A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

Elevator Pitch: A an unnamed man rides into the town of San Miguel and when challenged by a number of gunmen, shoots them down. He finds that the town is divided between two groups of gangsters and determines the use his skill to make money from both.  He is helped by the owner of a run down saloon, and attracted to the wife of a local who is used as a pawn by the gangs. His involvement with both eventually result in his need to confront the leaders of the gangs head on.

Content: Even the IMDb Content Advisory could find nothing sexual in this outing. There are a number of gunfights during which the man with no name shoots a lot of people. The two families have a number of shootouts as well one family finally besting the other by setting fire to their house. At one point our heroes observe an ambush where one of the gangs shoot down a bunch of Mexican soldiers with a machine gun.

A View: This film is so famous that it would seem lacking in respect even to have a view, but I do. I have seen it a number of times, the last in Spanish or Italian, not that it mattered. If anything it is a bit over simplified, and it took another couple of films before Clint Eastwood had really got to grips with the character, so this movie is almost a rehearsal for what was to follow over the next couple of decades, in my view concluding with “Pale Rider” in 1985. So there it is, made for $200,000, earning many millions, and essential viewing for everyone interested in movie history.

Additional Info: This was the first of the “Spaghetti Westerns” made in Spain rather than in California. Hoyo de Manzanares, which stood in for the main street of San Miguel is just down the road from where I live now.