Clint Eastwood almost refused to appear in “The good, the brute and the ugly” by Sergio Leone, but what did he blame the film?
Clint Eastwood hesitated to rework with Sergio Leone afterwards and for a few more dollars on the grounds that he was no longer entirely the center of attraction. Evidenced by his words from the time reported by Leone in the book Conversations with Sergio Leone Signed Christmas Simsolo.
“I tried to reason with him”
MGM
After reading the script for the good, the brute and the ugly, Eastwood said to the director: “In the first, I was alone. In the second, there were two of us. Here we are three. If it continues, in the next one, I would be accompanied by the whole American cavalry.”
Indeed, Eastwood had to play “the good” Blondin, Charles Bronson “the Brute” Sentenza (he will finally be replaced by Lee Van Cleef) and Eli Wallach “Le Truand” Tuco. Leone then tells how he convinced the actor to re -stack for this third Westernian adventure:
MGM
“In fact, he found that the role of Tuco was too important. I tried to reason: 'The film is longer than the other two. You cannot be alone. Tuco is necessary. And he will remain as I wanted. You must understand that he is a water carrier for you. Even if it is Marlon Brando who plays the role, he works for you when you are on the screen. Who falls from the sky: the angel Gabriel. Clint did not insist. He assumed his role as a great professional. He was satisfied when he saw the film finished. “
Gunga Din is a character of a poem by Rudyard Kipling. He was notably played by Sam Jaffe in the name Homonym signed George Stevens. Bearer of Indian water, Gunga Din accompanied the three sergeants interpreted by the three Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Often badly treated, he distinguished himself by his courage and his dedication.
“He didn't understand anything at the Señor Tuco”
MGM
Finally, Tuco on the screen will be very different from the character described by Leone. Far from being Blondin's storage but a main character with paramount importance for the story. We even discover his depth with the meeting of his brother Moine played by Luigi Pistilli – which we had already seen in and for a few more dollars in the Indian band.
Over time, Tuco has become as iconic as Blondin and Sentenza, some of his replicas have become cult, such as: “When you shoot, you don't tell your life” or “The one who makes me an entouroupette and lets me save life is that he understood nothing at the Señor Tuco!” Symbolically, it is also the first of the three heroes that the film presents to the public and the last character that we see in close -up and that we hear on the screen.
