THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY: The Signature Spaghetti Western!

  My first introduction to a Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western was at a bar called Oliver’s on the campus of Carleton University.  Oliver’s used to show movies every day at 2PM.  That, and quarts of beer for $2.25 meant it was a busy place!  I had an hour to kill before an English lecture, so I met some friends there.  The Good, The Bad & The Ugly was that afternoon’s movie.  Needless to say, I missed the English lecture as well as the Journalism class that followed, and found myself doing bad Clint impersonations the rest of the year!  I couldn’t go into a video store without getting yet another Eastwood Western, either his vintage Spaghettis done with Sergio Leone, or the more modern ones filmed in the States.
  The Good, The Bad & The Ugly is the story of three men.  Blondie (Eastwood), is the Good.  Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef), is the Bad.  And Tuco (Eli Wallach), is the Ugly.  All three are looking for lost coins totaling $200,000, but Blondie is the only one who knows where it is, because he was the lucky one to hear Bill Carson’s dying words, which told him where to look. 
  The movie just oozes “cool”.  Long before The Fonz came along, there was Eastwood saving the day, the epitome of “cool”.  The music theme might sound a little corny today, but it’s perfect.  Incidentally, that little yell you hear from time to time is supposed to imitate a crying hyena.  Always wondered about that!  Another little known piece of trivia I loved from this movie:  When Eli Wallach arrived in Madrid to shoot, he found the hotels booked solid.  Eastwood invited him to stay at a friend’s place.  The only option was for Eastwood and Wallach to share the same bed.  Eli’s wife would always tell people that her husband was the only man ever to sleep with Clint Eastwood!!!
  Classic!

9.5 out of 10