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“ | You see, in this world, there's two kinds of people, my friend: those with loaded guns... and those who dig. You dig. | „ |
~ The Man (under the alias of "Blondie") to Tuco Ramirez in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. |
“ | I don't think it's nice, you laughin'. You see, my mule don't like people laughing. He gets the crazy idea you're laughin' at him. Now if you apologize, like I know you're going to, I might convince him that you really didn't mean it. | „ |
~ The Man (under the alias of "Joe") provokes a group of gunslingers into duel in A Fistful of Dollars. |
The Man with No Name, also known as "the Good,'' is the main protagonist of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy, also known as The Man with No Name Trilogy, and a cameo character in the 2011 Western animated film Rango.
He is an enigmatic bounty hunter and gunslinger who is identifiable and known by his iconic olive green poncho, his stern facial expression, his flashy revolver, his hobby of smoking cigarillos, his true identity being unknown, and the fact that he almost never speaks. A calm but serious individual, he usually looks out for himself but helps those he feels morally obligated to assist from time to time.
He was portrayed by Clint Eastwood, who also played William Munny in Unforgiven.
Biography[]
Background[]
The man was once a ranch hand in Illinois who was mistreated and underpaid by his employer. He was rivalling another ranch hand named Carvell, which escalated to the two having a duel. The man won and identified Carvell as Monk Carver, a notorious outlaw on the run who had racked up a $1,000 bounty. He turned the corpse in and received the reward. After seeing its superiority to his measly ranch wage, the man abandoned his farm duties and became a bounty hunter.
Later, after about a year of experience bounty hunting, he partnered with a man called "Foot Sick" Feebly, who had a sexual fetish for women's shoes. The man walked in on Feebly, living up to his nickname, and subsequently abandoned him.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly[]
In 1862, during the American Civil War, the man was running a scheme with Tuco Ramirez, a Mexican bandit and outlaw who nicknamed the man "Blondie." Blondie would turn in Ramirez for his bounty, rescue him, and split the reward. As his bounty increased, they continued the scam. Eventually, the man believed that Tuco's price would not go up any higher, and so he left him in the middle of the desert without his fair share of the money.
Blondie traveled to a town overrun by soldiers and rented a hotel room. Unbeknownst to him, Tuco managed to survive the harsh desert and regrouped with his gang to kill the man. He heard the gangster's spurs shaking outside his door, so he loaded his revolver and fanned it when the bandits burst through the door.
Tuco, however, climbed in through the window to take Blondie by surprise. He forced him to tie a rope to the ceiling and to stand on a wobbly stool while his neck was inside the noose. When all looked lost for the man, the Union Army arrived and, inadvertently, saved Blondie by firing a cannon at the hotel. Tuco fell as the floor collapsed and became trapped under rubble. The man used this opportunity to escape.
Later, Blondie found a new partner and ran the bounty scam with him. This continued for a while, until Tuco tracked the man down again and confronted him. As Blondie "apologized" to his partner for being unable to save him, Tuco forced him to march through the desert without water or a hat to make him experience the suffering he endured when the man abandoned him.
After a while, the duo stumbled upon a stagecoach full of dead bodies. Tuco opened it to find a dying Confederate soldier named Bill Carson inside. The soldier promised to tell him where to find $200,000 worth of gold in exchange for help. Tuco ran to get water but returned and was disappointed by the man's death; however, the soldier told Tuco the location of the gold and Blondie (who had crawled over to the carriage) the name of the grave.
The two realized that they needed each other to find the money, so Tuco dropped his vendetta and took the man to a nearby Catholic mission. After Blondie recovered, they left and began searching for the gold. They took the soldier's uniforms from the wagon and encountered an army patrol traveling the highway. Tuco and Blondie mistook the men for Confederates, but the captain brushed dirt off his arm to reveal that they were in fact Union soldiers.
They were then taken to a prisoner-of-war camp, where Tuco recognized Angel Eyes, a notorious outlaw that he had previously worked with. Tuco pretended to be Carson, which resulted in Angel Eye's goon Corporal Wallace taking him to a cabin in the camp to be interrogated while Blondie remained outside.
After Tuco's questioning escalated to torture, the man was brought into the cabin. Angel Eyes realized that torturing Blondie would be pointless since he was more resilient than Tuco. He gave the man new clothes and equipment, teaming up to find the gold, and subsequently left the camp without Tuco.
Blondie and Angel Eye's gang arrived in a small town being contested by Union soldiers and sat in an abandoned building to rest. Unbeknownst to the group, Tuco murdered Wallace while being transported by train to execution and was following them. Blondie ventured out of the building and stumbled upon Tuco bathing in a deserted saloon. Instead of killing him, the man resumed his partnership with Tuco and abandoned Angel Eyes.
The two traveled in search of the gold. While making small talk, they were taken captive by Union soldiers on a battlefield situated on a hill. However, the captain let them go. As opposed to leaving, they "enlisted" in the army and used this as a way to get down the mountain towards the battle's center, a bridge. Once both the Union and the Confederacy took a break from fighting, they rigged dynamite to the bridge both to prevent the armies from following them and to stop them from wasting lives killing each other. As they waded across the river, Tuco revealed that the gold was buried in a cemetery called Sad Hill, and Blondie revealed that the grave was marked "Arch Stanton".
After getting to the outskirts of the graveyard, Blondie stumbled upon a dying soldier inside a hut and tended to him, giving him a smoke and a coat to comfort him in his last moments. The man then took the soldier's olive-green poncho. Tuco betrayed Blondie and stole a horse to get to the cemetery, but the man fired a cannon at him and killed his mount.
Tuco resorted to running to the graveyard and located Stanton's grave inside a clearing, meekly using a plank to try and pry the coffin open. Blondie arrived and tossed Tuco a shovel. He forced Tuco to continue digging when Angel Eyes showed up, mockingly tossing his own shovel and holding the two at gunpoint to dig. The man ignored him, simply lighting a cigarillo. He revealed that he lied about the name on the grave, stating that he would write it down on a rock in the middle of the clearing, challenging his two adversaries to a three-way duel.
The three stood there, eyeing each other, as they waited for someone to draw their gun. Eventually, Angel Eyes tried to shoot Blondie, but the man was faster, and Angel Eyes fell to the ground, injured. Blondie started walking towards the middle of the clearing, shooting and killing Angel Eyes when he attempted to shoot the man. He then revealed to Tuco that there was no name on the rock, as the grave holding the treasure was marked "Unknown," next to Arch Stanton's grave. Tuco started digging up the gold, laughing in euphoria as he picked up bags filled with precious coins, only for Blondie to hold him at gunpoint. The man forced Tuco to stand on an unsteady wooden tombstone while his neck was in a noose. Blondie took his share of the gold and rode away, leaving an angry and frightened Tuco behind. He then spared Tuco by shooting the rope, but did not return to untie him.
A Fistful of Dollars[]
A few years later in 1873, the man arrived in the town of San Miguel, near the Mexican-American border. The village was contested by two gangs, the Baxters and the Rojos. The man visited a local saloon and befriended the bartender and an undertaker, who called the man "Joe." Joe learned of the bitter rivalry between the two gangs and decided to join the Rojo gang. After gaining the admiration of Miguel Rojo due to killing four Baxter members, he was invited to the Rojo family home, where he noticed a woman named Marisol, whom he was ordered to stay away from.
Joe and the bartender, Silvanito, witnessed Ramón Rojo, the most violent and deranged of the Rojo brothers, round up and execute a group of Mexican soldiers. The man traveled to a cemetery, where he lured both gangs towards it so he could rob Rojo's house in search of gold stolen from the soldiers. He then helped the Baxters by taking Marisol to them to be used in a trade where the Rojos would return Antonio Baxter in exchange for Marisol. While the deal was underway, Joe continued looting the Rojo Estate.
Silvanito learned of what Joe did and informed him that Marisol was being held as a mistress in the Rojo home, with the Rojos threatening to kill her husband and son if she did not comply with their demands. Joe had a change of heart and decided to rescue the family that night. However, the Rojos learned of his plans and beat him, but the man escaped with the help of the undertaker, Piripero.
The two witnessed the Rojos raid and kill the Baxters, mistakenly believing they were in cahoots with Joe. Piripero took the man to a deserted mine to recover from his injuries. After a few days, Joe learned from Piripero that Silvanito was taken hostage by the Rojos, who interrogated him for the location of the man. Joe left to destroy the Rojo gang once and for all.
Ramón shot the man in the heart numerous times, but Joe somehow survived and got up on his feet. The man pretended to surrender and walked towards the gang, but revealed that he had hidden a metal plate under his poncho. He then fanned his revolver and killed all of the Rojos. Esteban Rojo, who was hiding nearby, prepared to shoot Joe but was killed by Silvanito. Joe returned to the Rojo Estate and freed Marisol and her family, then returned to town to thank Silvanito and Piripero for their help. He then rode off into the desert.
For a Few Dollars More[]
A year earlier in 1872, the man was hunting a dangerous fugitive known as "El Indio." He eventually reached the town of El Paso, giving his name "Manco." He met a man named Douglas Mortimer, a fellow bounty hunter, and the two partnered up against Indio.
Manco decided to infiltrate Indio's gang, rescuing a member named Sancho Perez from prison as a rite of passage. The man was then sent along with three other members to rob a bank in a town called Santa Cruz. However, Manco killed the other men and returned by himself with the money, lying that he was the only survivor to El Indio. Groggy, Indio's henchman, was suspicious of this, but Indio accepted the man's telling of the events.
The gang made their way to a village called Aqua Caliente. Manco reunited with Mortimer, and the two stole money from Indio's crew, but they were caught in the act. Although Manco manage to hid the money in a nearby tree. El Indio and his men pursued the duo, but they managed to kill the gangsters.
Mortimer revealed that he was chasing El Indio because Indio had raped his sister and murdered his brother-in-law. Manco then gave Mortimer his revolver, who dueled and killed Indio. The man compared Mortimer's pocketwatch to Indio's, with them both having a picture of Mortimer's sister.
Satisfied with avenging his family, Mortimer refused a cut of the bounty reward and thanked Manco for his help, subsequently riding away on his horse into the horizon. Manco hoisted the gang's corpses into his wagon and retrieved the stolen money and rode off to receive his reward.
Rango[]
Nearly a century later, the Man roamed the Mojave Desert as a ghostly apparition of his former self, appearing rather elderly and beaten up. Despite this, he had become a legendary folk hero, still known only as "the Man with no Name". He had also become acquainted with modern inventions and people, such as PopTarts and the actress Kim Novak.
By 1971, the Man drove a golf cart, searching for junk around the desert. A chameleon named Rango came to the Man, now also known as the "Spirit of the West", and asked him for advice regarding the town of Dirt, which Rango was previously the sheriff of before being exiled.
Rango expressed that he was unsure of his own identity, and asked the Man about his title, the Man with no Name. The Man explained that deeds are what makes a man, not his name. He told Rango that he came out searching for something that was never there, and that it wasn't about him, it was about the people of Dirt. He then told Rango that he had to back whether he wanted to or not, as no man could walk out on his own story. With this, the Man drove away and mysteriously disappeared into the air, inspiring Rango to return to Dirt and confront his enemies, Rattlesnake Jake and Tortoise John.
Quotes[]
A Fistful of Dollars[]
“ | Get three coffins ready. | „ |
~ Joe cues Piripero about his upcoming shootout with members of the Baxter gang. |
“ | I knew someone like you once and there was no one there to help. Now, get moving. | „ |
~ Joe elusively hints at his motivations to Marisol and her family whilst delivering them to safety. |
“ | You shoot to kill, you better hit the heart. Your own words, Ramon. The heart, Ramon. Don't forget the heart. Aim for the heart, or you'll never stop me. | „ |
~ A bulletproof vest-clad Joe taunts Ramon as the latter tries to shoot him to no avail. |
“ | When a man with .45 meets a man with a rifle, you said, the man with a pistol's a dead man. Let's see if that's true. Go ahead, load up and shoot. | „ |
~ Joe challenges Ramon Rojo to a duel, intent on taking him out for the better. |
For a Few Dollars More[]
“ | Alive or dead, it's your choice. | „ |
~ Manco confronts his target Red Cavanaugh at a bar. |
“ | Manco: There seems to be a family resemblance. Here. Mortimer: Naturally, between brother and sister. |
„ |
~ Manco works out the identity of the girl in the pocket watch. |
“ | Ten thousand... twelve thousand... fifteen... sixteen... seventeen... twenty-two. Twenty-two? (turns around and fires at Groggy) ...Twenty-seven. | „ |
~ Manco has one final confrontation with Groggy as he counts his bodies, preparing to collect the bounty money. |
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly[]
“ | Bounty Hunter: Hey, amigo! You know you got a face beautiful enough to be worth $2000? Blondie: Yeah, but you don't look like the one who'll collect it. |
„ |
~ Blondie appears behind a trio of bounty hunters who are out to kill Tuco, planning to obtain the bounty money himself as part of a con. |
“ | You may run the risks, my friend, but I do the cutting. We cut down my percentage - uh, cigar? - liable to interfere with my aim. | „ |
~ Blondie discusses business with Tuco. |
“ | Our partnership is untied. Oh no, not you, you remain tied. I'll keep the money and you can have the rope. | „ |
~ Blondie mocks an aggravated Tuco as he ditches him in the desert. |
“ | Such ingratitude, after all the times I saved your life. | „ |
~ Ditto. |
“ | Tuco: I'll kill you! Blondie: If you do that, you'll always be poor... just like the greasy rat that you are. |
„ |
~ Blondie maneuvers Tuco into sparing his life by withholding information about $200,000 worth of gold from him. |
“ | God's not on our side, because he hates idiots also. | „ |
~ Blondie realizes that the soldiers in front of him and Tuco are Union soldiers who are about to haul them to a POW camp. |
“ | Were you gonna die alone? | „ |
~ Blondie joins Tuco in fighting Angel Eyes's gang. |
“ | I've never seen so many men wasted so badly. | „ |
~ Blondie laments for all the wounded and dead soldiers in the Civil War. |
“ | Two hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money. We're gonna have to earn it. | „ |
~ Blondie challenges Angel Eyes and Tuco to the iconic three-way Mexican standoff. |
“ | Tuco: Unk-... unk-... there's no name on it. Blondie: There's no name here, either. See, that's what Bill Carson told me... it was the grave marked "Unknown" right beside Arch Stanton. |
„ |
~ Blondie reveals the true location of the gold to Tuco after the two survive the aforementioned standoff. |
“ | It's not a joke, it's a rope, Tuco. Now I want you to get up there and put your head in that noose. | „ |
~ Blondie threatens to hang Tuco. |
Trivia[]
- There was supposed to be a fourth film in the Dollars Trilogy that would've been a sequel to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Set in 1882, it would've followed Tuco pursuing The Man with No Name's grandson for the Confederate gold, with The Man narrating the film. Sergio Leone vetoed the project, as he did not wish for the series to be continued nor did he want to return to direct. He also pointed out that it wouldn't have made sense for The Man to have an adult grandson in the span of two decades.
External Links[]
- The Man with No Name on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki
- The Man with No Name on the Heroes Wiki
- Spirit of the West on the Heroes Wiki
- The Man with No Name on the Dollars Trilogy Wiki
- The Man with No Name at the Wikipedia
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