My Cultural Diet

Although Clint Eastwood is officially the star of Sergio Leone’s “Dollars” trilogy, Lee Van Cleef steals the show here, his erudite and strategizing Colonel Mortimer a nice foil to Eastwood’s rougher Manco. (A bit of movie trivia: Prior to this film, Van Cleef’s career had stalled due to his alcoholism, and he thought Leone had hired him for just a few scenes. He was shocked to learn he was actually a co-star, and the film led to a career resurgence.) This time around, The Man with No Name is on the trail of his biggest bounty yet, the infamous bank robber El Indio, who plans to hit the bank at El Paso. He crosses paths with Mortimer, and the two bounty hunters agree to join forces — but can they trust each other? And can they outsmart the ruthless Indio, who has his own machinations? Although For a Few Dollars More has everything you’d expect from Leone (e.g., a blasted desert setting, Ennio Morricone’s haunting score, amoral characters and antiheroes), it tends to drown in its own excesses, and I think A Fistful of Dollars is the better film.

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