Man with No Name
The Man with No Name is a stock character in western films, but the term usually applies specifically to the character (or possibly characters) played by American actor Clint Eastwood in what is often called "The Dollars Trilogy" directed by Sergio Leone.
Characteristics
"The Man with No Name", as personified by Eastwood, embodies the archetypical characteristics of the American movie cowboy — toughness, self-reliance, and skill with a gun — but departed from the original archetype in his moral ambiguity. Unlike the traditional cowboy persona, exemplified by actors John Wayne, Alan Ladd, and Randolph Scott, the Man with No Name will fight dirty and shoot first, if required by his own self-defined sense of justice.
He is generally portrayed as an outsider, a mercenary or bounty hunter, or even an outlaw. He is characteristically soft-spoken and laconic, speaking only when necessary, with as few words as possible. The character is an often cited example of an anti-hero.
Is it the same character?
In the "Dollars" Trilogy, Eastwood plays a character with the same mannerisms, wearing the same poncho, lambskin vest and hat, and sporting a silver cobra-shaped plate on the handle of his gun. The question whether the intention was to portray the same individual character in all three movies is debatable, but many fans believe that the last film in the trilogy, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a prequel of sorts to the earlier two, since it is set during the American Civil War and before the period thought of as the "wild West." Furthermore, Eastwood's character gradually acquires the clothing that he wears throughout the other films in the series, getting his hat, vest and other clothing from the assassin "Angel-Eyes" and taking his signature serape from an anonymous, dying soldier (in exchange for his duster). The soldier could symbolically be seen as a "man with no name", thus suggesting Eastwood has exchanged identities with him and has finally become the iconic character from the earlier two movies. It can also be noted that the actor portraying the undertaker from the first film shows up in the second as someone Eastwood's character is familiar with. Whether this points to the old man playing the same person or not is unknown as many of the same actors played roles in the three films of characters who were obviously different, but the fact that Eastwood indicates that he knew who to ask for specific information gives a stronger argument for the second film being a follow-up.
However, Christopher Frayling has pointed out in his massive Leone biography, Sergio Leone: Something To Do With Death, that the three films were not intended by Leone or his various script collaborators to be seen as a history of the exact same individual. It was United Artists, not the filmmakers, who came up with the idea of specifically linking the three films together as a series by referring to the Eastwood character as The Man With No Name in all advertising materials for the movies.[1]
One theory of both fans and film buffs alike is that the character is actually Josie Wales, the former Confederate guerilla, who left Texas and drifted through the Southwest. Many feel that due to similarities of Eastwood's characters in his western portrayals that in fact, Josie Wales became the "Man With No Name", who in turn is also "The Stranger" of Pale Rider and High Plains Drifter, ending with the character settling down, marrying, and having a family. This character's adopted name then is Will Munny, and he is last seen in Eastwood's Unforgiven. This theory would trace Wales' life from the Deep South to Texas, into Mexico and the American Southwest, up through Lago, Arizona and to Carbon Canyon, California, before turning eastward, over the Rockies and into Wyoming. Finally, after the events of Unforgiven, he moves to San Francisco to live out the remainder of his life as mild and aging store owner.
There is much evidence to support this theory:
- All of the characters have a similar speech pattern, demeanor, and appearance, including clothing and even how each wears his guns.
- Each of them seems to be proficient with two guns and is an expert marksman.
- Each is a drifter, never allowing too much about himself to become revealed and never engaging in any permanent relationships.
- Each has a sense of justice which includes helping the 'common folks' and 'underdogs', but is otherwise amoral in his pursuit of that justice. In several of these films, Eastwood's character has shot men in the back, lynched foes, used torture and severe beatings, even rape.
- Each enjoys using, and is quite comfortable with dynamite.
- Each is often riding a pale, grey or white horse, esp. in the later films.
- Each demonstrates an innate mistrust of lawmen is often at odds with them, as well as an utter contempt for 'civilized' society.
- The storyline would make sense that Wales, a former Confederate soldier and wanted man, would move into the less organized and populated areas of the Southwest and the northern Plains, to avoid capture or bounty hunters.
- There is a an almost supernatural/hero worship element to the characters that seems to tie them together, making them more than mere gunslingers. Ex.: In Pale Rider & Unforgiven, there is a sense of noteriety and a colorful and violent past when the character is encountered by experienced lawmen and former hard riders.
- In Josey Wales, all the character wanted was a life of family and peace, but circumstance forces him to violence. That theme is repeated in Unforgiven, and is underlying in the other films.
Does the character have a name?
While the credits for A Fistful of Dollars list Eastwood's character as "Joe" and the undertaker in the movie calls him by that "name", he is the only character to do so. In For a Few Dollars More, a minor character refers to him as "Monco."[2] This nickname likely alludes to the fact that the character appears to save his right hand (for which he wears a supportive leather brace) for shooting only. (This may be considered evidence of continuity, since The Man's right hand was injured during the torture scene of the earlier film.) Thus, during the entire incident in the beginning of the movie, he uses only his left hand when lighting his cigar, dealing the cards and striking the man he is hunting (keeping the right hand on his gun the whole time). Critic Richard Schickel states in the special edition release of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly that Eastwood's character did have a name, which is, however, at best a stretch. While it is true that the character is sometimes referred to as "Blondie" in said movie, the character's partner Tuco Ramirez is the only one to do so.
The above monikers are the reasons why it is sometimes stated that the "Man With No Name" was in fact named, but all three of these "names" appear merely to serve as placeholders and nicknames. Thus, "Joe" is used in a similar fashion to "Mack" - i.e. as a way to address a stranger (cp. the expression "average Joe" or the popular song "Hey Joe"). Also, most notably, "Joe" could quite possibly be used as a shortened-version of "Josie".
"Monco" appears to refer to the character's reluctance to use his right hand for other things than shooting, and "Blondie" is Tuco Ramirez's nickname for his fair-haired partner.
Japanese origin and evolution
A Fistful of Dollars was directly (and illegally) adapted from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo. It was the subject of a successful lawsuit by Yojimbo's producers. The film's protagonist, a gruff, unconventional ronin played by Toshiro Mifune, bears a striking resemblance to Eastwood's character: each is a quiet, eccentric stranger with a strong but unorthodox sense of justice and superhuman proficiency with a particular weapon (in Mifune's case, a katana; for Eastwood, a revolver).
Like Eastwood's character, Mifune's ronin is nameless. When pressed, he gives the pseudonym Sanjuro Kuwabatake (meaning "thirty-something mulberry field"), a reference to his age and something he sees through a window. The convention of saving an arm to kill is shared as well with Mifune's character typically wearing his arms inside his kimono, leaving the sleeves empty. [3]
Yojimbo itself, however, is believed to have been based on Dashiell Hammett's novel Red Harvest, although Kurosawa never credited the author, despite acknowledging the source.
Prior to signing on to Fistful, Eastwood had seen Kurosawa's film and was impressed by the character. [4] During filming, he did not emulate Mifune's performance beyond what was already in the script. He also insisted on removing some of the dialogue in the original script, making the character more silent and thus adding to his mystery. As the trilogy progressed, the character became even more silent and stoic, ultimately in GBU he becomes merely an observer of events around him, more an icon than a human being.
Due to low budget considerations, Eastwood made the initial investment for his character's appearance and demeanor. Most of the clothing was purchased second-hand in California (with the exception of the poncho which was provided by Leone); the gunbelt and holster were from Clint's previous TV series Rawhide. The Man's trademark cigars were also from California; their harshness put Eastwood in what he called a "scratchy mood," which aided in his characterization.
Similar characters
Other films featuring characters very similar to the Man with No Name include Leone's later Once Upon a Time in the West featuring Charles Bronson (Eastwood turned down the part) in a role somewhat akin to Eastwood's (known in the movie as "Harmonica" since he plays it); Eastwood's own films, High Plains Drifter and Pale Rider; and the more recent Yojimbo remake Last Man Standing, starring Bruce Willis (directed by Walter Hill).
The Man with No Name concept was used in the El Mariachi series. Throughout the series he is known only as "The Mariachi", the "Guitar Player", or in Once Upon a Time in Mexico simply as "El," short for "El Mariachi". In Desperado, however, Bucho, the antagonist, calls him "Manito", a nickname from when they were children, (in Spanish, manito is also short for hermanito, little brother). El Mariachi comes to share many of the same characteristics of other Nameless gunmen, as the Mariachi movies share many characteristics with Western movies.
In the movie version of Paint Your Wagon, although Eastwood's character bears little resemblance to the traditional Man with No Name, he still lacks a name and is referred to simply as "Partner" throughout the movie. At the end he reveals that his name is Sylvester Newel.
The Man with No Name was the inspiration for Roland Deschain, the protagonist of Stephen King's epic, seven-volume Dark Tower series. The Man With No Name is also the inspiration for the main character in the computer game Red Dead Revolver.
Director Quentin Tarantino appears also to have been inspired by this idea, intentionally not naming the main female protagonist in his Kill Bill movies until well into the second movie, otherwise referring to her as simply "The Bride," even bleeping out her name when characters use it until it's finally revealed near the end of the second movie.
George Lucas attributes the character of Boba Fett to The Man with No Name in the DVD commentary on Return of the Jedi.
In one episode of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger featured in a Wild West parody as an outlaw wanted for stealing a train. He called himself "The Tigger with No Name", while his sidekick, Pooh, called himself "The Pooh with A Name (if only [he] could remember what it was)".
One episode of Animaniacs featured Chicken Boo disguising himself as "The man with no personality," an obvious reference.
Mel Gibson's Mad Max character could be said to have a strong archetpyal resemblance to the Man with No Name, and many of Eastwood's Old West characters for that matter. In the second and third films in the Mad Max trilogy, Gibson's character is nameless, his past a mystery to those he encounters. In the third Mad Max film, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Gibson's character is referred to as "the man with no name" during the Thunderdome fight scene.
Filmography of “The Man with No Name”
References
- ^ Frayling, Christopher. Sergio Leone: Something To Do With Death, Faber & Faber, 2000. ISBN 0571164382
- ^ http://www.fistful-of-leone.com/classic/articles/vince.html
- ^ http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050410/REVIEWS08/504100301/1023
- ^ From an interview conducted for a DVD documentary on Kurosawa.