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Jill McBain
Jill McBain
"What's he waiting for out there? What's he doing?"
Played By: Claudia Cardinale
- City Slicker: Originally. She can't even start a fire. Justified Trope since she's alone with the man who she thinks killed her new family — it's not at all surprising that her hands are shaking. She gradually evolves via Character Development.
- Deadpan Snarker: She's a worldly woman who has her fair share of dry one-liners.
- Did Not Get The Guy: She has lots of sexual tension with Cheyenne, Frank and Harmonica, but no one gets her. Cheyenne dies, Frank never stood a chance considering who he was and what he did to her, and Harmonica couldn't return her feelings.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: By the end of the film, she's become a wealthy widow, and a respected and well-loved member of the Sweetwater railroad town.
- Happily Married: Brief as it was, she and Brett truly loved each other; Jill also notably insists on using his last name, not hers.
- Head-Turning Beauty All male eyes are on her when she enters the scene.
- Heroic BSoD: She has one during her final meeting with both Cheyenne and Harmonica.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Jill is the most morally sound character in the film.Cheyenne: You know, Jill, you remind me of my mother. She was the biggest whore in Alameda and the finest woman that ever lived. Whoever my father was, for an hour or for a month, he must have been a happy man.
- Leitmotif: A melancholy, string-heavy orchestral piece with choral backing (sopranos courtesy of Edda dell'Orso)
. - Lie Back and Think of England: After being kidnapped by Frank, Jill lets him have his way with her in order to save her own life, and even pretends to enjoy it.
- Mail-Order Bride: The plot is kicked off when she arrives at her new home just hours after everyone there was slaughtered as part of a land grab. Definitely 'not played for yuks, since he wanted a mother for his children and she wanted a new life.
- Morality Pet: For Cheyenne. After she earns his respect his when his kindness really starts to show.
- Ms. Fanservice: Throughout the film she is seen in various stages of undress. Near the end of the movie she even wears a dress that features prominent cleavage (something that would be very scandalous in 1800s America).
- Nerves of Steel: Nothing, absolutely nothing, phases her for any appreciable length of time and she's more than happy to talk back to any of the three primary gunslingers.
- Nice Gal: She is friendly, civil, and by far the nicest person in the film.
- The Protagonist: She's the main focus of the story and the actions of the other three main characters all revolve around her. Ultimately, the film is about her growth.
- Reluctant Fanservice Girl: Gets her dress ripped by Harmonica, and is seen wearing nothing but a towel.
- Settling the Frontier: She becomes the matriarch of the small community literally being built up around her as the railroad approaches.
- The Smurfette Principle: Cardinale is the only female member of the principal cast.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Comes off as a bit icey to Cheyenne and Harmonica, but later warms up to them, and in addition, she's probably the nicest person in the film (well, when you're comparing her to three gunslingers...)
- Took a Level in Badass: Rides into town a somewhat aloof city girl and ends up the head of a soon-to-be-functioning, prosperous railroad company.
- Widowed at the Wedding: Subverted. The story begins during her wedding party with McBain, but it's revealed they already married in New Orleans the month before.
- Worthy Opponent: Cheyenne expected yet another frail and vulnerable city-slicker lady whom he can bully at his leisure, but instead finally found a brave and aggressive woman who is worthy of his respect and friendship.
Frank
Frank
"People scare better when they're dying."
Played By: Henry Fonda
- 0% Approval Rating: Absolutely no one likes Frank and for a very good reason. While his allies were few and far between from the get-go, Frank actively manages to turn every single one of them against him by the time the movie reaches its final arc. Jill hates him for massacring his husband and family and for violating her, Cheyenne hates him for framing him for said massacre, his employer Morton hates him for being an unapologetic murderer who disobeys his orders and treats him like dirt and Harmoncia hates him for being the one who murdered his brother. Even Frank's own men turn against him the moment they get a higher offer from Morton himself, and it's no wonder why considering he murdered one of them earlier simply for failing at something that wasn't even his own fault.
- Abhorrent Admirer: He plans to make Jill his wife. She's repulsed by the idea.
- Arch-Enemy: Harmonica has been trailing him for years, itching to get revenge for the death of his brother.
- Ax-Crazy: A very subtle example, since we rarely ever see him lose his cool demeanor. However, he's a sadistic Psycho for Hire with a very twisted, morbid viewpoint of his actions: He states that "people scare better when they are dying".
- Badass Longcoat: As all traditional good or bad guys must have. Justified in the scene where he murders the McBains, since he's trying to frame Cheyenne's gang, who wear longcoats as their trademark.
- Bad Boss: Kills one of his men just for Harmonica following him. No wonder they turn on him.
- Bandito: According to Harmonica's flashbacks, he was one of these before graduating to gunfighter status.
- Beard of Evil: Averted. Henry Fonda planned to grow a beard as well as wear brown contact lenses to play Frank, but Sergio Leone talked him out of it (with one word - "Off!"), since Fonda having his usual appearance in a role so different from his usual humble and noble characters would make it all the more shocking. Frank has a beard, along with longer, more boyish hair, in the flashback scenes.
- Better to Kill Than Frighten: Despite Morton ordering Frank and his gang to simply scare Mc Bain and his family into surrendering their land to the railroad, Frank reasoned that killing them would achieve the same result, albeit much more quickly. It only ends up drawing them more attention than Morton would like, and soon after Morton, having grown exhausted of Frank's insubordination and disgusted with his continued penchant for violence, buys out Frank's gang from underneath him and orders them to kill him. Harmonica's intervention is the only reason Frank survives the attempt.
- Big Bad: Of the whole film. Although he takes his orders from Morton, Frank manipulates everyone to function as he wants them to. Furthermore, he is wanted by Harmonica throughout the film. Its because he wants revenge on him for killing his brother.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: With Morton until Frank decides to turn in him.
- Big Bad Ensemble: With Morton after he turns on him. Though Morton is killed and he remains the true Big Bad.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: He doesn't remember who Harmonica is, although Harmonica isn't keen on reminding him until the end. On the other hand, when Frank demands Harmonica's name, Harmonica responds with a couple pseudonyms — which Frank does recognize as the names of other men he's killed. Facial Dialogue shows him finally recognizing Harmonica; Frank asks the man for his name and gets a harmonica stuffed into his mouth for an answer.
- Character Development: While Frank remains a loathsome bastard, it should be noted he does go through somewhat of an arc. He initially tries to leave the life of an outlaw behind him and become a business man, but ultimately realizes he's too sadistic and uncontrollable to be one and gives up on that dream, realizing that he has outlived the golden age of the outlaws.
- Character Tics: He's constantly spitting out while munching on bits of chewing tobacco in a less than pleasant manner, another sign that he'll never make a proper businessman.
- The Chessmaster: Although he takes his orders from Morton, Frank manipulates everyone to function as he wants them to.
- Child Hater: Has shades of this. One of the earliest evil deeds Frank does is kill a child with a big smile. He also subjected Harmonica to a horrible torment at a young age, too. If anything, Frank seems to get a special kick out of torturing kids.
- Cool Old Guy: He's a gunslinger played by Henry Fonda, and an example of
Love to Hate despite how horrible he is. - Creepy Blue Eyes: Leone wanted to enforce Fonda's appearance in a villain role by ordering him to remove the brown contacts he originally planned to wear, since he was playing a villain.
- Cruel Mercy: Most likely why he spared Harmonica as a child, so the boy could live with the horror of losing his brother.
- Dark Is Evil/Evil Wears Black: The Trope Codifier for classic westerns, along with Angel Eyes. Frank always wears a black hat, and sometimes a black coat, something very typical for villains in western movies.
- Deadpan Snarker: Is exceptionally sarcastic.
- The Dog Bites Back: Harmonica really did remember what Frank did to him all those years ago...
- Dragon Ascendant: Becomes the biggest threat following the death of Mr. Morton.
- Dragon-in-Chief: He's Morton's second-in-command, but is clearly the more savage of the two, and later betrays his employer.
- The Dreaded: Frank’s time as a vicious outlaw left him with horrific legacy, even his own men are scared of him.
- Establishing Character Moment: He shows up as the leader of a gang that has massacred a family, and ends the deed by killing a little boy.
- Evil Counterpart: In many ways, Frank is a Shadow Archetype to some of the most negative aspects of The Man with No Name, the protagonist of the Dollars Trilogy. Like him, Frank is a cunning Chessmaster who watches over his interests and greed, and both are professional killers who kill for money. The big difference is that while The Man with No Name has honor codes that somehow make him likable and a Magnificent Bastard, Frank is a sadistic, unlikable monster who enjoys his cruelty.
- Evil Old Folks: Henry Fonda was 63 years old by the time of the film's production and while he's very youthful-looking for his age, he is still noticeably older than the rest of the main cast, even older than Gabriele Ferzetti who plays his employer. This doesn't stop him from being the evilest character in the movie however.
- Evil Versus Evil: He and Morton spend the second half of the movie trying to checkmate each other, with increasingly violent results.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Averted. Unlike Cheyenne or Mr. Morton, Frank doesn't care who he kills, whether it be for the money or for the pure enjoyment.
- Expy: Of Angel Eyes, and the biggest Expy of the character in a Leone film. He's The Heavy, The Starscream, a Psycho for Hire and the Big Bad, and is introduced in a similar way.
- Face Death with Dignity: Quite possibly the only redeeming feature about him. As he lays dying, all he asks is for Harmonica to tell him who he is before he dies. When Harmonica places his titular instrument in Frank's mouth, he nods in understanding to him and passes.
- Faux Affably Evil: Frank is able to have nice, civil conversations with people despite being an awful person. Of course, he's still a ruthless, cruel man who enjoys killing people.
- For the Evulz: While Frank usually comes up with excuses, he usually just hurts or kills because he likes it. This can especially be seen with his murder of Harmonica’s brother, he had no reason to make it as sadistic as it was.
- Good Colors, Evil Colors: The Black to Harmonica's White.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Gets angry pretty quickly when Harmonica refuses to tell him exactly who he is, even triple-slapping Harmonica in the face to prove it, before Morton stops him.
- Hate Sink: An utterly despicable Child Hater who has no redeemable or likable traits whatsoever. Years ago, he killed off Harmonica's brother in probably the most sadistic way possible, and now he goes and kills off a farming family, including their youngest son. Then he advances on the widow. He is clearly meant to garner much of the viewers' hatred and revulsion as possible.
- The Heavy: Morton's top field agent, who is the real threat to Jill, as well as the reason for Harmonica's involvement.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Frank's cold, emotionless blue eyes are among his most distinctive features.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: To Jill after he catches up to her, but Jill only plays along with it to save her life.
- Irony: Frank considers Mr. Morton to be just a sickly weak old man. Ironically, Henry Fonda is twenty years older than Gabriele Ferzetti who plays Mr. Morton and even though Ferzetti is made to look as old as possible, Fonda is still noticeably more older than him.
- Jerkass: Easily the biggest jerk in the entire film: He's toxic, cruel, short-tempered, ruthless, sadistic and vile.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: He shows no remorse for his actions whatsoever, and his less indecent actions are motivated by the wrong reasons, be it sadism or greed. His sole reason in allowing Harmonica to survive is so that the latter can witness what he (Frank) has done to his (Harmonica's) brother.
- Just a Gangster: He has a chance to ride away safely after killing his boss, Morton. Instead he comes back to face his nemesis, the man with the harmonica.Frank: "Morton once told me I could never be like him. Now I understand why. Wouldn't have bothered him, knowing you were around somewhere alive."
Harmonica: "So, you found out you're not a businessman after all."
Frank: "Just a man." - Kick the Dog: Killing Harmonica's brother and letting the latter suffer while bringing it about, dispatching the entire McBain family, and kicking the helpless Morton's crutches out from underneath him to show who's really in charge.
- Lack of Empathy: He has zero empathy.
- Leitmotif: A variation on Harmonica's theme. Usually harsh fuzz guitar, but also played on oboe and trumpet at different points in the film. This is foreshadowing on how Frank was the one to give Harmonica the titular instrument, meaning he was the man with the harmonica before Harmonica himself.
- Mysterious Past: All we know is that he used to be an Outlaw who killed Harmonica’s brother.
- No Last Name Given: Which adds to his mystique.
- Obviously Evil: Besides being played by Henry Fonda, an actor profiled as the prominent good guy in Hollywood, everything about Frank is framed to make him look as diabolically evil as possible. His first appearance is emerging ominously from the wilderness after massacring an entire family and his blue eyes and unnerving smile are often on focus before he is about to kill someone. Additionally, Frank wears a black suit towards the end of the movie and the brim of his equally black hat curves upwards in a way he looks like a devil with two pointy horns from a distance.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: If you did not hate Frank after he gleefully gunned down the last McBain child, then you will loathe him after he forced Jill to sleep with him in exchange for her life.
- Psycho for Hire: A murderous psychopath who enjoys killing every bit as much as he enjoys the money he makes from it.
- Psychotic Smirk: Has one when gunning down Timmy and later in Harmonica's flashback when watching his brother get hanged.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: If the murders weren't enough, Frank truly crosses the line with his rape of Jill.
- Retired Outlaw: Is a former bandit, who now works for the railroad company. This has not made him a more sympathetic individual.
- Sadist: Especially in Harmonica's flashback, he is ecstatic and his eyes beam with glee as he watches Harmonica's brother die.
- The Sociopath: Frank is probably one of the most accurate examples of sociopathy/psychopathy ever portrayed in a Sergio Leone film. Shallow charm? Enough to show a very good façade of being Faux Affably Evil. Manipulation skills? Enough to try to manipulate situations and turn them in his favor. Violent behavior? The man is aggressively controlling, domineering, authoritarian, and commits murder out of sheer personal delight. Need for stimulation? The man kills, tortures and rapes for pure enjoyment. He also lacks any kind of remorse, morals or conscience, and his motivation for having an important position in a railway company is what seems to be the search for personal gratification and the need to want to be important, very common traits in sociopaths/psychopaths. And unlike El Indio, his villainy isn't fueled by any drug.
- The Starscream: To Morton, who he sees as a doddering old fool, and couldn't care less what Morton does unless he's being paid.
- Turn Coat: He betrays Morton, and his own men betray him.
- Villain Respect: Again, while Frank remains utterly loathsome until the very end, he does develop some respect for Harmonica due to his determination and fearlessness, to the point he sees him as his equal as a gunslinger, and agrees to a fair duel with him, as the dying breed of the "old west".
- Villainous Crush: Is hot for Jill.
- Villainous Valor: The one remotely admirable thing about Frank is his fearlessness and skill with a gun. He eventually decides to settle the score with Harmonica by challenging him to a fair, honorable duel. This goes along with the film's theme of rugged, manly individualism vs. "civilized" figures like Morton. Morton wouldn't have cared about Harmonica so long as he stayed away, but Frank feels compelled to face his foe boldly.
- Would Hit a Girl: The first action Frank does onscreen is shoot Maureen McBain from afar. He also rapes Jill later in the film.
- Would Hurt a Child: It's his Establishing Character Moment. He actually smiles while doing it.Goon: What are we gonna do with him, Frank?Frank: [beat] Well, now that you've called me by name...
- Henry Fonda was initially reluctant to take another a role in a Western, having been in so many already and always playing one of the good guys. That is, until director Sergio Leone told him, "Picture this: the camera shows a gunman from the waist down pulling his gun and shooting a running child. The camera pans up to the gunman's face and... it's Henry Fonda." He signed on in a heartbeat (with some encouragement from a mutual friend).
Cheyenne
Cheyenne
"You deserve better."
Played By: Jason Robards
- Affably Evil: He's a cheerful, friendly fellow who seems perpetually amused by the events in which he is caught up. He's also a confessed murderer and bandit leader. It helps that A) he's not the villain of the film, just the local badman whose territory the villain trespasses on, and B) all of his crimes take place off-screen (just outside the door in the case of his slaughter of his prison escort).
- All There in the Script: His real name is Manuel Gutierrez, according to the script. Leone didn't feel Jason Robards made a convincing Mexican, so the film dropped this. Leone and his fellow screenwriters didn't change the way he spoke, however, so he came off as an American speaking like a Mexican speaking English.
- Amazon Chaser: When he confronted Jill, he was initially aggressive and threatening, but when faced with her courageously daring him and his men to rape her and sneering how all it takes will be taking a hot bath to wash off the bad memories, he significantly softens up and starts treating her with genuine respect.
- Anti-Villain: He's not nearly as bad as Frank. Despite being a hardened bandit, he's a rather sympathetic man. It helps that he never kills anybody likable onscreen.
- Badass Boast: His reaction upon hearing Harmonica's account of the shooting: "One, nobody around these parts got the guts to wear those dusters except Cheyenne's men. Two, Cheyenne's men don't get killed." He then spins his revolver and states that he can count "All the way up to six if I have to, and maybe even faster than you."
- Badass Longcoat: Dusters are his gang's trademark.
- Bait the Dog: Inverted. Cheyenne is introduced by killing four lawmen (offscreen) and later seemingly threatens Jill at her house. It doesn't take long however for his sympathetic qualities to show.
- Bandito: A sympathetic, American example.
- Cop Killer: Has no issue killing lawmen. Seen when he kills is prison escort.
- Dissonant Serenity: He goes about his business and doesn't care one iota about the climatic duel, and is just annoyed when the shooting makes him cut himself while shaving. On top of that, he's secretly dying.
- Dying Alone: He asks Harmonica to look away as he goes.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Apparently, his mother really got around, but that doesn't stop him from calling her "the finest woman that ever lived."
- Even Evil Has Standards: He draws the line at killing children and Catholic priests.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: When both he and Harmonica were about leave Jill's life forever, he encourages her to find happiness in men who are better than either of them.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He arguably treats Jill with the most respect out of all of the men in the movie.
- Justified Criminal: He actually helps the protagonists after being framed for a series of murders he didn't commit, even going as far as to allow himself to be turned in so that the reward money can be used to keep Jill's farm.
- Killed Offscreen: Cheyenne provides a playful double example. First, he's mortally wounded in an off-screen skirmish, and then during his actual death, he asks his companion to look away, which the camera also respects with a brief discretion shot.
- Leitmotif: A laid-back banjo and whistling theme.
- Loveable Rogue: A murdering bandit, but a shockingly cheerful and friendly guy outside of it, especially towards Jill.
- Mortal Wound Reveal: Happens after his ambush of Morton's private train.
- Musicalis Interruptus: His theme stops a few times to allow him to say a bit of dialogue, and then later on, when his dead body drops to the ground.
- Mutual Kill: He and Morton kill each other.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Cheyenne gets two: his escape from a prison escort and his shootout with Morton and his henchmen.
- Price on Their Head: Cheyenne has a $5,000 bounty on his head, which Harmonica uses to bid for Sweetwater and save it from Frank and his goons during the auction.
- Redemption Equals Death: He doesn't get to enjoy his newly heroic life very long.
- Secret Stab Wound: In the finale, he's mortally wounded from being shot by Mr. Morton while escaping from a train.
- Secretly Dying: Morton shot him when his gang attacked Morton's men.
- Son of a Whore: His mother was a prostitute. He still calls her “the finest woman who ever lived".
- Strange-Syntax Speaker: Downplayed. Although he is American, Cheyenne has an unusual way of speaking, as though English wasn't his first language.
- Team Dad: To some lengths, protecting Jill and Harmonica, and genuinely trusting his men, even if he doesn't make it sound so.
- Token Evil Teammate: Played With. Cheyenne is a hardened bandit who has no problem with killing lawmen. At the same time he's also the most likable and sympathetic characters in the movie.
Harmonica
Harmonica
"They call them millions."
Played By: Charles Bronson
- Anti-Hero: Seeks to kill a man who very much deserves to be killed, and shows tantalizing glimmers of having a heart to go with his gun, especially towards Jill. However, he only marginally treats Jill better than Frank does, as shown in the scene where he advances on her and tears off part of her dress.
- Badass Boast: His first scene, when three of Frank's men are waiting for him:Harmonica: Did you bring a horse for me?
Frank's Man: Looks like we're shy one horse.
Harmonica: (shakes head) You brought two too many. - Badass Longcoat: To match with Frank's, enforcing the Hero vs. Villain theme during the climactic showdown.
- Beware the Quiet Ones: Harmonica barely speaks a word, but he is a Gunslinger and adept at psychological warfare.
- Celibate Hero: Unlike Cheyenne and Frank, he shows no romantic interest in Jill, as he's more task-orientated. She develops feelings for him, but sadly they're not returned.
- Combat Pragmatist: He uses Hidden Weapons to get the drop on others.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has a very dry, sardonic wit.
- Decoy Protagonist: While Harmonica is the first main character introduced and is more akin to Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name, the recurring protagonist of the Dollars Trilogy, he's really not the primary focus of the story. After his introduction, Jill takes the role of the main protagonist and even Frank has more screen time and characterization than Harmonica does.
- The Drifter: Although unlike most examples of this trope, he's in town for a specific reason, and not by accident.
- Establishing Character Moment: He appears in a train station, blows his harmonica and takes care of the three gunmen who were sent to greet him. He outdraws them while his gun was still in his baggage. A classic, mysterious gunslinger and drifter.
- The Expy With No Name: He neatly checks most of the boxes here. His real name is never once even mentioned, as his moniker is derived from the musical instrument he often plays when he wants to get someone's attention, is a skilled gunfighter, and his demeanor almost never changes from a hardened look of determination. The only bit of backstory that's ever alluded to, was his brother's murder at the hands of Frank, a sociopathic outlaw whom Harmonica spends the entirety of the film seeking revenge. Fittingly, the film was directed by Sergio Leone, the director of the Dollars trilogy, and was originally set to star Clint Eastwood himself as Harmonica.
- Fastest Gun in the West: Slight subversion: He manages to draw his gun and to shoot three men who had already their guns in their hands in a row... and then one of them manages to shoot him back before collapsing.
- For Doom the Bell Tolls: His brother is hanged from a bell.
- Good Is Not Nice: The only thing that differentiates the two is that he wants Frank (a homicidal maniac) dead, in addition to caring for Jill's safety (although he's not very quick to show it).
- The Gunslinger: Of the Quick Draw variety, as shown when he outdraws Knuckles, Snaky and Stony, and later on against Frank.
- Invincible Hero: Averted from the beginning, as he gets shot during a showdown with Frank's men, which serves as a disclaimer to the audience that all bets are off in his vendetta against Frank.
- Ironic Echo: Placing the harmonica in Frank's mouth just before Frank dies as a Call-Back to the moment when Frank did the same for his dying brother.
- It's Personal with the Dragon: His conflict is with Frank, not Morton.
- Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: He tortures Wobbly to get information of Frank.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's cold, ruthless, and treats Jill only marginally better then Frank, but he does care about her.
- Leitmotif: Harmonica His ever-present Harmonica, accompanied by electric guitar and orchestra.
- Light Is Good: Basically Sergio Leone playing with the Western tradition of the "good guys" wearing a white hat.
- My Name Is Inigo Montoya: Beautifully subverted. He never tells Frank his name. When Frank demands to know, he gives him plenty of names, but none of them his.Frank: Who are you?
Harmonica: Jim Cooper, Chuck Youngblood.
Frank: More dead men.
Harmonica: They were all alive until they met you, Frank. - Not So Stoic: He remains calm for the most part, and even when he is annoyed it comes off as mild. But he's crying in the flashback of his brother's death.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Is only ever called "Harmonica" by Cheyenne. Frank asks for his real name multiple times, but he gets the names of people he's killed in the past instead. Adds a lot of mystique to the story.
- The Quiet One: He's the strong, silent type. He prefers to let his instrument, revolver and body language do the talk.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: He obviously has a serious beef against Frank, going as far as to protect him from his other enemies just so he can have the privilege of killing Frank himself. In the end, we find out that he's avenging his brother, who Frank killed in one of the most unforgivable fashions possible when Harmonica was just a little kid.
- Took a Level in Badass: From his childhood incarnate, where Frank had him tied down to a post with a harmonica in his mouth, hence the reason Harmonica wants to kill Frank.
- Troubled Backstory Flashback: He is relentlessly pursuing Frank, with a few flashbacks showing a blurred figure. In the final showdown, we get a full flashback which reveals the blurred figure is Frank, who had Harmonica's brother hung from a bell and standing on his shoulders.
- Vehicle Vanish: Makes his entrance this way, as a train passes by.
- You Killed My Father: His entire motive for seeking revenge on Frank, who murdered his brother.
- Younger Than He Looks: Though you really can't tell with him being as sun-dried and wrinkled as he is, he is roughly 20 years younger than Frank.
Mr. Morton
Mr. Morton
"There are many things you'll never understand."
Played By: Gabriele Ferzetti
- Alas, Poor Villain: The closest he comes to seeing the Pacific Ocean again is a small puddle on the ground, which he had to crawl to after being shot by Cheyenne.
- A Lighter Shade of Black: While he’s far from a good person, he’s still an Anti-Villain who believes his railroad will help the country and he also wants to see the Pacific Ocean one last time before he passes away. When he gets into conflict with Frank, he’s much easier to root for.
- Anti-Villain: All he wants to do before dying is take another whiff of the sweet Pacific air.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Subverted. Frank's the one Harmonica is after, and he does most of the killing, while often trying to bully Morton. Yet in the end, Morton buys Frank's gang out from under him and would have killed him had Harmonica not intervened.
- Cool Train: He has a special one of his own.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Downplayed; though Morton's rich and unscrupulous, he's not exactly greedy, and views constructing a transcontinental railroad as a worthwhile achievement on its own.
- Determinator: He will reach the Pacific Ocean before he dies, no matter how many others die in the process.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He prefers to negotiate or buy out anyone in his way, resorting to violence only as a last resort. However, he consistently underestimates how Ax-Crazy Frank is.
- Evil Cripple: Suffering from "tuberculous of the bones," which threatens to kill him before he finishes his railroad.
- Handicapped Badass: Not only does he have the balls to play mind games with Frank, he would have succeeded in having Frank killed as well, if Harmonica had not intervened. He also killed Cheyenne. Frank even lampshades it:Frank: Who knows how far you'd have gone with two good legs.
- In-Series Nickname: Cheyenne refers to him as "Mr. Choo-choo" given he's almost always seen on a train.
- Leitmotif: A mellow piece for piano and oboe, accompanied by full orchestra for his death scene.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Played with. He's long since been confined to a wheelchair and pays Frank to do his bidding. Regardless, he still manages to hold his own in a gunfight against Cheyenne, of all people, and fires the fatal bullet that kills Cheyenne.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: Despite being wheelchair-bound, he refuses to be intimidated, convinces Frank's men to betray him, and even kills Cheyenne.
- Nothing Personal: He tends to view his villainous deeds as a necessary price of business rather than personal grievance or performing them out of cruelty and sadism. Frank notes that he finally figured out that he and Morton were different when he realised that Morton would be content to allow an enemy to live so long as they were defeated and posed no further threat to his life or interests.
- Ocean Awe: He's motivated by a desire to see the Pacific Ocean before he dies from his illness.
- Pragmatic Villainy: What sets him apart from Frank is that he sees violence as a means to an end rather than an end in and of itself. He prefers to achieve his goals by non-violent means unless he has no other choice, and is disgusted by Frank's recklessness and sadism.
- Railroad Baron: And a villainous one at that.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!:There are many things you'll never understand. This is one of them. (holds a stack of dollars while looking at Frank's drawn gun) You see, Frank, there are many kinds of weapons. And the only one that can stop that is this. Now, shall we get back to our little problem?
- Tragic Dream: His last dream is to see the Pacific Ocean before he dies. He spends his dying moments desperately crawling towards a small, muddy puddle as a substitute for the Pacific.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Dying of an illness and wants to build his railroad so he can see and smell the Pacific Ocean one last time.
Stony, Snaky and Knuckles
Stony, Snaky, Knuckles
Played By: Woody Strode (Stony), Jack Elam (Snaky) and Al Mulock (Knuckles)
"Frank sent us"
- Badass Longcoat: Snaky.
- The Comically Serious: Stony in the opening scene. He is completely stone-faced as water drips from the rafters onto his head, and then onto his hat.
- Defiant to the End: Stony manages to shoot Harmonic before he falls.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Stony is the last of the three to be killed and even manages to shoot Harmonica as he goes.
- Evil Minions: Three bastards who work for an even bigger bastard, Frank.
- Evil Wears Black: Stony wears purple.
- Faux Affably Evil: They laugh and joke with Harmonic, but are trying to gun him down.
- Hired Guns: A trio of killers.
- Jerkasses: Mock Harmonica and arrogantly believe they will kill him.
- Knuckle Cracking: Knuckles does this while they are waiting for the train in the opening scene.
- Obviously Evil: Maybe not Woody Strode, who did play heroic characters in many of his films, but Jack Elam with his lazy eye and perma-stubble? Al Mulock cracking his knuckles?
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Snaky's tense exchange with Harmonica.Snaky: Well, looks like we're shy one horse.Harmonica: (shakes head) You brought two too many.
- Terrible Trio: Considering they work for Frank and are tasked with killing Harmonica, they definitely aren't good guys.
- The Voiceless: Stony never says a word the entire time.
