Bayan Kabbani
Professor Restaino
History of Film: The Western
Monday, December 1st, 2008
Once Upon a Time in the West
In Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), a spaghetti Western directed by Sergio Leone, the main
characters all have a connection with each other. The film stars the villainous Frank (Henry Fonda), Harmonica
(Charles Bronson) as his nemesis, Cheyenne (Jason Robards) as a bandit, and Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) a
recently-widowed housewife with a past as a prostitute. Each of the main characters has their own theme music
and by the middle of the film, you can tell which character is coming just by the music that plays.
Frank is a hired gun of railroad tycoon Mr. Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti). His goal is to someday
take over the business as Morton is crippled and slowly dying of tuberculosis. Frank is arrogant, evil, and mean-
spirited. He doesn’t understand the concept of business and power. Frank doesn’t understand that money is the
only weapon more powerful than a gun. In one scene, Harmonica and Frank are talking to each other and
Harmonica says, “So you found out you're not a businessman at all?” and Frank replies, “Just a man.” This
shows that even Frank will admit that he has no idea about what it takes to run a business. Frank doesn’t have
complex thoughts about business; he believes he can use intimidation and violence to gain power. Frank is a
heartless murderer who has no moral values.
Cheyenne is a sarcastic outlaw who is believed to have killed Mr. McBain. He is often dirty and
unorganized with his appearance. He is not intelligent either especially when dealing with big ideas. For
example, when Cheyenne, Harmonica, and his men are at Sweet Water they find signs that describe what should
be built their. Cheyenne does not put together what Mr. McBain was trying to accomplish. When Harmonica
explains Mr. McBain’ plan, he says, “Listen Harmonica, a town billed around the station, we would make a
fortune. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hey, more than that ... thousands of thousands of dollars!”
Harmonica replies, “They call 'em millions.” This shows that Cheyenne is not good at math and cannot see the
big picture unless it is really obvious. Throughout the film, Cheyenne acts as one of Jill’s protectors. He checks
up on her from time to time and they later become fond of one another.
Harmonica is quick-witted, smart, and mysterious. He is nicknamed Harmonica because he
always plays a harmonica. He is not open about his feelings and does not show much emotion to others. At the
end of the movie, we learn that Frank killed Harmonica’s brother in a cruel way. He made Harmonica hold his
brother up on his shoulders in order to keep him from being hung on a noose. Harmonica’s hands were tied
behind his back and Frank put a harmonica in his mouth while holding up his brother. That is the reason why
Harmonica plays the harmonica.
The audience learns the most about Jill’s past as a prostitute in New Orleans. She was one of the
biggest prostitutes of that city in an up-scale whore house. Everyone seems to know of her past and from the
beginning we know what she did for a living and where.
Jill’s relationship with Cheyenne is friendly and loving. At first, she assumes he is a rotten man
with bad qualities but later finds that he is actually not a bad guy. Cheyenne gives Jill advice about issues and
protects her from Frank and his men. He guides her into making good decisions. For example, towards the
ending of the film, Jill contemplates settling down with someone like Cheyenne or Harmonica and Cheyenne
says, “I’m not the right man. And neither is he.” This shows that Cheyenne is looking out for Jill’s best interest.
He wants her to have a real husband and family and knows she deserves better. Jill’s relationship with
Harmonica is similar to Cheyenne’s. She knows Harmonica wants the best for her and appreciates his
protection. Frank and Jill’s have a strange relationship. Jill has sex with Frank so that she won’t be killed by
him. Meanwhile, Frank learns through a telegraph that Jill was a prostitute in New Orleans. Jill pretends to like
Frank for only one purpose and their relationship is phony.
Once Upon a Time in the West is a film that slowly shows the connections between its main
characters. Through their history or present actions; we learn who each character is and how they relate to one
another. Frank, Cheyenne, and Harmonica all have different personalities but one interest, which is Jill.
Through dialogue and theme music it is easy to tell who and when a character is coming into the scene.