My Name Is Nobody (1973) User Reviews

It's like Leone Meets the Three Stooges

[bensonmum2 · 8/10 · 14 May 2005]

All that gunslinger Jack Beauregard (Henry Fonda) wants to do is retire while he's still alive. But Nobody (Terence Hill) wants to see Beauregard go out in blaze of glory. Nobody dogs him across the West insisting that if Beauregard will just face one more enemy, he's sure to go down in the annals of history. But Nobody's idea is for Beauregard to have it out with the 150 man strong Wild Bunch - all alone.

The shortest and most to the point description that I can come up with for this movie is "Sergio Leone Meets the Three Stooges". On the one hand, you've got Henry Fonda in the traditional Western role (albeit Spaghetti Western). On the other hand, you've got Terence Hill performing some of the best slapstick and pantomime since the era of the silent film. It sounds like an unlikely combination, but Valerii successfully marries the two styles into a very enjoyable experience. The scenes with Fonda and Hill together are as good as you'll see in a Spaghetti Western.

While some of Hill's comedy seems goofy and doesn't work that well, most of it is very funny. There are moments of pure genius. The shooting scene in the saloon is a particular favorite of mine.

Morricone's score is amazing. He draws inspiration from and pays homage to some of the earlier scores he did. I was reminded several times of Once Upon a Time in the West, the Dollars Trilogy, and other Spaghetti Westerns. Writing positive comments on a Morricone score is becoming a bit redundant. Did he ever write a score that you could call bad?

For those of us who have only seen My Name is Nobody on VHS with bad transfers and missing footage, the new Image DVD is a real treat. It was a lot like watching the movie for the first time. I never thought this movie could look so good. My only complaint is the lack of extras. The disc doesn't even have a trailer.

great film

[kyle_furr · 8/10 · 5 March 2004]

I'm surprised i had never heard of this film before, i only got it because I'm a big fan of Henry Fonda. This movie reminds you of Once upon a time in the west and all the other spaghetti westerns but with a sense of humor and a great soundtrack. The movie stars out in 1899 with Henry Fonda playing a gunfighter named Jack Beauregard who just wants to get enough money so he can retire. Terence Hill plays another gunfighter named nobody who is obsessed with Beauregard. He's always following him around and wants him to fight the wild bunch, a group of 150 men, so he can be in the history books. This movie was produced by Serigo Leone and this was Henry Fonda's last western.

European aroma

[aliaselias · 8/10 · 16 May 2006]

The title "My name is Nobody" was, I think, taken from a text in Homer's Odyssey which Odysseus said to Cyclops, the one-eyed giant. And, indeed, if one considers that fact one could better see what this film's message is: While old Jack Beauregard could, after a long voyage, at last go home to Europe, "Nobody" was destined to continue his odyssey far from home in countries that were never his cultural homeland.

Albeit the film itself is a parody of other westerns, of 'C'era una volta il West' and/or 'The wild bunch' for example, and therefore should be (and is in fact) comical and funny, one nevertheless hears a slightly melancholy song sung by/about Odysseus(= Nobody) who had forgotten his homeland. Owing to that (please let me dare say)'depth', 'Il mio nome e nessuno' succeeded in being far more than a simple parody and in appealing not only to 'genre fans' but also to 'general' movie lovers: Fonda's brilliant performance, Fonda and Terence Hill's unique combination, Morricone's perfect score. It's all really tasty.

I still remember that a Japanese film critic at that time has rated this film low, because 'it was a spaghetti western made by an assistant of Sergio Leone'. But when I myself saw the film later, I (please excuse me for being cheeky and cocky) doubted his eye of a film critic: Why hasn't he seen that this film clearly stood out from other Italian westerns? Why has he ignored the fact that Tonino Valerii could make excellent westerns without Leone and without Morricone? (I of course mean 'Il prezzo del potere' and 'I giorni dell'ira'.)

Works for me....

[sscrivener · 23 October 2004]

This is one of my favorite spaghetti westerns. Terrence Hill is very good as the brash newcomer, and Henry Fonda has always been good.... in this, he is excellent as the tired gunslinger who wants to hang it up.

The score by Ennio Morricone is outstanding.

The premise of the story is that Fonda, Jack Beauregard, wants to retire. He even has a berth on the ship "Sundowner," destination Australia, reserved. "Nobody," Hill, wants Beauregard to go out in style.... so he creates a showdown with the Wild Bunch: one man against 150 of the meanest SOBs in the West. The resolution of this conflict is.... interesting. ^_^

Henry Fonda and Terence Hill stand out as two gunfighters against a numerous Wild Bunch

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 28 February 2012]

A fun parody of Western clichés that never becomes stale and gibing Spaghetti genre. There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing shootouts or stunts every few minutes. There are also many fine technicians and stunning direction and excellent production design with magnificent scenarios. It deals with a young, soft-hearted gunfighter (a cocky Terence Hill) who worships and competes with a veteran outlaw named Jack Beauregard (awesome Henry Fonda), once the greatest gunslinger of the Old West who only wants to retire but instead they band together . He arranges for Beauregard to take on the 150-man band known as The Wild Bunch . Both of them oblivious to dangers and hopeless odds endure mishaps and adventures and they attempt to right wrongs . At the end takes place a spectacular duel earning his place in history between the easygoing gunslinger and the famous retired outlaw he reveres .

It's an exciting SW with breathtaking showdowns between the protagonists and their enemies full of shots , explosions , thrills and deaths . Spoofs every Western clichés with relentless comedy , parodying ordinary Spaghetti elements . The main premise results to be the confrontation between Old West represented by Henry Fonda and new West mirrored on Terence Hill character. The storyline has some embarrassment and ridiculous , silly situations but also has its agreeable moments here and there. It's a Spaghetti western with humor and develops the usual issues : invincible antiheroes, spectacular gun-down , violent taking on but united to slapstick and simple humor. It's an entertaining Italian western with overlong runtime in which there are irony, tongue-in-cheek, shootouts, numerous showdowns and is quite funny and amusing . This bemusing picture with Spaghetti all-star-cast contains an entertaining plot , action Western , shoot'em up and bits of campy and refreshing humor . It's an improbable blending of standard Western, irony and continuous duels with no sense . An enjoyable premise and interesting casting full of usual Spaghetti make this oater well worth the watching . Delightful Western satire in which two gunmen using his wits , break all the rules and kicking virtually every cliché in the pants . Amiable but sometimes lumbering Western satire goes on and on about the same premise , as a lot of minutes are superfluous ,it has fifteen minutes in excess , as it packs overblown jokes and antics and some moments turns out to be a little tiring . Fonda and Hill steal the show as two improbable heroes , they are very fine, they ravage the screen, , hit , shoot and kill .There is even a homage to ¨Orson Welles's The lady from Shangai¨ when at a Mirror Fun House takes place a duel between Hill and his enemies . Terence Hill is nice as a good guy , hilarious and likable , known only as "Nobody", idolizes Fonda and wants to see him go out in a blaze of glory. Here Hill plays a similar character to ¨They call me trinity¨ and ¨Trinity is still my name¨. Henry Fonda is first-rate as a rough, two-fisted old gunman but with good heart. There appears customary Spaghetti actors as Piero Lulli , Mario Brega , Benito Steffanelli , Antonio Molino Rojo and notorious American secondaries as Geoffrey Lewis , Steve Kanaly , Leo Gordon and R.G. Armstrong . Lively but commercial musical score by the great Ennio Morricone . Colorful cinematography plenty of barren outdoors , sunny landscapes under a glimmer sun and fine sets on the action scenes shot by excellent cameraman Giuseppe Ruzzolini , filmed in US and Spain as La Calahorra, Granada, Andalucía, (railway scenes) , Almeria ; USA : Colorado New Orleans, Louisiana, White Sands National Monument, Alamogordo, New Mogollon, Acoma Mexico, USA .

The motion picture lavishly produced by Fulvio Morsella and Sergio Leone , being well directed by Tonino Valeri . Tonino 's so-so direction is well crafted, here he's mostly cynical and humorous and less inclined toward violence and too much action especially on its ending part . Valeri is an expert on Western as proved in ¨The hired gun ¨ , ¨A reason to live , a reason to die¨ with James Coburn and Telly Savalas , ¨The price of power ¨ with Giuliano Gemma and Van Heflin , ¨The day of anger ¨ with Lee van Cleef and ¨ Taste of Killing¨ with Craig Hill and George Martin .

A movie I could watch 100 times and it would never get old

[AriSquad · 10/10 · 28 September 2003]

This is a great Tonino Valerii & Sergio Leone film featuring Henry Fonda & Terence Hill. This is a take on the Trinity character Hill has done in the past, not the same character but a variation of it. This movie is a lot more serious than the Trinity(s) but still provides some very very funny scenes & plenty of them. The more serious side is a great story, a man (Fonda) who is a living legend, especially in the eyes of a stranger (Hill) who will do everything he can to see his hero get written in the history books. It is adventurous, touching, and hysterical. All the elements of a perfect film for me. Also features an amazing soundtrack by none other than Ennio Morricone. Both the film & its score are gems. Worth watching over & over. A true 10!

Nobody does it better than Terrence Hill & Henry Fonda!! What an interesting well-shot bizarre movie!

[ironhorse_iv · 7/10 · 26 November 2015]

By the 1970s, the Spaghetti Western had almost become a parody of itself as slapstick comedies within the genre has become more popular, than the serious drama-full violent westerns of the mid & late 1960s. Director Tonino Valerii & Producer Sergio Leone saw this and decide to capitalize by making their own subtle humor movie. That movie would become, 'My Name is Nobody'; a title that alludes to the reply, Odysseus gave Polyphemus the Cyclops when asked his name in the Greek myth, Homer's Odyssey. Like Homer's tale, this film that tells the story of a mysterious nobody (Terrence Hill), trying to become somebody; by helping his child-hood hero, Jack Beauregard (Henry Fonda) fight against the legendary Wild Bunch gang. Outgunned and outnumber, the two of them, must find a way to become legendary. Can mysterious stranger's plan work or will both of them, fade away from the hands of time? Watch the movie to find out! Without spoiling the movie, too much, I have to say, I love, how the film uses the dramatic sounds of a ticking of a clock to show, how little time, there is, for the unnamed person to make a name for himself. Some of the best suspense is in the opening scene at the barber shop. That opening set piece is masterful. I love that dose of intensity, so abstract, economical, and well deliberately paced. However, the movie starts to fall downhill, when the comedy kicks in, after that. It's there, that movie's message gets kinda lost, because of the large amount of slapstick filler and goofy ass music. Ennio Morricone's choice of mixing the whimsical tones of his older films, with that of different music styles such as Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries or Paul Anka's My Way was kinda annoying. The opening song alone, sounds like it comes from a kid's beatbox with sounds of boiling hot water added to it. When the music and tone veers from serious suspense to goofball comedy in one second. Then, you know you got a problem. It wasn't well paced. The film wobbles from set-piece to set-piece with little time for exposition or establishing structure. It was very underdeveloped. Scenes from that moment, until the end, felt a bit choppy & uneven. Lots of continuity & factual errors start to pop up. It doesn't help that the film is full of anachronisms as well. There were even scenes where a lot of nothing, going on. Even the dialogue in the film seem a little drawn out. Still, the acting in the film wasn't that bad. It was pretty alright in my eyes. While, Henry Fonda seem particularly out of it, due to health problems, he still has the acting chops to pull the rough & tough cowboy role off. Terrence Hill in the other hand, was hilarious and likable, but his character was a little too similar to the one character from his 1970's ¨They call me trinity¨ and 1971's ¨Trinity is still my name¨ days. I was really confused, on how serious, we supposed to take his character. He's seem to be, a little too cartoony to be a realistic character. Another thing, that bother me, was the how the film is full of unrealistic childish violence mixed with real world violence. It's weird, how some dynamite explodes kills people, and other moments, it doesn't. The gunfights are really odd looking with the speed up and slow motions. It doesn't fit, well with the rest of the film. The humor is a mixed bag for me, as well. I like the shooting of glasses contest, but I think other examples of humor such as the urinal scene were rather tasteless. However, I did like the inside jokes and film references, the filmmakers put into the film. It's nice to see homages to 1947's The Lady from Shanghai, 1928's the Circus, 1968's Wild Bunch & others. Although the movie is mostly well-shot. It's really hard to figure out, which director help shot, what. Leone, himself, says that help directed a few scenes, such like the opening scene, the graveyard scene, Wild Bunch scene, and the duel in New Orleans. It's here, that fans will recognize the use of close-ups, depth of field, odd sounds, and long stretches of men staring at each other and making the audience uncomfortable. However, its rumor that, he had might have done the mirror, the urinal scene and part of the shooting of the beer glasses, which weren't so good, but in my opinion, I really don't think, he did any of the comedy scenes, himself. In the end, it doesn't really matter, because the movie is great to look at. The exotic locations pick for this film are well-used. Each one of them, representing a part of the Western film history. The graveyard scene, filmed at Acoma Puebla in New Mexico is known as a common film shooting grounds for American Westerns movies. The desert of La Calahorra in Spain, is known as the homeland of the spaghetti westerns. Last the scene in New Orleans, represented, where Fonda and Hill's character collide, represented the moment where the movie would metaphorically kill, the original format in which the western genre has been done, and reshape the four types of westerns: the classic Hollywood western, the classic Italian western, the revisionist Hollywood western and the Italian comedy western into their own image. . It reflects the development and degeneration of the genre. It's basically, telling, how to make something old, seem new, again. This movie would go on to have sequel, titled, 'A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe' also called, 'Nobody's the Greatest' in 1975, which also wasn't that good. Overall: Two things go straight through a man's heart. Bullets and gold. This movie had that, but it was also way too campy. A 7/10.

The Good, the Bad and the Good looking

[viperpaolo · 10/10 · 1 March 2005]

Great movie. From an idea of Sergio Leone, the guy from the good, bad and ugly trilogy. Terence hill is awesome. Fonda is himself. truly a great movie, in the best of the A-class spaghetti western tradition. Recommend for lovers of bud Spencer and Terence hill, but even more for lovers of Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone. the soundtrack is also fantastic. I found brilliant the way the director combined the lightheartedness of Hill and the stare-down gunfight angle of traditional Eastwood westerns. Also look for they called him trinity and sequel, also great movie, and those include bud Spencer. The movie is actually filmed in New Mexico, Acoma and surroundings, so the scenery is also fantastic. The original language is English, even though most of the cast is Italian, and both the Italian and English version are great. However, in the best spaghetti tradition I believe the Italian might capture some fine details better than the original. Ultimately I believe Terence Hill could have become a famous star of the caliber of Eastwood had he pursued that path instead of continuing the career as Bud Spencer's partner in crime.

Great fun western film at times

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 1 August 2019]

"Il mio nome è Nessuno" or "My Name Is Nobody" is a co-production between Italy, France and West Germany from 1973, so this one is moving closer to its 50th anniversary. Like many other westerns from this era, it is in the Italian language. The director is the famous Tonino Valerii, but the big name here is of course the one of Sergio Leone who contributed the general idea that was then adapted by more writers than you'd expect into the final script. But also in front of the camera, the film has big names to offer, most of all the two leads. Terence Hill is probably more known now than Henry Fonda, at least outside of America. This is one of Hill's more famous works without Bud Spencer next to him. He was still in his 30s here. Fonda was in his 60s already, even if this was still from a decade before his Oscar win. Well, Hill brings all the comedy really, but it fits the story with the sped-up sequences and Hill's (intentionally) really over-the-top face expressions add a lot of hilarious moments. So do the dialogues. The Italian version with English subs I watched was pretty bizarre as there were subtitles shown on the screen for dialogues that did not exist. It was weird, but also funny because these subtitles were funny pretty often and I would have loved to hear these words too. I guess there must exist several other versions of this movie. Anyway, the most common one, also the one I saw, runs for under two hours slightly. Fonda's presence was not as memorable as Hill's but that had only to do with the characters of course. His was not energetic, he just wants to retire, still he is a very gifted gunslinger despite his age as we see during the presentation early on at the barber's shop. Fonda's character also never delivers comedy, but actually maybe keeps the film from becoming too light because even this way it is more of a western comedy than a comedy western I guess. Even that scene I just mentioned early on is funny not because of Fonda, but because of the bad guys when they stuff barber's equipment into the man's mother and also into his kid.

In order to keep this film from becoming too serious (you see they had no intention to do so also with only Hill being on the poster here on imdb), they also pretty much completely did without sequences where you see people dying or being shot. The exception is the wild bunch near the end, but they are also far, far away. It is really all about making you laugh and Morricone's playful soundtrack, especially during those sequences focusing on Hill, adds a lot to it. I could mention many other scenes really here like the three hilariously incompetent crooks who are busy carrying the roof above them for a while. And even when the film is about Beauregard's memorable legacy, it is only pseudo important at best with the voice-overs, but it never feels to take itself truly seriously. Which is good. I don't think they could have really made this work with the approach they were giving it all in all. So I was genuinely surprised they really went for the path to kill off Fonda's character eventually to really become a legend. Well, I was not too surprised that they did not of course then and it was all just a trick. It also would have gone against the idea that they are both equally gifted with the gun, even if Fonda may not have gone for it all to make sure he becomes a legend. I guess you could explain it like that if you had to. But you don't and anyway I prefer the path they took. In the end, maybe the voice-over again about nobody being somebody now was perhaps on the edge, but it was fine in the face of all the other "N/nobody shoots faster than Beauregard" moments before that were fairly funny for sure. I am not sure, maybe they slightly wanted to use the idea of Fonda being also acting-wise the mentor to Hill overall and maybe Hill could pursue a big western career as a leading man then, but it was not meant to be because the genre was close to dead then for a long time, actually until now even if we look at the quantity of new westerns being released. Still, it is okay. Hill still had a big career as one half of one of the in my opinion most amazing movie duos in history.

Oh there we are: by the way, those who know the Bud Spencer / Terence Hill movies like I do will certainly think of Buddie (may he rest in peace) when here is that sequence in which Hill uses this dummy to beat up all the guys coming near him. It looked a bit like Bud. Still, everybody who really only wants to see it for the western perspective can still have a good time here. The setting of course will satisfy this part of the audience with the saloons, the dust, the outfits, the trains, the Indians (okay they added nothing here) etc. It is a very western film in theory, even if in depth it has little to do with the serious classics. It is good this way, Hill is probably a much better comedy actor than drama actor. The one thing missing too which you usually find otherwise is the damsel in distress here. Not many females in this film, none in key roles. In general this was a film that rather lived through individual scenes than through the key plot and thing as a whole I would say, but that is also not uncommon for Hill (and Spencer). Just enjoy the fun scenes for what they are like the saloon scene early on, the one not so friendly meeting between the lead duo where nonetheless they already respected each other (actually the "three bullets one hole in the hat moment" was probably the best the film had to offer in terms of gun action), the scene in which Hill still hits everything despite all the alcohol he takes and so on and so forth. There are many more scenes that are gonna put a smile on your lips. Which ones exactly is going to depend on your personal preference and subjective humor. But it's impossible to not like many of the dialogues here. The writers did a really good job. This film is not best-of-the-year material and almost never great, but rock-solid from the very beginning and entertaining and if you like the marvellous western genre as much as I do and feel you are in the mood for something lighter, then there aren't really any better choices than the one we got here. Thumbs up!

Allow me to add a few additional thoughts after reviewing this film in January 2022. Just some brainstorming. The closure with basically the barber reference again was quite nice. Something I did not mention in the original review is how maybe the old one also saw his young self in Hill's character to some extent. In the end, he talks about how things will change for Hill's character when he will get older, but this reference about Fonda's character being young himself is one I thought about on a few occasions. The Bud Spencer dummy fight sequence came to mind again, even if it was clearly not intended by the filmmakers because Spencer was not a star at that point and also not associated with Hill really. The bird noise scene deserves a mention. Very absurd in a kinda hilarious way. Especially with how Hill is working his eyes, but also the sounds he makes. The scene in which he was drunk at the bar did not do too much for me this time I must admit. One of the weaker segments unfortunately. The main theme you hear on some occasions, especially very early on and at the very end, is so incredibly catchy. The idea of 150 (it was, wasn't it?) being as strong as a thousand is okay, but how often they mentioned this felt a bit exaggerated then to me and not as iconic as I would have liked, especially with how easily they are taken out then. The metaphorical blinking door of a whorehouse and how it helped Fonda's character deal with the bunch was nice though, also everything associated with the black locomotive. This film was set in 1899 as we find out, so not super far back in the past. Even film existed already at that point. The three bad guys at the very start felt typical for western films. At least one other comes to mind immediately. The scene with how Hill takes care of the guy humiliating the Black folks was definitely a comedic highlight. Good message nonetheless! That was real racism there, not what many people mistake it for today. Also interesting what ten dollars can mean to people as you see at the very start. And as for the women, I already said they are almost inexistent in here. The ones that stay a bit in the mind are maybe the one not happy with Nobody's burping and the one with the child that loses his apple to Nobody. Nice snooker trick too. That's all for now.

very likely the funniest spaghetti western ever made, or at least most kidding with the genre conventions

[Quinoa1984 · 9/10 · 29 July 2007]

Sergio Leone picked a good director to helm his production of My Name is Nobody, as Tonino Valerii brings a sensibility that wouldn't of been the same had Leone taken the helm. It's not that Valerii steers too far away from certain trademarks of the quintessential spaghetti western director: expansive close-ups, beautiful master-shots showing the sprawling landscapes of the deserts and small towns of the old west, and of course Ennio Morricone. But this time there's a change of the guard in terms of homage- now it's not just going for an epic quality, but full-on comedy stylings.

There's room to compare this to old westerns with Henry Fonda just as much as there's comparison to the Three Stooges. Or Buster Keaton. Because nothing is taken too seriously, it ends up having some strong underlying statements about gunslingers in the old west, the young catching up with the old, and the old 'times they are a changing' logic that comes with the territory.

The tone is light, though at the same time there's still that level of ultra-cool suspense that can be found in Leone's work. Valerii takes it up a notch in the direction of something a little less violent, however (the film is technically rated PG, despite quite a few dozen deaths at one point). Terrence Hill is the title character, a guy who's strikingly handsome but perpetually goofy, who takes on as a big challenge Jack Bouregarde (Fonda, his last western, a good one to go out on, if not as great as his previous role as Frank), who's a hero gunslinger. Nobody has fixed a 'Wild Bunch' to come after him, and to what end? Much of the film focuses on Nobody, until the second half when Nobody keeps prodding on Jack with his vague threats in the guise of 'fairy tales' his grandfather used to tell him.

And all the while it's consistently hilarious material, particularly if you know Leone's stuff well (eg the gag from For a Few Dollars More where shooting a hat holds as much danger as comic timing), and tries at least to plug into the viewer who's in on the joke of not just an homaged western and homaged Leone western (Morricone's score has tones from Once Upon a Time in the West, but comes close to sounding like a coffee commercial at times), but an homage to silent comedies and slapstick.

Where else, for example, will you see a gunslinger such as Nobody fight off a potential assailant in a bar by just continually slapping him around as if Moe Howard possessed him for a full minute? How about the gun being slung up at 16 frames-per-second? Or a montage within an action sequence with Jack versus the 'Wild Bunch' where freeze-frames of reactions from Nobody and pages from 'history' showing Jack killing off the posse pop up? And there's a fun-house/mirror scene that comes about as close to The Lady From Shanghai as the most memorable in all cinema.

Some of it might just be all silly-by-proxy; it's a big belly laugh to see Hill with a serious face hold a stick still in the air waiting for a bug to go underwater to catch a fish. In fact Hill is strangely enough a huge part to the success of the film by sticking to his two-dimensional profile with just the best bits of subversion: looking at his eyes one can't always tell whether he's being serious, crazy, or just plain joking around, like in the saloon. He wouldn't work as the typical bad-ass, stoic Leone anti-hero/villain, but Valerii understands how to handle his abilities. Same goes for Fonda, only he doesn't have to go too far to be effective: all he needs to do is to keep a silence going, a look that says everything that needs to be said (albeit he lays it on heavy in the final letter, something that definitely would not be in a typical Leone film).

And yet even with all of Valerii's kidding moments and high-spirits (watch out little guy on stilts!), there is some genuine artistry at work too, as when the Wild Bunch is seen coming ahead through the desert (the wide-reaching over-head angle is the best shot in the film), and it reveals that there could be some worth in checking out other obscurer efforts of his. As it stands, I could watch it anytime it's on TV, if only as a pick-me-up if it's a soggy day. For fans of the western it is a must-see, if only for the fun of it all, and to get a pure in-joke regarding Sam Peckinpah.

Strange Singular Slapstick Spaghetti

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 1 February 2014]

Jack Beauregard (Henry Fonda) is an old gunslinger who is reputed to be the fastest. Nobody (Terence Hill) follows the legendary killer and wants him to face off against a 150 men strong Wild Bunch gang singlehanded. The Wild Bunch are a gang of bandits who fight for a mastermind who wants Beauregard dead.

This starts off very slowly. If this didn't have Sergio Leone's name attached to it, I might have abandoned it early on. Henry Fonda doesn't strike me as the hardened killer type. He's too much of a nice guy. Terence Hill doesn't have great individual persona. He's playing the character as a jokester, but it never actually gets to be funny. He's a strange character. Then the movie gets strange when they get to the saloon.

There is the weird slap fight in the bar. I can safely say that I have never seen such a thing especially in a spaghetti western. This is a slapstick spaghetti western. It's definitely unique. Even the music is a strange concoction of weird effects with classic spaghetti western music. It's as if the movie is mocking the genre itself, but it's not good enough to be a parody.

RIP Ennio Morricone

[bmiller59 · 10/10 · 6 July 2020]

This could be a long and positive review. The movie deserves it, the stars of the movie deserve it, the person behind the idea of this movie deserve it, AND, I don't want to say above all (hope you get my drift) Ennio Morricone, the composer of this and over 300 other movie scores deserve it.

Let me digress. I am 67 years old, and way back as a teenager I was hooked on the spaghetti westerns featuring Clint Eastwood. I remember one time 6 of us piled into our car, went to the drive-in and watched multiple Eastwood spaghetti westerns. I was of course struck by the style of the movies, dark and brooding with an incredible, should I say VISUAL SCORE. Of course back then there weren't the resources that there are now to research stuff in movies, but, I have always stayed for the credits. Mr Morricone was a constant.

Fast forward to the 1970's. I'm in the Army stationed in Germany and us GI's lived to go to the movies. My Name Is Nobody appeared.......OMG....there was that haunting score, and there was Ennio Morricone. While I was in the service I went to the theatre to see this movie EVERY SINGLE TIME it was shown. Terence Hill was captivating. His style and coolness, Henry Fonda didn't have a chance. And then there's Fonda. I am not putting in any spoilers, but there is so much to say about their relationship in this movie.

I ETD'd in 1977 and it took me years to find this movie on VHS, which I did. I think I had to find a foreign producer of it. The DVD of My Name is Nobody is my prize possession. When I talk about it very few people have seen or heard of it. When we watch it together, it's like Christmas Day, opening up presents.

RIP Mr Morricone. 344 scores..... thank you

Flawed but worth seeing for spaghetti western fans.

[trajan44 · 6/10 · 27 May 2012]

I think of this movie in thirds. The first third and last third of this movie are fine. The middle third is where it gets bogged down, especially with slapstick scenes that are out of place and gratuitous. Don't blame Terrence Hill or Henry Fonda, they defined the roles and played them well. In fact, all of Hill's slapstick scenes were well played, it's just that most of them didn't belong in this type of movie, which was NOT, strictly speaking, a comedy, nor was it supposed to be one. Reading the other reviews, it seems that it was supposed to be a parody of the spaghetti western genre. This was probably a mistake. Anyway, for it to be successful, it had to stand out on its own which it failed to do. This movie could have been a good one if it took itself more seriously. Unfortunately, the plot was not fully developed with regards to Fonda's character and the mine, it was just hastily explained. This occurred along with the majority of slapstick scenes in the middle of the movie. The saloon scene was not believable. I don't think much of scenes where a character can drink massive amounts of hard liquor and still function okay. Sorry, not humanly possible. The fun house scene was just stupid and unnecessary. Hill and Fonda prevail, but really, gunfights in the dark? Think about it. There was the outdoor urinal scene with Hill and the train conductor, but this was not slapstick, it was your typical spaghetti western situation with a brief comedic moment and a resolution. It was well acted by both Hill and the train conductor. If you like the genre, this movie is still worth watching. It is too bad that Sergio Leone didn't take total control and treat this as another true spaghetti western with some additional parody elements. The script is fairly original, after all. In addition to weak plot development, the trademark Leone attention to detail was lacking. Why was Fonda wearing such a shabby coat? Fonda was believable in his role, but didn't look as imposing as in his previous role in Once Upon a Time in the West. I found out he was about 67 when he was in this movie! He looked really good for 67, the least they could have done was give him a better western wardrobe. In the part of the movie that shows the ship's sailors, I wondered if they were in San Francisco, instead of New Orleans. Does New Orleans ever get so cold that you see people wear sweaters and wool caps? Even the great Ennio Morricone was off in this one. The wild bunch theme music starts off great, then degenerates when Ennio inserts music from Wagner played on what sounds like a kid's toy harmonica? Also bad were the "sped up" slapstick scenes. They did Hill no amount of justice and would have been lame even if the movie was a true comedy. Still, it is worth watching for how Hill and Fonda played their characters and wondering what "could have been".

Stylish To A Fault

[slokes · 5/10 · 4 February 2013]

Time is one sneaky thief.

Less than a decade before he played an Oscar-winning geriatric in "On Golden Pond" (and was too weak in real life to collect his award), Henry Fonda could still convincingly play a deadly gunfighter who is just 51. In the memorable opening scene of "My Name Is Nobody," we watch him effectively deal with three would-be assassins without ruffling the shaving cream on his chin.

Nobody does it better than Jack Beauregard. That's his biggest problem; Nobody (Terence Hill) is the name of his dogged follower and apparent rival, not so much because Nobody's trying to kill Beauregard directly but because he wants to see him take on the deadliest gang in the West. Nobody has a bad case of hero worship, it seems, and wants Jack to be remembered as one of the greats.

"Someone like you ought to go out with style," Nobody tells Jack.

Style is something "My Name Is Nobody" has going for it in spades. Directed by Tonino Valerii with assistance from producer and concept originator Sergio Leone, "My Name Is Nobody" looks gorgeous and sounds even better with a lively if sometimes overly cute Ennio Morricone score. Fans of Leone's "Dollars" trilogy and "Once Upon A Time In The West" will recognize the use of close-ups, depth of field, odd sounds, and long stretches of men staring at each other and making the audience uncomfortable. It's all good, to a point.

What it lacks is any real story. Beyond the concept, there's not much to make the characters move, or engage us as an audience. This becomes painfully evident 40 minutes in, when Nobody shoots down a dwarf on stilts for no reason except easy laughs. After that, the film wobbles from set-piece to set-piece with little time for exposition or establishing structure. The tone veers from serious suspense to goofball comedy so quickly it doesn't feel like there are any directors behind this movie, let alone two of them.

Which sequences did Leone direct? The opening bears either his fingerprints or that of a quality imitator. The film has a big ending, too, Beauregard facing the "Wild Bunch" with Nobody looking on, but after an impressive build that sequence comes off as slapdash and pretty lame, especially if you are a horse lover. One comment here links Leone to just three brief comic scenes, including one that takes place at a urinal involving an engineer with a bad prostate that is the film's longest, most painful waste of time.

"Nobody" does keep you watching, even as it gets more and more outlandish. It's like a fun house even before it actually winds up in one. Through it all, Fonda retains a tired majesty that wears well here, as believably threatening as he was in "...In The West" but genial in the right places. Nobody is both a clown as well as one of those omniscient killers like The Man With No Name or Harmonica were in past Leone films. He and Beauregard develop a nice rapport over the course of the movie.

"Just like the good old days!" Nobody enthuses, after Beauregard shoots four shots through the same hole in Nobody's hat.

"There never was any 'good old days,'" Beauregard answers.

The film never builds enough on moments like these. Instead of having much time together, the main characters keep breaking off so they can come together again in another set-piece sequence to show off their skills and the director's way with a camera, whichever director that happens to be. Yes, Fonda's great to watch here, and Hill can be fun as well. Still "Nobody" winds up being a film of some inventiveness yet minimal engagement.

Fun and also one of the weirdest movies of all time

[Stu-42 · 18 October 2002]

I am a huge Leone fan and just had to see this one which I had never run across until now. I don't know if I got a hold of a bad copy or what- it looked legit from a real company, but kind of cheap. I wasn't sure what to make of it as I wasn't expecting a comedy and therefore was a little uncomfortable at first with its subtle humor and bizarre soundtrack from the awesome Morricone. I got more into it as it went along and like others have mentioned, the scene in the bar is a standout. All in all it was pretty fun with Fonda and Hill excellent, but perhaps because of the print or maybe the dubbing there were parts that were just plain weird- as if done by amateurs. Very strange and as such a big fan of the people involved I will look for a better copy and watch it again- perhaps on dvd when that comes out. Hopefully upon a second viewing I will have the same feeling that so many others seem to have had. Still, for the guy who said this is better than Once Upon a Time in the West- I'm afraid that's quite a stretch since I don't know if anything is that good.

Fonda vs. Nobody, and that's it...it's the last legs of the 1960s western

[secondtake · 6/10 · 24 May 2010]

My Name is Nobody (1973)

The start of this movie is as archetypal and fabulous as any Sergio Leone movie, and it suggests another great stab at the old genre. Even knowing that it's a spoof doesn't take away from the high drama that is really possible with such great filming and pacing. And it reminds you that the earlier Spaghetti Westerns were spoofs, too, in their own way.

But the idea is really thin here, and stretched too long, and with some annoying music, so that sometimes you can't believe it's the same film. Henry Fonda is pretty amazing in his stoicism. He never quite winks at us pulling it off. The main lead is little known Terence Hill, who never has a name (or his name really is Nobody), and he's meant to be more cute than cool, a new kind of good guy who's so fast with guns he never has to snarl, but just confidently goes his smiling way. The final showdown reveals the whole concept to things and it's great fun the first time.

I totally loved this movie when I was a kid. I just watched The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and maybe I'd had my fill of this kind of excess, with the single idea (supplied by Leone, we are told in big letters) not enough for a full length film.

Emotional and so wonderful

[BandSAboutMovies · 10/10 · 19 August 2020]

Jack Beauregard (Henry Fonda) is an aging gunslinger who wants to retire. After quickly shooting three gunmen who attempt to ambush him in a barbershop - he has no chance to rest ever, constantly being challenged by people to prove themselves - the barber's son asks if there is anyone in the world faster. The reply? "Faster than him? Nobody!"

There is a man named Nobody (Terence Hill), who dreams of being better than Beauregard. But instead of challenging the gunslinger, he plans on taking out all 150 members of the Wild Bunch - no relation - on his own. They're led by Geoffrey Lewis, who was a character actor par excellence.

While this movie is a comedy, the idea at the end, where Nobody is now as chased and tested as Beauregard, speaks to the violent life of the Italian Western hero, who is continually threatened by not only death, but by the advent of the technological twentieth century, which will end his way of life.

Tonino Valerii, who was Leone's assistant director on A Fistful of Dollars, directed this film. He also wrote The Long Hair of Death and directed films like My Dear Killer and Day of Anger.

There's some dispute that Leone directed much of this film, which was made mostly in the United States. It arose when Henry Ford's costumes were stolen, which would have delayed the movie by more than a week. Leone, who came up with the idea for the film, offered to shoot second unit to keep the movie moving.

Neil Summers, who played Squirrel, and John Landis, who claims to have been an extra, stated that Leone directed most of their scenes, often on horseback. However, screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi (Torso, Almost Human, All the Colors of the Dark, Once Upon A Time In America) told Robert Curti, the writer of Tonino Valerii: The Films, that "Tonino shot the whole film, absolutely ON HIS OWN" and that Leone "organized a second unit crew and shot a couple of sequences, which in my opinion are the weakest in the film...Nothing else."

Sergio Donati expanded on this, stating that some photographers were sent to America and they asked Leone, on his lone set day, to sit behind the camera in a director's pose. Donati said, "Inevitably, from that moment on, everyone, in and outside the movie business started saying "Yeah, actually the real director of the film was Leone, who saved it from the disaster of an incapable director"."

Tobe Hooper and Tonino Valerii would have had a lot to talk about.

For anyone that thinks that Italian Westerns are dumb, I'd just like to raise one point. The title refers to The Odyssey, as Odysseus tricks Polyphemus into believing his name is "nobody."

Nobody's Irreplaceable

[wes-connors · 7/10 · 26 June 2016]

In or quickly approaching the year 1899, western gunslinger Henry Fonda (as Jack Beauregard) gets a shave and haircut. Due to his legendary status, Mr. Fonda must make sure the barber doesn't get carried away with his razor. Remaining calm, quick-draw Fonda draws attention from other baddies around the barbershop. After escaping, the barber's son asks if anyone is faster on the draw than Fonda. "Faster than him? Nobody," the barber replies. As he is getting older, Fonda would like to hang up his holster. Given his reputation, Fonda decides Europe would be a safe place, but he may not make it there before getting gunned down by upstarts or old enemies. It's true "Nobody" is faster than Fonda, so what if he meets "Nobody" on the way outta Dodge...

Fonda fittingly meets "Nobody" in the form of handsome young gunslinger Terence Hill. For most of the running time, Mr. Hill takes the camera's attention. Fonda becomes a supporting player, although his voice-over in the last act commands co-starring status...

This is a fine film, apart from some slapstick and "fast-motion" that feels dated. It seems intent on being a comedy, but elicits less than the desired laughter. The real worth is under the surface. We have a very impressive new actor (Hill) taking the screen from a legend (Fonda). This parallels the new gunslinger emerging to replace the old. Moreover, there is the "new" western taking over, here in the "spaghetti western" genre of Sergio Leone with the modern Sam Peckinpah version referenced strongly. Even the turn of the century can be called into action. Hill and director Tonino Valerii are an exemplary team, with photographer Giuseppe Ruzzolini contributing strongly. Now, if only the surreal was more prominent than the slapstick.

******* My Name Is Nobody (12/13/1973) Tonino Valerii, Sergio Leone ~ Terence Hill, Henry Fonda, Jean Martin

Nobody wants to be better than the best

[debrabander · 10/10 · 3 December 2004]

When you have seen the film, you should notice that the plot is not about Nobody competing with Beauregard, but about the former wanting to become the biggest and fastest gunfighter of his time. In order to achieve this, he has set up a plan to kill the biggest gunfighter that exists, Jack Beauregard, but not before beefing up the latter's 'achievements'. Jack, wanting to retire, doesn't understand Nobody's fascination for him, and really doesn't want to compete with him. In the end Jack is tricked by Nobody in fighting his ultimate fight, alone against the 150 men strong Wild Bunch, turning him into a living legend. When Nobody then agrees with him (the scene necessarily missing from the film because the 'clou' is given at the end) to act as if he is 'killing' him in a much mediatised gunfight, he will no longer be known as Nobody but as 'the man that shot the living legend'. Following this, he therefore truly is the best gunfighter of them all, and Jack can retire because he is pronounced dead.

I have now seen 'My name is nobody' some ten times and for me it's the best film I've ever seen, mostly because of the fact that there is a perfect mix between humor and western, together with a perfect soundtrack and a very good picture of the West and its landscapes.

art-house oater

[cafescott · 7/10 · 15 June 2013]

I recommend "My Name is Leone" (by chaos-rampant from Greece, 4 June 2009). Also, "Stylish To A Fault" (Bill Slocum from Greenwich, CT United States, 4 February 2013).

'My Name is Nobody' tells a really interesting story, but fails to reach the heights that it should have. This is one of the few movies I've seen where the cinematography (Giuseppe Ruzzolini) is really endearing, while the direction (Tonino Valerii) is paces behind. Assuming that Leone directed the bar-shooting-scene and the mens' bathroom scene, visual improvement seems needed with the rest.

The story spoofs Spaghetti Westerns (particularly Leone's own recent catalog) in a manner that kills off the tension the inevitable cinematic duels usually invite. One could say that by having a gunslinger who can move faster than humanly possible, so we see sped-up motion that is slapstick in nature, that Leone is mocking his own repeated use of a cinematic gunslinger (e.g., Bronson, Eastwood) who can move quick enough that he is comfortable in duels with at least three opponents. Leone is poking fun at himself, at the expense of serious tension here.

The writing is a bit choppy, and the dialogue is drawn out. The pacing is slow. Henry Fonda particularly seems in no hurry to say his lines. He's good, though. Same as Terrence Hill.

The relationship between Terrence Hill's "Nobody" and Henry Fonda's "Jack Bauregard" is the strongest part of it. 'Nobody' seems to be an alter-ego of Bauregard, sent from the future. He's so easy-going that he seems retired (as Bauregard wants to be). He's also the cartoonishly skilled and quick gunsligner, which again is Bauregard (on a good day). And, by insisting that his name is "Nobody" he's being as inscrutable as Bauregard might get to be in retirement.

As an alter-ego (posing as Doppleganger--he becomes an alter-ego with the film's final scene), 'Nobody' is Bauregard's own sense of adventure encouraging himself to retire in style. (By fighting the "Wild Bunch", an improbable, 150-strong army of outlaws on horseback.) With such an interesting relationship between two characters in a Western, too bad it didn't reach its fullest potential.

Also, note that the film explicitly mentions Sam Peckinpah (i.e., a name on a grave) and features an army of terrorists called "The Wild Bunch." Should we think that Leone is "Nobody" who admires (and constantly trails, the legendary) Peckinpah?

"My Name is Nobody" is a must-see for spaghetti western completists, art-house types and/or cult-film goers. It doesn't compare with Leone's best for dramatic tension, but has appealing qualities.

feel good movie

[CommanderVimes · 9/10 · 23 May 2004]

I get a smile on my face everytime I watch this movie.

As I child I loved Terence Hill/ Bud Spencer, and especially Hill's solo western films. It's really funny, though not too short, and has some unforgettable moments (my favourite: Hill and the guy from the locomotive taking a piss - at least trying to...). It reminds very strongly of the work of Sergio Leone (who is mentioned in the opening credits) with it's look, characters and of course the music. The title track won't leave your ear quite soon, I promise! Henry Fonda is also very good in this, playing the tired hero very convincing and effectively.

I enjoy watching it everytime, so I can recommend it warmly! Avoid the second one, though, it's not as near as charming as this one!

9/10

Very good actors, quite good film and excellent Morricone score

[michelerealini · 7/10 · 27 September 2005]

"Il mio nome è Nessuno" is a sort of parody of Sergio Leone's western -which actually were already a parody of classical westerns... Although directed by Tonino Valerii, the film undoubtedly is of Sergio Leone -who produced and co-wrote the screenplay.

The movie joins the type of comedy of Terence Hill movies and the style of traditional Spaghetti westerns. Albeit funny and entertaining, the result is a little hybrid -the first half of the movie is above all a Hill and Fonda show, the plot is quite slow, whereas the second part accelerates and becomes more interesting.

The two leading men fill the screen, they're very good. But mostly, once again, the Ennio Morricone score is a first class soundtrack -which contributed to the film success. His taste for themes and the ability of guessing the right atmosphere are really like another character.

Continuing and ending the western in his own funny little way

[chriswright1969 · 9/10 · 28 July 2016]

My Name is Nobody (1973) is sometimes silly, sometimes clumsy, often brilliant, but always entertaining. The basic story line is about a young gunfighter who manipulates his idol into a final grand act that would make him a legend. My Name is Nobody is a remarkable unique addition to the Spaghetti western genre, although maybe that uniqueness grew of circumstances. The film is much more complex than just another comic film with Terence Hill. It is four types of the westerns rolled into one:

1) A classic American John Ford western represented by Henry Fonda. 2) A revisionist western from the late sixties/early seventies with references to Sam Peckinpah and The Wild Bunch (complete with slow motion deaths, not standard in Italian westerns). 3) A Sergio Leone western with another memorable score by Ennio Morricone. 4) A Trinity-style western with Terence Hill (but without Bud Spencer) parodying the Italian "Man-With-No-Name" icon.

John Ford was from Irish descent and is considered the most important director of westerns in American cinema. He did not invent the genre but he certainly defined it. Maybe one of Leone's fantasies was that he would produce the last western of his idol John Ford. My Name is Nobody ends with a long monologue which is very unusual for a western and even more unusual for a Sergio Leone production. The monologue is delivered off screen by regular Ford-actor Henry Fonda. It could be that this monologue was Leone's wish of how he wanted to be remembered and appreciated by his idol: continuing the western genre in "his own funny way" and becoming a Somebody like his idol. Which is the basic theme of the film. Of course in reality the last film John Ford directed was released in 1966 and by then the old master had long lost interest in the movie business. So he probably never heard of Sergio Leone. Also in the monologue Henry Fonda calls himself a National Monument (which Fonda certainly had become at that point), during that line behind Fonda a boat passes with the name: President. The point being in case we still didn't get it: one of the early starring roles for Henry Fonda was Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) directed by John Ford.

The uneven tone of My Name is Nobody can also be contributed to the fact that the film had two directors. After Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and Duck You Sucker (1971), Leone wanted to continue producing Sergio Leone-westerns, but mainly directed by one of his assistants/admirers. The name of Sergio Leone appears three times during the credits of My Name is Nobody, just to make it clear who is the true author. It is still unclear who directed what, but the input of Tonino Valerii should not be underestimated. He had previously proved to be a good director with the Italian westerns Day of Anger (1967) and especially The Price of Power (1969), the first film ever that supports the theory that the President Kennedy assassination was a conspiracy. So Valerii was much more than a glorified assistant.

In 1964 A Fistful of Dollars put unknown director Sergio Leone, Italian composer Ennio Morricone and American TV actor Clint Eastwood on the map. The sequel For a Few Dollars More (1965) defined the Italian western and broke all box office records in Europe. It became the most successful Italian film ever made. Even the third sequel and more famous The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966) released a year later did not break this record. The main reason was that in 1965 Leone had little competition, but because of the juggernaut success of For a Few Dollars More, everybody in Italy was making westerns the following years. Among them was Django of Sergio Corbucci, which was also a big smash at the box office.

Five years after the release of For a Few Dollars More, two comic spaghetti westerns pushed the two Sergio's from their number one spot: They Call Me Trinity (1970) and the even more successful sequel Trinity Is Still My Name (1971).

The Trinity films were comic spaghetti-westerns for all ages and they are considered to be the death of the serious spaghetti western. But in truth the genre had already peaked in the years 1967-1968. After Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and Corbucci's The Great Silence (1968) there was nowhere to go but down. So if the genre had to be killed, then there was no better way than to do it with big belly laughs. The Trinity films broke all box office records in Italy and would hold that record for more than a decade. It made international stars of Terence Hill and Bud Spencer and although it was already their fourth and fifth collaboration, this was the first full time comedy they did. They would repeat this formula mostly in modern day settings with 10 more movies, until 1985 when the Trinity formula had played itself out. Spencer and Hill would have one more reunion in 1994 with the disappointing Troublemakers.

Sergio Leone in the early seventies must have thought: "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". So he produced a film with the star of the Trinity films in the lead. It kind of worked, since My Name is Nobody made more money than the first Trinity film, but did not break the record of the sequel. So Leone did not reclaim his throne at the box office. But appropriately My Name is Nobody was the last western Henry Fonda did and was released in the same year Leone's idol John Ford died. It was not the last Italian western released, but My Name is Nobody should be considered as a remarkable epitaph to the spaghetti western.

Leone Lite

[ignatz928 · 6/10 · 26 August 2005]

Until someone releases a letterboxed, uncut version of "A Fistful of Dynamite/ Duck, You Sucker," seeing Tonino Valerii's "My Name is Nobody" is the next best thing to watching another Sergio Leone spaghetti Western. Leone not only served as producer on this late, 1973 (?) addition to the genre he helped create, he also directed several scenes, though which it is not completely clear. According to Christopher Frayling's informative biography Something to Do with Death, he tended to vary what scenes he would take credit for depending on whom he was speaking to. But regardless of what Leone actually directed, his imprint is all over the film. By the time this movie came out, in 1973, even the somewhat tongue-in-cheek tone of such early spaghetti Westerns as "Fistful of Dollars" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" had given way in popularity to overt parodies like "They Call Me Trinity." With "My Name is Nobody" Leone seems to be trying to strike a balance between this new trend and the more serious tone of his movies. Henry Fonda, returning to spaghettis with a far more sympathetic role than Frank in "Once Upon a Time in the West," plays Beauregard, a legendary but aging gunfighter looking to leave his old life behind. Terence Hill, a star in Europe for his comic, buffoonish roles in these movies, plays the "title" character, a trickster-type who worships Beauregard and wants to replace him in fame. Nobody spends most of the movie following around the older gunman and trying to convince him to go out in a blaze of glory against the 150-man Wild Bunch. Beauregard and the Bunch are also mixed up somehow in a murky fraud scheme involving a gold mine. The main problem with "My Name Is Nobody," other than that Sergio Leone didn't direct (much of) it, is that it comes off as two separate movies, each starring one of the two stars. Fonda's story is an elegiac farewell to the old West and the old Western that self-consciously comments on the transition from reality to legend. Hill's movie is a "zany" comedy filled with slapstick, sleight-of-hand, and humor based on bodily functions. Nobody never kills his enemies; instead he just plays supposedly amusing tricks on them, usually for the benefit of an audience. But what European audiences apparently found amusing thirty years ago has not fared well in the transition across continents and over three decades. Hill's labored, unfunny brand of humor is almost painful at times to watch. Like the movie as a whole, Ennio Morricone's score is very uneven. Much of the music is wonderful, including a self-parody of his "Frank and Harmonica" theme from "Once Upon a Time in the West," but he also contributes a truly annoying "Europop" tune for Nobody that only adds to the irritating qualities of Hills' scenes. At its best, "My Name is Nobody" can basically be taken as a sort of companion piece to Leone's Westerns, with similar visuals and music, and even one of the same actors. It doesn't really stand on its own as a movie, and I'll be interested to see if I ever find a non-Leone Western that does.

Lonesome Gun.

[hitchcockthelegend · 5/10 · 11 January 2014]

Remember folks, just because it's not my bag doesn't mean it's a bad film...

Il mio nome è Nessuno (My Name Is Nobody) is directed by Tonino Valerii and Sergio Leone and co-written by Leone, Fulvio Morsella and Ernesto Gastaldi. It stars Terence Hill, Henry Fonda and Jean Martin. Music is by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Giuseppe Ruzzolini.

It's a Spaghetti Western comedy that is highly thought of in like minded circles, but for the casual observer it's too damn quirky for its own good and gets caught between two worlds. The action quotient is high, the direction, performances and visuals are very good, and the humour, if you like it spoofery flavoured, is never in short supply. While Morricone provides an unusual musical score that ultimately befits the odd nature of the beast as it were. Thematically it has something to say on the changing West, and in fact on the changing of the Western movie as well. While structurally the makers never miss an opportunity to lift and homage from Western movies of the past.

It's very much one for fans of the medium only. 5/10