Whats with the outline of a body in gunshots on the bed in the beginning? Was that to show when the gangsters came in that they thought someone was laying under the covers? So they shot a perfect human silhouette into the bed? One of my favorite films of all time, but this was a bit cartoonish. Never understood this...
shareThe hitmen want to know where Noodles is hiding and loosen the lamp and make gunshot holes in the bed to scare Eve into giving them the information they require. It doesn't work.
It does seem a bit elaborate - possibly it's a left over prop from a scene which was not completed.
Jimmy (Treat Williams) - the union guy - is initially straight. He needs persuading to join forces with Max & the gang. In the film this is done by the gang rescuing him from being set on fire in a tank of petrol/gasoline.
In the early screenplay gangsters with tommy guns go into a room where Jimmy is lying on a bed. The camera shows the gunmen firing their tommy guns at the bed and the audience expects that they have shot Jimmy. The next scene shows Jimmy leaving the room totally unharmed and on the sheet there is the outline of Jimmy's body made by bullets from the guns of the gangsters, who are experts at handling tommy guns.
Leone also may have wanted the initial scenes to be a bit puzzling and capture the viewer's interest.
I always assumed the holes were caused by a cigarette. I think the purpose was to create a sense of terror, because there is something unnerving about it.
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