where was the money? (and a few thoughts)

[Lac qui Parle]

Now don't get upset over my personal SL ranking: 5/6. I am well aware of the fact that everyone loves FAFDM. I have always preferred FOD more. (Plus -- I can't make everything a #1, that wouldn't make any sense.)

So I'm going to spend the next paragraph defending my low ranking.

Out of Blondie, Joe and Manco, Manco is the least interesting MWNN to me. Sure he fires off a couple cool shots now and then ... but he's so much more of an enigma in FOD. He's definitely got better one liners. And where Tuco makes Blondie shine, Mortimer puts Manco in a shadow. Joe is motivated by a noble cause, Manco is in it completely for the money. (Dave Jenkins recently said that "women like characters more than plots." So there you go.  )

1. There is some fancy shooting in this film. There is nothing these guys can't hit: cigars, spurs, apples, hats, telegraph wires. Even the lowliest yeomen is a freakin' sharp-shooting master. Dang!

2. I love the testosterone-induced hat dual and the comic relief of the "prophet" -- but other than that, the middle slacks a little. I personally think the whole bit leading up to the El Paso robbery is clunky. (There is a thread previous to this one about the re-shoot of the campout/water scene, and I think that explains why something just isn't working there.  So I'm going to go easy on it.)

3. Major kudos for having the single greatest back story in cinema history. Whether or not the girl intended to kill herself, to think that someone chose suicide over killing you (when they had the chance) would be emotional torture. And just when you think it can't get any better, Mortimer's revelation! It's like getting two birds with one shot. Hands down, the last 20 minutes make the film.

4. If anyone wants to help me out with a plot question, they are welcome. What exactly happens with the stolen money? Mortimer put the money in a sack and hands it to Manco. They are captured by Indio's men --- so you know they were frisked. Later, the trunk has a Wanted poster in it, and Groggy (?) tears apart the storage shed. So where is the money during all of this??



Best scene: hat shooting dual
Worst scene: where Indio has Manco and those 3 other guys go rob some other bank. I don't even know what bank it is. I usually use this scene to go get a beer.
IMDb ranking: 8
SL ranking: 5/6

[Groggy]

The sack of money fell in a tree during Manco's aborted escape attempt. It was still there at the end, that's where Manco found it.

[Lac qui Parle]

The sack of money fell in a tree during Manco's aborted escape attempt. It was still there at the end, that's where Manco found it.

A tree on which side of the wall? The escape attempt, when? I feel like there's only a few moments between the hand off and their capture. I may need to see it again... 

[Groggy]

When Manco and Mortimer are trying to sneak away with the money... Clint drops the money into a tree as he's being captured. And there's a shot of it. At the end of the movie, he rides his wagon past the three and takes the money out.

[cigar joe]

Its actually in a saddle bag they take the money out of the chest and put it in a saddle bag and as Manco is slipping off the roof and feels his ankle grabbed he slips it over a tree branch, but Lac, Lac, Lac, you haven't played close enough attention to this film you are missing some of these plot points. 

Anyway its actually imo more Lee Van Cleef's film than Eastwoods which kind of explains why you may find Manco a bit less interesting.

[Lac qui Parle]

Its actually in a saddle bag they take the money out of the chest and put it in a saddle bag and as Manco is slipping off the roof and feels his ankle grabbed he slips it over a tree branch, but Lac, Lac, Lac, you haven't played close enough attention to this film you are missing some of these plot points. 

I remember the retrieval at the end, just not how it got there. (Again, characters vs plot.) Plus it's been a while since I've seen it. I appreciate you putting up with me. 

[dave jenkins]

Anyway its actually imo more Lee Van Cleef's film than Eastwoods which kind of explains why you may find Manco a bit less interesting.

You could even say it's Indio's film, or at least, Indio's and Mortimer's. I suggest an alternate title: The Cool, The Cold, The Insane.

[cigar joe]