Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Dir. Sergio Leone
Starring: Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards,
Charles Bronson
A land dispute over an area called Sweetwater sets the stage
for conflict between Harmonica (Bronson), a man out for revenge against Frank
(Fonda), the hired gun tasked to run off the Sweetwaters owners the McBains.
Even though Frank was instructed only to scare the McBains, he brutally killed
them all, because as he says “People scare better when they’re dying.”, then
framed the bandit Cheyenne (Robards) for the murders. The railroad’s plans to
take ownership of the land are stopped by the arrival of McBain’s new wife Jill
(Cardinale). After Harmonica gets involved due to his interest in Frank, he
discovers something: McBain was smart and claimed a section of land with the
only source of water for miles, the land would have made him rich. These
factors combine to set the stage for an epic confrontation in the waning days of the old west.
