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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Italian: Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, lit. "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian Western directed by Sergio Leone. The film stars Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach as the titular "good, bad, and ugly", respectively.
Set in 1862 New Mexico, the film follows three outlaws on the trail of a buried hoard of Confederate gold. The gunslingers must variously compete and cooperate with each other in order to survive their journey amidst the ongoing American Civil War.
All the guns in this film were supplied by Aldo Uberti Inc. of Italy.
The following weapons were used in the film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly:
WARNING! THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Handguns
Allen & Thurber Pepperbox
After Tuco horribly throws all the guns off the table, an Allen & Thurber Pepperbox with a ring trigger becomes visible.
Bodeo M1889
Tuco picks up an Bodeo M1889 revolver before discarding it. A major anachronism as the film takes place over twenty years before the revolver was introduced.
Blondie (Clint Eastwood) carries a metallic cartridge converted Colt 1851 Navy which is actually non-historical as it is not actually a "conversion" of a cap and ball revolver but more in the way of a factory cartridge revolver--a conversion revolver has a "filler ring" which mounts the loading gate and a turned-off cylinder. However, these guns have full length cylinders and loading gates which are factory engineered into the frames. In fact, these revolvers are essentially Model 1872 factory cartridge revolvers except for the fact that a Model 1872 would not be able to mount the Model 1851 barrel. Uberti, then, has created the world's first Model 1851 factory cartridge revolvers by specially machining some raw forgings to become .38 centerfires.
Tuco (Eli Wallach) also carries a cartridge-converted Navy, his being fitted with a lanyard loop, which instead of a holster, is stuck in his pocket (because Eli Wallach had trouble holstering a revolver without looking at the holster.) Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef) also uses a cartridge-converted Navy to murder a sickly old man toward the beginning of the film, firing it through his pillow. He keeps this Navy when serving in the Union, but carries a Remington 1858 for his own use. Throughout the film, it becomes obvious that if they have a cartridge revolver, they are going to fire it in the scene. In any other scene, the revolvers change to unloaded percussion models (with the exception of Blondie's). Cartridge revolvers were being manufactured even this early in the American Civil War (see 1861 Prescott Revolver, .38 Rimfire). A rimfire revolver would not actually be an anachronism, however, Colt never chose to violate the patent while many others did.
This side-by-side shows how Tuco's revolver switches from a cartridge revolver to a percussion revolver in the scene. A goof also worth noting is how his revolver is capable of firing under water, while he is in the bathtub. Well, it wasn't in the water per-se, just under the bubbles.
A percussion Colt 1851 Navy is used by Tuco (Eli Wallach) when firing the gun is not required or he must point the gun at a fellow actor. There is also a "stunt" version of Blondie's "conversion" revolver, a standard cap and ball, carried by Tuco when he stops the horses in the desert. Still photos show the stunt revolver in Eastwood's holster during the deleted scene with a prostitute (Silvana Bacci) and it is the revolver taken from him at the Shorty Larson hanging.
Colt 1860 Army (Colt 1851 Mock-Up)
One of the bounty hunters was originally thought to be trying to capture Tuco while armed with a Colt 1860 Army revolver; closer inspection reveals it is actually a mocked-up Colt 1851. This is an easy mistake to make given that the 1860 is simply an adaption of the 1851 frame; the definitive proof is seen when the bounty hunter stands up to walk and it is apparent that the gun has a standard Model 1851 rammer and not the streamlined "Root Rachet" of an 1860. In terms of this film, it is noteworthy that about 60 specimens of 1860s exist which are unusual "long cylinder" conversions without loading gates. These are not factory conversions and may be the work of the incredibly talented gunsmiths that were over the border in Mexico.
Galand Revolver
Tuco (Eli Wallach) inspects a Galand Revolver in the gun store. It is an anachronism for this gun to be in Tuco's hands as the gun was invented in 1868, this film takes place in 1862.
Remington 1858 New Army
Angel Eyes/Sentenza (Lee Van Cleef) carries a Remington 1858 New Army as his personal sidearm. It appears to be two-toned, with a blued or black cylinder and barrel, and a grey cylinder housing. When not carrying his 1858, he carries his Union-issued Colt Navy. He uses it to kill Stevens, on behalf of Baker, and moments later, Stevens' oldest son. After that, he's not seen firing it again, instead using his Colt Navy. It is a somewhat notable goof that he keeps a cartridge belt despite using a percussion revolver. Also, a common continuity error is the that the gun is loaded or unloaded with percussion caps between scenes. Blondie (Clint Eastwood) is seen carrying a Remington Model 1858 when he first turns Tuco over to the law. You may see it when he dismounts his horse; as the revolver is totally unembellished, it is likely a temporary prop, utilized until the cartridge revolvers were available (this is reportedly the first scene filmed).
Remington Rolling Block Cavalry
A pistol version of the Remington Rolling Block, known as the Cavalry model is seen on the table in the gun shop.
Howdah Pistol
Some type of sawed-off double-barreled gun is seen on the table in the gun shop, perhaps a sawed-off shotgun or more likely a Howdah Pistol.
Victor Collete Pepperbox
Tuco (Eli Wallach) inspects a Victor Collete Pepperbox revolver in the gun shop, apparently disliking it for its smell. This is a pun on the term "pepperbox".
Unknown Revolvers
On the table in the gun shop, a few unidentified revolvers are seen.
Rifles
Remington 1858 "Cattleman's Carbine"
One of Angel Eye's (Lee Van Cleef) thugs tries to shoot Tuco (Eli Wallach) with a Remington 1858 "Cattleman's Carbine", a rifle version of the Remington 1858 revolver, before being shot by Blondie. This gun actually appears to be one of the few percussion guns actually fired in the film as opposed to cartridge guns.
Spencer Model 1860
As Tuco (Eli Wallach) hangs from a rope in the graveyard, Blondie (Clint Eastwood) fires a rare Civilian Model 1860 Spencer Rifle with an octagon barrel, easily mistaken for the 1874 Sharps because Eastwood keeps his hand over the breechblock pivot area. The actual rifle is featured in the making-of book Behind the Scenes of Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Peter J. Hanley, 2016, il buono pub.). It may also be seen momentarily the very early "muddy street" scene filmed outside of Rome- look at the exact moment Blondie dismounts his horse. This is the first scene Wallach filmed and we can see that the scope is mounted on the Spencer, indicating that this was to be the rifle that Blondie would use during the later hanging scenes filmed in Spain. Some technical difficulty must have caused the crew to abandon this rifle, substituting the bounty hunter's Model 1866 which later received the scope at the time of the second hanging. Certainly, the Spencer could never have fired with the rapid cadence of the Model 1866 (the book has a still photo of Eastwood struggling to operate the rifle at the cemetery). Any sporting model of Spencer would be anachronistic to the 1862 timeframe as very few (less than 100) were manufactured just prior to war's end; this particular rifle is serial number 1448.
Springfield Model 1863
The Union and Confederate soldiers are seen mainly armed with Springfield Model 1863 rifles throughout the film.
Winchester 1866 "Yellow Boy" (Mocked-Up as a Henry 1860)
Blondie (Clint Eastwood) uses a Winchester 1866 "Yellow Boy" with a side folding scope. He is prominently seen using it as a means to con law officials by giving up Tuco (Eli Wallach), a wanted criminal, for a bounty. He then uses the rifle to shoot the rope before Tuco is hanged, and they split the reward. He also is seen with it when a man named "Shorty" (José Terrón) is to be hung, but Tuco doesn't allow him to shoot the rope, and poor Shorty hangs. A bounty hunter is also seen using this rifle to shoot out Tuco's horse towards the beginning of the film. It should be noted that while the gun is anachronistic to the time, it is made to look like a period-appropriate Henry 1860 by removing the wooden forend. The dead giveaways are the loading gate on the right side, the lack of a magazine tube loading break switch, and the lack of slits in the mag tube which allows the user to see bullets left in the gun. Note that muzzle reports for this gun are a second unit insert utilizing a modern Winchester Model 1894 with a sweated-on ramp front sight, pointing to some difficulties in locating or possibly cobbling together blank .44 Rimfire ammo; blank ammo in .44 RF would have been ancient and uncommon in 1966, not loaded for studio use but for acclimating cavalry horses to the sound of gunfire!
Remington 1863 Zouave
The Union soldier is seen with a short Remington 1863 Zouave. This is historically inaccurate: though around 12,500 Remington 1863 Zouaves were produced, none were ever issued. However, large amounts of them were sold for cheap to the burgeoning Civil War reenactment community in the later half of the 19th century and still show up in present day reenactments.
Machine Guns
Colt Gatling Gun
Union soldiers utilize Colt M1865 and M1874 Gatling Guns during the battle scene, some fitted with 20-round vertical magazines, some fitted with 100-round drum magazines. This is an anachronism because the film is actually set in 1862 and Gatling Guns were developed in 1861 and patented on November 4, 1862 while the later M1865 and M1874 didn't exist at that time. The first combat usage of the early M1862 Type II Gatling Guns was at the Siege of Petersburg in 1864.
Artillery
Dahlgren Cannon
What appears to be a Dalhgren Cannon is used by the Union during the battle scene.
Howitzer
Howitzers are seen several times during the battle scene and Blondie (Clint Eastwood) uses one to fire on Tuco (Eli Wallach) as he attempts to run away on his horse.
Krupp Field Gun
The Union troops use a Krupp field gun of unknown model.
Spanish 10-inch Siege Mortar
Union troops use an archaic (from late 18th century) Spanish 10-inch siege mortar throughout the film, most prominently seen used during the battle scene, and one manages to prevent Tuco (Eli Wallach) from hanging Blondie (Clint Eastwood) when a mortar ball destroys the floor, allowing Blondie to escape. The movie was filmed mostly in Spain, making this vintage piece likely a local acquisition.
