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''My Name Is Nobody'' ( it, Il mio nome è Nessuno) is a 1973 Italian/French/German
international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companies ...
comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...
starring
Terence Hill Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with longtim ...
and
Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and rai ...
. The film was directed by
Tonino Valerii Tonino Valerii (20 May 1934 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian film director, most known for his Spaghetti Westerns. Tonino (Antonio) Valerii started his film career as an assistant director on Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'', before mo ...
and based on an idea by
Sergio Leone Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...
. The film follows the story of Nobody (
Terence Hill Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with longtim ...
) who attempts to get his idol Jack Beauregard (
Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and rai ...
) to take on the
Wild Bunch The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang, or the Oklahombres, were a gang of American outlaws based in the Indian Territory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were active in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Terr ...
gang of outlaws.


Plot

Jack Beauregard is an aging
gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...
who wants to retire peacefully to Europe. After watching him quickly shoot three gunmen who attempted to ambush him in a barbershop, 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!" Beauregard pauses to watch a down-and-out catching fish before continuing to an old goldmine. He finds his friend Red dying after an attack by a gang. Beauregard asks Red about the whereabouts of "Nevada" but Red only manages to disclose Nevada's village before dying. At a horse relay station, the down-and-out is asked by three men to deliver a basket to Beauregard inside where he talks to Beauregard, revealing his detailed knowledge of Beauregard's feats. He throws the basket outside where the bomb that was hidden inside explodes. The bum introduces himself as "Nobody". He idolizes Beauregard and wants him to end his career in style by taking on all 150 of the
Wild Bunch The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang, or the Oklahombres, were a gang of American outlaws based in the Indian Territory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were active in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Terr ...
single-handed. The bandits are using a worthless goldmine to launder their stolen gold. Sullivan, the mine owner fronting for them, believes Beauregard is trying to kill him, so he tries to kill him first. Arriving at Nevada's village, Beauregard finds Nobody already there who reveals that the Nevada Kid, Beauregard's brother, is dead. Nobody again unsuccessfully tries to get Beauregard to take on the Wild Bunch. Arriving in a town, Sullivan hires Nobody to kill Beauregard, but Nobody instead helps Beauregard to take out Sullivan's men. The Wild Bunch ride into town to collect sticks of dynamite, stashing them in their saddlebags. Later, an old man tells Beauregard that he was bought out of a worthless gold mine by his partners Nevada and Red, only to have the mine produce much gold afterwards. Beauregard hurries off to the mine and catches Sullivan loading sacks of gold powder. Sullivan offers Beauregard Nevada's share, but Beauregard tells him he could not care less about his brother, and just takes two sacks, as well as $500 to pay for his passage to Europe. He then leaves to catch a train to New Orleans. Nobody steals a train that is being loaded at a station with bars of gold, guarded by soldiers. Beauregard is waiting down the line when the Wild Bunch charge towards him across a featureless plain. Nobody arrives with the train, but refuses to rescue Beauregard until he "makes his name in the history books". Remembering the mirrored conchas on the gang’s dynamite-filled saddlebags, Beauregard shoots them and takes out most of the gang until Nobody lets him board the train. In New Orleans, Beauregard and Nobody duel in the street, with a photographer and many spectators on hand. Nobody is faster, and Beauregard falls to the ground, apparently dead. The remaining members of the Wild Bunch see it and switch their search to the anonymous Nobody. Later, Nobody walks by the ship that was to take Beauregard to Europe where Beauregard is revealed to be in his cabin aboard, writing Nobody an affectionate farewell.


Cast


Production

Shooting for ''My Name Is Nobody'' started on April 30, 1973. It was one of the few films related to
Sergio Leone Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...
where 80% of the outdoor scenes were actually shot in the United States. The film was shot in nine weeks. Filming took place at
Acoma Pueblo Acoma Pueblo (, kjq, Áakʼu) is a Native American pueblo approximately west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. Four communities make up the village of Acoma Pueblo: Sky City (Old Acoma), Acomita, Anzac, and McCartys. These com ...
, the ghost town of Cabezon, the former mining town of Mogollon, the mission of San Esteban Del Rey in
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
and in the gypsum dunes at White Sands. Leone predominantly stayed at home for the shoot and went to join the crew for five days in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
. Leone replaced director
Tonino Valerii Tonino Valerii (20 May 1934 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian film director, most known for his Spaghetti Westerns. Tonino (Antonio) Valerii started his film career as an assistant director on Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'', before mo ...
, who was suffering from an ear infection, for one day on the set. Tensions rose on set between cinematographer
Armando Nannuzzi Armando Nannuzzi (21 September 1925 – 14 May 2001) was an Italian cinematographer and camera operator active from the 1940s until the 1990s. His career spanned six decades and over 100 films. Biography Nannuzzi briefly worked in the United S ...
and Valerii. Fonda was being told how to pick up money off the ground and was told two different ways to pick up between Valerii and Nannuzzi. Their relationship became more intense, with Nannuzzi eventually leaving the film.


Directorial credit dispute

When the film began shooting in Spain in
Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...
and
Guadix Guadix (; Local pronunciation: aˈðih is a city and municipality in southern Spain, in the province of Granada. The city lies at an altitude of 913 metres, on the centre of the Hoya of Guadix, a high plain at the northern foothills of the Sierr ...
, Valerii had a new cinematographer
Giuseppe Ruzzolini Giuseppe Ruzzolini (21 May 1930 - 16 April 2007) was an Italian cinematographer. Career Ruzzolini is known for lensing such films as Stephen King's '' Firestarter'', '' Oedipus Rex'', Sergio Leone's '' Duck, You Sucker!'', and '' My Name is ...
and Sergio Salvati. Salvati worked as a cameraman uncredited for the sequences of the duel among mirrors and Nobody's meeting with Sullivan in the gambling room. A new problem arose on set when costumes for Henry Fonda vanished, leading to production stopping for nine days. This led to paying a high penalty to keep Fonda for a few days or postpone shooting until he was free again. Leone proposed to Valerii that they either cut 30 or 40 pages from the script or create a second unit to finish the film. Leone offered to take the second unit shots, which Valerii accepted. Claudio Mancini warned Valerii, stating that Leone would take credit for the film when they go back to Rome if he let him shoot anything. Valerii took over scenes involving Henry Fonda and the action sequences in the desert, while Leone directed the saloon scene with Terence Hill showing his gunslinger skills and parts of the sequences in the village festival, and the public urinal scene which was not in the original script. Assumptions range over how much Leone contributed to the film. Christopher Frayling wrote: "the most likely scenario is that Leone helped out on a duel, then took over second-unit work on 'the battle', and then directed the opening scenes and the carnival section of the film."
John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal ...
, who has claimed to be an extra in the film, said: "We shot for a couple of weeks, among hundreds of extras on horseback, attacking and firing wildly. Fonda and Hill kept us all at bay. ..Leone directed that battle on horseback." Neil Summers who played Squirrel stated that Leone "directed most of the scenes I was in ..
eone Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television s ...
worked slowly and was constantly trying new angles with his camera and new innovative shots with his actors." Valerii himself stated that "scenes filmed by Leone are: Terence Hill getting drunk in the saloon (but not the close-ups of that shattering glasses, I shot those myself; and also the footage of the betting, with Piero Lulli taking the money, is mine); the part of the sequence at the fair which starts from the moment where Nobody steals the apple from the boy, to the episode of the pies thrown at the negroes' faces; the digression in the public urinal, ..and several close-ups of Nobody who, while Beauregard fights the Wild Bunch, takes note of the body count as if they were points at a game, another addition on the part of Leone, who thought it was a funny idea." Screenwriter
Ernesto Gastaldi Ernesto Gastaldi (born 10 September 1934) is an Italian screenwriter. Film historian and critic Tim Lucas described Gastaldi as the first Italian screenwriter to specialize in horror and thriller films. Gastaldi worked within several popular ge ...
confirmed Valerii's comments stating that "Tonino shot the whole film, absolutely ON HIS OWN" and that Leone "organized a second unit crew and shot a couple of sequences, which in my opinion are the weakest in the film: the urinal, stretched in an abnormal way, and the glass contest in the saloon. Nothing else."
Sergio Donati Sergio Donati (born 13 April 1933) is an Italian screenwriter. He has written for more than 70 films since 1952. He was born in Rome, Italy. He started as a writer and had some of his books optioned for film. He is well known for his collaborati ...
expanded on this, stating that some photographers were sent over by the press office, and asked Leone, who was on set for a single day, to sit behind camera in a director's pose with Valerii's permission. Donati stated that "inevitably, from that moment on, everyone, in and outside the movie business started saying "Yeah, actually the real director of the film was Leone, who saved it from the disaster of an incapable director". Leone's own discussion following the film's release often contradicted itself.


Release

Prior to its release in Italy, ''My Name Is Nobody'' was released in West Germany and France on December 13 and 14 respectively. Italian audiences got to see it starting 21 December 1973, where it was distributed by
Titanus Titanus is an Italian film production company, founded in 1904 by Gustavo Lombardo (1885–1951). The company's headquarters are located at 28 Via Sommacampagna, Rome and its studios on the Via Tiburtina, 13 km from the centre of Rome. Lom ...
. The film grossed over 3.6 billion lire and was the third highest-grossing film in Italy of the year, behind
Salvatore Samperi Salvatore Samperi (26 July 1944 – 4 March 2009) was an Italian film director. His 1973 film ''Malicious (1973 film), Malicious'' was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival and his 1979 film ''Ernesto (film), Ernesto' ...
's '' Malicious'' (5.5 billion lire) and
Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an ol ...
's '' Sessomatto''. In the United States, it was cut to 111 minutes and "nearly flopped" according to Italian film historian Roberto Curti. In 2015, a
novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
of the film by Michael R. Hudson was published in the United States by Raven Head Press as part of a series of adaptations of several of Gastaldi's scripts, including ''
The Horrible Dr. Hichcock ''The Horrible Dr. Hichcock'' (Italian title: ''L'Orribile Segreto del Dr. Hichcock'', literally ''The Horrible Secret of Dr. Hichcock'') is a 1962 Italian horror film, directed by Riccardo Freda and written by Ernesto Gastaldi. The film stars B ...
'' and ''
The Case of the Bloody Iris ''The Case of the Bloody Iris'' (Italian: ''Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer?'', lit. "Why those strange drops of blood on Jennifer's body?", originally released in the UK as ''Erotic Blue'') is a 1972 Italian giallo film ...
''.


Reviews

Contemporary reviews are positive.
Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' considered the film "very entertaining" and it "is the kind of Western that only an immensely appreciative and witty Italian film maker could make."


References


Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:My Name Is Nobody 1973 films 1970s buddy comedy films 1970s Western (genre) comedy films English-language French films English-language Italian films Films directed by Tonino Valerii Films set in 1899 Films scored by Ennio Morricone French Western (genre) comedy films 1970s Italian-language films Italian buddy comedy films Italian parody films Spaghetti Western films Films shot in Almería Films with screenplays by Ernesto Gastaldi 1973 comedy films 1970s Italian films 1970s French films