MovieChat Forums > Per qualche dollaro in più (1967) Discussion > Why does Blondie continue to bounty hunt...

Why does Blondie continue to bounty hunt?


After earning the gold in GBU?

reply

They are not the same person even though they share the same name and actor.

reply

I've heard that and it's a dumb theory. As far as movie theories go, it's even worse than "Travis Bickle died in the shootout and the end of Taxi Driver is his dying fantasy".

Not only do the protagonists of all three Dollars movies share the same name and actor, they also wear the same clothing, have the same gun, do the same job, and have the same skills and personality. In TGTBTU (last made, but chronologically first) there is even a scene showing how he acquired the famous poncho. Of course they are the same person. Van Cleef is a different person in the two episodes he appeared in, but Eastwood is the same man in all three.

As far as why he continues to be a bounty hunter, he obviously blows all his money on liquor, gambling and women each time.

reply

No because in Taxi Driver he's atleast shown to be institutionalized and later alive. It would be ambiguous at best.

Here you have 2 different Lee Van Cleef and Gian Maria Volontè characters meeting Blondie, therefor it would only make sense that he too is a different person in each one of them. The fact that he dresses the same does feel unneccessary but it could've just been considered iconic and stayed at that, it doesn't have to be reason for a whole continuity in every aspect.

reply

But Van Cleef and Volonte's characters were clearly presented as different men in personality, dress, jobs, skills. etc. Eastwood was exactly the same in all three films.

reply

Yes but that's my point. Since Eastwood meets different characters it would make sense that he's a different character aswell. It would've been cheap otherwise, the idea that a plot has recycled actors just come back with a new name.

When those 2 were different characters it automatically differentiated Eastwood aswell. It concluded that he's living different lives meeting different people. His lifestyle is different in all the movies.

But the most important factor i would say is what the actual script says. If it doesn't conclude continuity between Blondie 1, 2 & 3 then the assumption should be that there is none. There's nothing intertwining the adventures neither by Blondie nor anyone else around him.

reply

There is continuity as Blondie is seen finding his iconic clothing during the prequel, TGTBTU. These are the clothes he wears in the two earlier-made but chronologically later films. It's the origin story of the character.

The point I am trying to make is that the characters played by Volonte and Van Cleef are deliberately shown to be different men. Eastwood is deliberately shown to be the same man. His life is not different at all except he stops doing the con game with Tuco and becomes a pure bounty hunter in his origin story. In all the films he drifts from town to town doing bounty jobs.

As for cheapness, these were indeed very cheap productions. Leone didn't get into the real money until the trilogy hit big in the USA.

reply

I don't think it's neccessarily chronoligical based on that reason alone. He could still be different characters and find his clothes in only one of the movies. The fact remains that neither the adventures nor any of the characters he meet are set up in a way that there is continuity/history in regards to Blondie.

My take on it is that the clothes and mannerisms are the same because it's iconic and not to because it's the same guy. It's just a re-used personality.

reply

This is not true. Firstly, Eastwood played him in all three films as the same man.

Secondly, in "For a Few Dollars More," Eastwood is known as "Manco," which in Italian means "mangled." It is a reference to his right hand being crushed by Chico at the end of "A Fistful of Dollars." If you pay close attention in "For a Few," Eastwood wears a gauntlet over his right hand and does everything in the movie with his left hand... except shoot. Additionally, if you pay closer attention, you can find the bullet holes in the Man With No Name's poncho from where Ramon had shot him in the previous movie. He wears the holes to his back, though (I believe).

In the screenplay for "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," while he is only referred to in the dialogue as "Blondie/Il Biondo," the character himself is identified as "Joe" in the action descriptions. Leone and Vincenzioni meant for him to be the same man.

reply

I believe writer Luciano Vincenzioni claimed that the Man With No Name took that gold and gave it to Father Ramirez's mission and that's why he's poor again at the beginning of "A Fistful of Dollars." If this is so, it's reasonable to assume he also gave them Setenza's Arabian stallion and traded it for a mule they had on hand.

So, at the end of "For a Few Dollars More" (which chronologically is the last adventure), Il Straniero/Joe/Manco/Blondie/The Man With No Name is going to be a rich man once again (but not owe his life to anyone this time) and could retire as he postulates to Colonel Mortimer at one point.

reply