Once Upon a Time in the West: Difference between revisions

* [[But Now I Must Go]]

* [[Chekhov's Army]]: {{spoiler|The railroad workers.}}

** Be fair, huh? She's alone with the man who she thinks killed her new family. Not at all surprising that her hands are shaking.

* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: Harmonica uses concealed weapons to get the drop on others.

* [[Cuffs Off, Rub Wrists]]: After Cheyenne cuts him loose aboard Morton's train, Harmonica is seen rubbing his wrists in the background.

* {{spoiler|[[Dead Little Sister|Dead Older Brother]]}}

* [[Determined Widow]] - Jill

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Cheyenne draws the line at killing children. He also doesn't kill priests.

** ...Catholic priest, that is.

{{quote| '''Morton:''' Tell me, was it necessary that you kill all of them? I only told you to scare them.<br />

'''Frank:''' People scare better when they're dying. }}

* [[The Gunslinger]]

* [[Hooker with a Heart of Gold]]: Jill is the most morally sound character in the film.

{{quote| '''Cheyenne''': You know how to play...but can you shoot? (While idly playing with Harmonica's gun, while gazing at him).}}

** They even go [[Riding Into the Sunset]] together at the end. {{spoiler|And then, Cheyenne dies. But Harmonica ''keeps his body''.}}

** Harmonica was actually [[Playing with a Trope|deliberately invoking]] [[Male Gaze]] by [[Absolute Cleavage|tearing her dress]] and [[Unkempt Beauty|having her hair whipped around a little]]. There may be assassins just outside, but [[All Men Are Perverts|not even they can avert their eyes from the eyecandy]]... except for maybe Harmonica. Look at him closely. He's doing this almost surgically and with extreme care.

* [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]] - Mr. Morton doesn't do much killing, being a crippled and dying old man. His last dream is to see the Pacific Ocean before he dies. {{spoiler|He spends his dying moments desperately crawling towards a small, muddy puddle as a substitute for the Pacific.}}

* [[Invincible Hero]]: [[Averted Trope|Averted]] right from the beginning, as Harmonica, [[Badass]] though he unquestionably is, is wounded in the very first fight. From then on it's not inconceivable that he might lose to Frank.

** Harmonica pushing Jill around and tearing at her clothes. He doesn't actually hurt her, but still.

** Frank kicking Morton's crutches out from under him.

* [[Left the Background Music On]]: Just before Harmonica's entrance, the music changes subtly. Everybody starts looking around, then it is revealed the new tune is being played by a man with a harmonica.

* [[Loveable Rogue]]: Cheyenne

* [[Murder Is the Best Solution]]: Morton just wants his opposition bought out or intimidate, but Frank prefers to massacre first and ask questions later.

* [[Musicalis Interruptus]]: Cheyenne's theme pauses several times so he can say a line, and starts up again. It even pauses to allow {{spoiler|his dead body to drop to the ground.}}

** Until the end, that is.

{{quote| '''Jill''': "You {{spoiler|saved his life}}!"<br />

'''Harmonica''': "I {{spoiler|didn't let them kill him}}, and that's not the same thing." }}

** And referenced in a later shootout:

{{quote| '''Jill''': "I swear we're gonna hear that strange sound again."<br />

'''Harmonica''': "Right... About... ''Now.''" }}

* [[Quick Draw]]

** When Jill is presented with a ton of lumber and a sign still awaiting a title to be carved into it. {{spoiler|She realizes her husband was planning on building ''an entire town'' and tells the woodcarver "I said print STATION!"}}

* [[Revenge]]

* [[Scenery Porn]]

* [[Showdown At High Noon]]

* [[Spaghetti Western]]

* [[Villainy Discretion Shot]]: Cheyenne killing his prison escort.

* [[Whammy Bid]]: The five-thousand-dollar bid.

** Later on, Jill {{spoiler|seemingly enjoys sleeping with Frank, in spite of her strong contempt for this man who killed her family. However, earlier on, she says to Cheyenne that if he and his men all raped her, she could pick up the pieces and still live, so it's really just a way to stop him from murdering her.}}

* [[Would Hurt a Child]]: One of the earliest evil deeds Frank does is kill a child. He also {{spoiler|subjected Harmonica to a horrible torment at a young age, too}}. Henry Fonda, the actor who played Frank, was initially reluctant to take another a role in a western, having been in so many already and [[Typecasting|always playing one of the good guys]]. That is, until director Sergio Leone told him, "Picture this: the camera shows a gunman from the waist down pulling his gun and shooting a running child. The camera pans up to the gunman's face and... it's Henry Fonda." Fonda signed on in a heartbeat.

** If anything, Frank seems to get a special kick out of torturing kids.

 

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