“For a Few Dollars
More,” released in 1967, like every single huge and corny Westerns Hollywood
used to make, is filled with problems and not story. Roger Ebert noted in his
review, “Plots were dangerous because if a kid went out to get some popcorn he
might miss something.”
Westerns had problems,
instantly noticeable. Ebert put it, “The man in the black hat strikes a match
on the suspenders of a tough guy at the bar. Two gunmen face each other at each
end of a long alley.”
“For a Few Dollars More”
has so much of that, but it’s on a larger, more exaggerated way, it that’s
possible. Ebert said, “Shoot-outs aren't over in a few minutes like they were
in "High Noon."” They are always remembered.
Ebert admitted, “This
is a sequel to "A Fistful of Dollars," which I didn't see but wish I
had.” Both films were shot in Italy, with English-speaking actors as the stars
and Italians in small parts with dubbed dialog.
Clint Eastwood, as The
Man With No Name, is fearsome: He chews and spits out a handful of cigars.
The great Lee Van
Cleef, as Colonel Mortimer, looks like a noticeably tired Clarke Gable. He
carries an arsenal with him. After a famous fight where they shoot each other’s
hats to shreds, Eastwood and Van Cleef team up to collect the reward for the
desperado Indio, played by Gian Maria Volonte.
The rest of the film is
one giant old Western cliché after another. They aren’t done well, but they’re
over-done well, and every problem is stretched out to that you can enjoy it.
As a sequel, this one
might be better. I really like this one a lot because of how the Western genre
is played out in this one, and Clint Eastwood as The Man With No Name is just
as dreadful as ever. See this one because this is one that you shouldn’t skip.
I would also like to
apologize for posting this late, as I worked really late tonight. Look out next
week when I look at the last and absolute best of “Leone’s Dollars Trilogy” in “Clint
Eastwood Western Month.”
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