For a Few Dollars More is the second of Sergio Leone's Man-With-No-Name trilogy. It follows the ground breaking, Fistful of Dollars (1964) and precedes the popular, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966). All three films are set in a Mexican / American border region (filmed in Almeria, Spain). The setting makes it easier for the mostly Mediterranean casts to blend into the Western landscape.
For a Few Dollars More is the wackiest of the three films. Some of the shooting is absurd. In one scene, Colonel Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef), shoots Manco's (Clint Eastwood) hat off his head and then into space. All three movies als0 contain hyena-like laughter by the bad guys. For a Few Dollars More is saturated with senseless bad guy chuckles (usually when someone is being tortured).
In the movie, bounty hunters Manco and the Colonel Mortimer race to bag the bounties. When they go after super-bad guy El Indio (Gian Maria Volonte), they must team-up.
Like all of Leone's Western's, For a Few Dollars More emphasizes realistic sets and costumes. The streets are deeply rutted and buildings in need of paint, the traditional white Mexican linens are soiled and stained. The characters are not pretty, teeth are bad, and hair unkempt - all believable details in this gritty tale of border bounty hunters.
Ennio Morricone's score is again excellent though not as memorable as either A Fistful of Dollars or The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. For a Few Dollars More is the weakest of the trilogy and features lame dubbing so we corral it here with the Good Viewers.
Cast:
- Clint Eastwood.... The Man with No Name (Manco)
- Lee Van Cleef.... Colonel Douglas Mortimer
- Gian Maria Volonté.... El Indio
- Joseph Egger.... Old Prophet
- Luigi Pistilli.... Groce
- Mario Brega .... Nino
- Klaus Kinski.... Juan, the Hunchback
- Mara Krup.... Mary
- Aldo Sambrell.... Cochelio
- Benito Stefanelli....Luke
- Roberto Camardiel.... Station Clerk