "the Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch is a 1969 American Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah about an aging outlaw gang on the Texas-Mexico border, trying to exist in the changing "modern" world of 1913...
", and use of the duster
Duster (clothing)
A duster is a light, loose-fitting long coat.The original dusters were full-length, light-colored canvas or linen coats worn by horsemen to protect their clothing from trail dust. These dusters were typically slit up the back to hip level for ease of wear on horseback and were the recommended...
coats which (though Leone introduced them in Westerns) Peckinpah vigorously exposed on screen.
R.G. Armstrong (erroneously credited with middle initial "K"), Geoffrey Lewis, and Steve Kanaly
Steve Kanaly
Steven Francis "Steve" Kanaly is an American actor, best known for his role as Ray Krebbs, foreman of the Southfork Ranch, on the television soap opera Dallas from 1978 to 1989. He reprised the role for the final episode of the series in 1991, and again for the made-for-TV reunion movie Dallas:...
also appear in the film, which was shot in New Mexico, New Orleans, and Leone's favorite Spanish locales in Almeria
Almería
Almería is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.-Toponym:Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea"...
. This is the second time Fonda worked with Leone, the former being Fonda's first turn as a villain, in the classic Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West is a 1968 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone for Paramount Pictures. It stars Henry Fonda cast against type as the villain, Charles Bronson as his nemesis, Jason Robards as a bandit, and Claudia Cardinale as a newly widowed homesteader with a...
. Noted French actor Jean Martin
Jean Martin
Jean Martin was a French actor of stage and screen. Martin served in the French Resistance during World War II and later fought with the French paratroopers in Indochina. Theatrically, he is perhaps best-known for originating two roles in Samuel Beckett's most famous plays: Lucky in Waiting for...
plays the film's main antagonist.
Leone directed several scenes of the film, including the opening scene and the final showdown with the Wild Bunch, but Tonino Valerii
Tonino Valerii
Tonino Valerii is an Italian film director, most known for his Spaghetti Westerns. Valerii started his film career as an assistant director on Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, before moving on to direct by himself...
was the overall director. After the film's release, it was promoted as a Sergio Leone film, much to the frustration of both men.
Music
The musical score, by longtime Leone collaborator Ennio MorriconeEnnio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
, is a very eclectic one and incorporates a large range of styles.
His whimsical main theme for the Nobody character presages many of his later non-Western scores. Morricone's adaptation of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries
Ride of the Valkyries
The Ride of the Valkyries is the popular term for the beginning of Act III of Die Walküre, the second of the four operas by Richard Wagner that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen. The main theme of the Ride, the leitmotif labelled Walkürenritt, was first written down by the composer on 23 July 1851...
, which he combines with the wailing voices from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (soundtrack)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released in 1966 alongside the western film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, directed by Sergio Leone. The score is composed by frequent Leone collaborator Ennio Morricone, whose distinctive original compositions, containing...
for the Wild Bunch's theme is particularly creative and typical of the movie's sense of humor. Morricone also adapted Paul Anka's song My Way
My Way (song)
"My Way" is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibault. Anka's English lyrics are unrelated to the...
for Jack Beauregard's theme.
The inventiveness of the score, combined with Morricone's spoofs of his trademark style, has made this soundtrack among his most popular.
Traces of his music from "Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West is a 1968 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone for Paramount Pictures. It stars Henry Fonda cast against type as the villain, Charles Bronson as his nemesis, Jason Robards as a bandit, and Claudia Cardinale as a newly widowed homesteader with a...
" can also be heard.
The main theme was later used for the 2004 BBC3 black comedy Nighty Night
Nighty Night
Nighty Night is a British dark comedy sitcom written by and starring Julia Davis. It was first broadcast on 6 January 2004 on BBC Three before moving to BBC2....
.
Release and influence
It was released under various names in Italy, America, France, and West Germany. It has a runtime of 111 minutes for the TCM print, and 117 minutes outside of America.The film was Fonda's final western, filmed in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
: Mogollon
Mogollon, New Mexico
Mogollon, also called the Mogollon Historic District, is a former mining town located in the Mogollon Mountains in Catron County, New Mexico, in the United States. Located east of Glenwood and Alma, it was founded in the 1880s at the bottom of Silver Creek Canyon to support the gold and silver...
, Acoma Pueblo
Acoma Pueblo
Acoma Pueblo is a Native American pueblo approximately 60 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico in the United States. Three reservations make up Acoma Pueblo: Sky City , Acomita, and McCartys. The Acoma Pueblo tribe is a federally recognized tribal entity...
, Gallup
Gallup, New Mexico
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 20,209 people, 6,810 households, and 4,869 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,513.7 people per square mile...
; Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
: New Orleans and in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Hill has said it remains his favorite film among those in which he starred, largely because of Sergio Leone's involvement.
A loose sequel, titled A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe
A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe
A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe is a 1975 spaghetti western comedy film directed by Damiano Damiani and, in the opening scene, Sergio Leone. It is notable for being the last western that Leone worked on.-Plot:...
(also called Nobody's the Greatest), was released in 1975.