My Name is Nobody (1973)
[Il mio nome è Nessuno]
Director: Tonino Valerii
Starring: Terence Hill, Henry Fonda, Jean Martin
Synopsis:
A gunfighter looking to retire to Europe is followed around by a nameless drifter who wants to see his career end in style.
Impressions:
We come once again to an entry in my family film canon, so I have a lot of affection for this movie. There are some similarities between this film and The Shootist in concept, except here the young man idolizing the aging gunfighter is actually rather competent himself and trying to orchestrate the big finale as a way to make his childhood fantasies a reality. Terence Hill makes for a good comic foil to Henry Fonda and works well with the sort of off-kilter sensibilities of Italian humor. The score by Ennio Morricone is as good as you would expect from him, with tracks that capture the mercurial tone of the film perfectly. I'm particularly fond of "The Wild Horde" and "My Fault?", and I often find myself humming the main theme when I'm in a jaunty mood. Now, there are some disputes about Sergio Leone's contributions to the film, ranging from just providing the basic concept and filling in for the primary director when he was sick, to him having saved the film from Valerii, to him being responsible for the worst bits. I wouldn't worry about this too much. Based on sheer sentimental attachment, I'd say this belongs in the collection, but taking a more objective stance, I'll dial it back a bit and just recommend that you give it a watch at the very least. If you're a spaghetti Western fan who wants an extra helping of comedy, this is a must-see.
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