12 Intriguing Details About Sergio Leone's Masterpiece 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'

While it often draws comparisons to classics like The Searchers and High Noon, few Westerns have left as indelible a mark as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. As the closing installment of Sergio Leone’s “Dollars Trilogy,” this film reigns as the most celebrated Spaghetti Western ever made. It propelled Clint Eastwood to global fame, revolutionized the genre for countless filmmakers, and remains a cornerstone of cinematic influence. Discover a dozen fascinating tidbits about this legendary tale of treasure-seeking outlaws.

1. THE PLOT WAS SPONTANEOUSLY CRAFTED DURING A MEETING.

By late 1965, A Fistful of Dollars and its follow-up, For a Few Dollars More, had yet to debut in the U.S., but their European success caught the attention of American studios. Eager to leverage the hype and secure a profitable distribution deal, director Sergio Leone and screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni invited United Artists executives Arthur Krim and Arnold Picker to Rome. There, they were treated to a packed screening of For a Few Dollars More, where the film was met with roaring applause.

The American executives were intrigued and agreed to purchase the U.S. rights for $900,000—a staggering sum at the time, especially since Clint Eastwood had not yet reached his future superstar status. As the parties prepared to finalize the deal, Picker inquired whether Leone, Vincenzoni, and producer Alberto Grimaldi had considered their next project, expressing interest in another Western to bundle with the first two films. Though the trio hadn’t previously discussed it, Vincenzoni swiftly improvised an idea on the spot.

“For some reason, the poster for Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo—The Good, The Bad and the Ugly—popped into my head,” Vincenzoni recalled. “It’s a tale of three drifters navigating the Civil War in search of fortune.”

Picker greenlit the film based on that brief pitch, setting the project in motion. Ultimately, all three movies were released in the U.S. within a single year.

2. CLINT EASTWOOD’S SALARY NEGOTIATIONS CAUSED FILMING DELAYS.

Eastwood initially signed on for the third installment but was dissatisfied upon reading the script. He realized he would be sharing significant screen time with two other prominent actors: Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef (who had previously starred alongside him in For a Few Dollars More). Eastwood felt the growing focus on an ensemble cast was diminishing his role in the film.

“If this continues, I’ll end up sharing the screen with the entire American cavalry in the next one,” Eastwood allegedly remarked in reaction to the script.

Talks for the third film initially collapsed, and Eastwood’s agents and publicist worked tirelessly to secure his return. What makes this particularly fascinating is that, since the films hadn’t yet debuted in America, Eastwood wasn’t the global icon we recognize today, giving him less leverage in negotiations than one might assume. Despite this, his team managed to secure him a $250,000 fee for the film (exceeding the entire budget of A Fistful of Dollars), along with 10 percent of the profits from its U.S. release. As an added incentive, he was promised a brand-new Ferrari. Ultimately, he agreed to take on the role.

3. ELI WALLACH AGREED TO JOIN AFTER WATCHING JUST A FEW MINUTES OF THE EARLIER FILMS.

For the character of Tuco, also known as “The Bad,” Leone initially considered Italian actor Gian Maria Volontè, who had portrayed antagonists in the first two films. When Volontè declined, Leone approached American actor Eli Wallach, then famous for his role in The Magnificent Seven. Wallach was hesitant about working with an Italian director on a Western, but a screening was organized to persuade him. After viewing only a few minutes of one of the earlier “Dollars” films, Wallach instructed the projectionist to stop the film and agreed to take the part.

4. SERGIO LEONE COULD NOT SPEAK ENGLISH AND RELIED ON AN INTERPRETER TO COMMUNICATE WITH EASTWOOD.

By spring 1966, Sergio Leone had directed Eastwood in two films, collaborated with Van Cleef in one, and was preparing to work with another American actor, Eli Wallach. Despite this, Leone did not speak English and depended on an interpreter. Wallach, however, could converse with Leone in French, a language the director spoke fluently.

5. LEONE CONDUCTED EXTENSIVE RESEARCH FOR THE FILM.

Given the film’s Civil War setting, Leone aimed to maintain a degree of historical authenticity and traveled to America to gather material. He drew inspiration from Library of Congress archives and the works of renowned photographer Mathew Brady. However, the film isn’t entirely accurate historically, as it depicts the use of dynamite before the explosive was actually invented.

6. THE ICONIC BRIDGE EXPLOSION SCENE REQUIRED TWO ATTEMPTS TO FILM.

For the sequence where Blondie (Eastwood) and Tuco (Wallach) decide to destroy the bridge leading to the cemetery where they suspect the gold is hidden, the production enlisted hundreds of Spanish soldiers to portray Civil War combatants. The shoot was intricate, requiring the soldiers to be positioned safely while Leone arranged multiple cameras to capture the moment under perfect lighting conditions.

As Eastwood and Wallach observed from a nearby hill (where Eastwood reportedly practiced his golf swing), Leone monitored the sky for the ideal lighting. The cue to detonate the bridge was the word “Vaya,” and a Spanish officer was given the honor of triggering the explosion. However, a crew member, attempting to hurry a cameraman, prematurely said “Vaya,” prompting the officer to blow up the bridge too soon.

The special effects technician responsible for the accidental detonation fled the set, while Leone calmly suggested, “Let’s go eat.” The bridge was reconstructed, and the scene was reshot, significantly increasing the film’s budget.

7. EASTWOOD DISLIKED THE CIGARS HE SMOKED IN THE FILM.

Eastwood’s iconic “Man With No Name” character is often recognized by the small cigarillos he constantly smokes. However, Eastwood didn’t enjoy smoking them, and Leone’s preference for multiple takes meant he had to endure smoking extensively. At times, it became so unbearable that Eastwood had to issue a stern warning.

Wallach recounted that Eastwood would occasionally tell Leone, “You’d better get it right this time, or I’ll be sick.”

8. WALLACH NEARLY SUFFERED SERIOUS INJURIES ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS.

Among the film’s cast, Wallach faced the most challenges during filming. In one scene, where he was set to be hanged while seated on a horse (the plan was for the horse to be led away, leaving him to hang), Eastwood was supposed to shoot the rope with a rifle. A small explosive in the rope would then release Wallach. However, Leone didn’t anticipate the horse being startled by the gunshot, causing it to bolt at full speed with Wallach still tied on its back.

“It took a mile before that horse finally stopped,” Wallach later recalled.

For the sequence where Tuco escapes Union captivity by cutting his handcuffs beneath a moving train, Leone insisted on showing Wallach himself, not a stunt double, lying perilously close to the speeding train. Wallach agreed but discovered after the first take that a metal step on one of the train cars had nearly struck his head, missing it by mere inches.

“I realized that if I had lifted my head just a few inches higher, I would have been decapitated,” Wallach remarked.

His challenges didn’t end there. During the climactic scene where Tuco uncovers the gold buried in the cemetery, the crew treated one of the gold bags with acid to ensure it would split open when Wallach struck it with a shovel. Unbeknownst to Wallach, the acid was stored in a bottle that once held his favorite lemon soda. Mistaking it for the drink, he took a sip but fortunately realized the error before any harm was done.

9. THE FILM IS TECHNICALLY A PREQUEL.

Observant fans of the “Dollars Trilogy” will notice that, despite being the last film released, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is set before the events of the first two movies. One key hint is Eastwood obtaining his signature poncho, which he wears in both A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, in the film’s final moments.

10. THE ROLES OF “THE UGLY” AND “THE BAD” WERE SWITCHED IN THE INITIAL TRAILER.

In the final version of the film, Tuco is labeled as “The Ugly,” and Lee Van Cleef’s character, Angel Eyes, is “The Bad.” However, in the original American trailer, Angel Eyes is referred to as “The Ugly,” and Tuco is called “The Bad.”

11. EASTWOOD DECLINED TO PARTICIPATE IN A FOURTH FILM.

By the conclusion of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Eastwood had decided to part ways with Leone, known for his perfectionism, and instead focus on forming his own production company to create his own films. Leone, however, wasn’t ready to let go of Eastwood and even traveled to Los Angeles to offer him the role of “Harmonica” (later played by Charles Bronson) in Once Upon a Time in the West. Eastwood, however, declined the offer.

12. JOHN WAYNE DID NOT APPROVE OF EASTWOOD’S WORK.

Before Leone’s Westerns gained popularity in America, heroic gunfighters were typically depicted as honorable men who waited for the antagonist to draw first, emphasizing their reluctance to kill unless absolutely necessary. John Wayne, whose career was declining as Eastwood’s was rising, epitomized this archetype. Eastwood recounted that director Don Siegel, who collaborated with him on several films, including , once encouraged Wayne to adopt a style similar to Eastwood’s during the filming of Wayne’s final movie, The Shootist. However, Wayne disapproved of Eastwood’s more merciless approach to Westerns.

In a scene from The Shootist, Wayne was initially supposed to ambush a man and shoot him in the back. Wayne refused, stating, “I don’t shoot anyone in the back.”

Siegel, as Eastwood recalled, responded, “Clint Eastwood would’ve shot him in the back.”

Wayne shot back, “I don’t care what that kid would’ve done.”

Additional Sources: (2004) by Patrick McGilligan (1999) by Marc Eliot (2009)Inside The Actors Studio: “Clint Eastwood” (2003)