Clint Eastwood is a name synonymous with some of the greatest Westerns in cinema history, and although he has played many Western heroes over the decades, there is one that stands out above all others. Eastwood’s portrayal of the mysterious no-named stranger that first appeared in Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars is one of the most iconic movie characters of all time, earning him the title: “The Man with No Name.”
Originally appearing in the three Leone classics that made up the “Dollars Trilogy”, an argument can be made that Eastwood’s “Man with No Name” has had a couple of other appearances in classic westerns. Aside from a number of movie characters being molded after him, “The Man with No Name” was not a character Eastwood was so easily ready to move away from. “The Man with No Name” inspired multiple iterations of Clint Eastwood protagonists, some more heavily than others.
Preacher Has No Name in Pale Rider
Director: Clint Eastwood
Firstly, it’s a common misconception that Clint Eastwood’s “Man with No Name” actually has no name. The character, in fact, has a moniker in each and every film he appears in. From Monco to Blondie, Eastwood’s famous gunslinger should more accurately be known as “The Man with Many Names.” But having many names is also construed as not revealing your true name and, therefore, he has no name. Clint Eastwood kept this distinctive Western element for a few of his other Western heroes over the years, including Preacher, the mysterious main character in his 1985 cult classic Pale Rider.
It’s a lot more fun to imagine “The Man with No Name” continuing his journey from town to town, doing what he does best for many years following the events of For A Few Dollars More. A part of Clint Eastwood felt the same way as his individual attempts at Westerns looked to explore a character like that on a deeper level. Pale Rider indirectly addresses what kind of man the “Man with No Name” will be twenty years later.
His Preacher title is reflective of his evolution into a new kind of Western hero at this later point in his life. Pale Rider is the most argumentative inclusion into a discussion about the “Man with No Name’s” appearances, as it’s more of a stretch to assume this is the same character. However, there are many reasons to assume just that, including reluctance, intention, morality, skill and charisma. If this is the “Man with No Name” he’s just as cool as the last time audiences saw him, just maybe a bit wiser than he was in the old days. As far as his appearances, the Preacher adventure isn’t quite on the level of some of his other escapades, giving Pale Rider the number five spot.
Monco Was Overshadowed in For a Few Dollars More
Director: Sergio Leone
When discussing the appearances of the “Man with No Name” it’s easy to put the movie itself over how resonant or impactful the appearance was. In the case of For a Few Dollars More, the storyline was better than the appearance. Sergio Leone certainly topped himself every time he returned to the old American West, and doing so meant more meaningful and layered storytelling. But this doesn’t mean that the “Man with No Name” was in full form because of it. While the team-up between the “Man with No Name” and Mortimer is great, it can sometimes diminish a few moments that would otherwise have been epic “Man with No Name” set-pieces.
For a Few Dollars More is becoming more and more adored for the story it tells, but for years it was overlooked or underrated in discussions pertaining to Sergio Leone’s trilogy. Perhaps this can be attributed to how memorable the trilogy’s signature hero is. The scene to focus on specifically is the climactic final duel. From a story standpoint, it makes wonderful, beautiful sense that Mortimer should get to kill El Indio in the end and that the “Man with No Name” should let him do it. But there’s no flare to the moment and it leaves the “Man with No Name” hanging about with less to do.
It’s still a fantastic ending, but not the one audiences will ever point to when discussing how cool or memorable the “Man with No Name” was in those movies. Not to mention when considering a chronological telling of the characters’ story, For a Few Dollars More may have been released before The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, but it takes place after. If fans were to watch the trilogy chronologically, this final scene would feel less climactic for the character than his other movie endings. The “Man with No Name” has many brilliant scenes in the film, and the film is masterful, but the appearance can’t rank any higher than this.
The Stranger Finds Another Town in High Plains Drifter
Director: Clint Eastwood
One of Clint Eastwood’s most beloved underdog flicks is also the next chapter in “The Man with No Name’s” story. High Plains Drifter is one of Clint Eastwood’s earliest directorial credits and the star-turned-director looked to capitalize on the western hero he had previously portrayed. Exploring a similar kind of folk hero who wanders into a small town only to find an intense criminal presence lingering there, the storyline intentionally mirrors Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars. Both films therefore pull from Akira Kurosawa’s samurai classic Yojimbo. Clint Eastwood’s 1973 version goes a step further, bringing some of the more supernatural elements that make these kinds of movies so unique.
He may not be wearing his famous poncho, but in High Plains Drifter “The Man with No Name” arguably returns. Just like the first time we meet him, he comes across an innocent small town being held hostage by the gang presence living there. This time, the “Man with No Name” actually has no name. Going by “The Stranger,” he brings with him just as much skill and impact as he has had countless times before.
Smoking his iconic cigarillo and flawlessly winning gunfights, the “Man with No Name” finds another town, reluctantly agrees to help it, and then things get personal. Every bit of High Plains Drifter is meant to present the idea that the “Man with No Name” has returned, this time completely through Clint Eastwood’s vision. There are multiple scenes that stand out and almost never a dull moment for the character. He is in full form and takes complete control of the movie, stealing every scene and shooting every bad guy. His appearance in the film is top-notch even if less mesmerizing than his first appearances, giving High Plains Drifter the number 3 spot.
Joe Introduces Himself in a Fistful of Dollars
Director: Sergio Leone
One of the most important appearances the “Man with No Name” can ever possibly have is the one where audiences meet him for the first time. Called Joe the first time around, the “Man with No Name” waltzes into a small town minding his own business only to find that his business becomes much more important. A Fistful of Dollars gave birth to the spaghetti western sub-genre that initially baffled American audiences; without it, Sergio Leone would not have slowly and brilliantly perfected what his spaghetti western could be over the course of three movies. It may pull directly from the Akira Kurosawa film Yojimbo and it may not be as entertaining as the sequels that followed it but A Fistful of Dollars does one thing best; it introduces the most famous Western hero of all time.
Audiences quickly discovered the style of a spaghetti western when watching A Fistful of Dollars, but they also learned the rules that existed for the type of folk hero they would spend so much time with for years to come. A skilled gunslinger minding his own business gets caught in the middle of a larger conflict and, coincidentally, is the only one capable of solving it. He falls down quite a bit as well, gets beat up, even loses, but he also outsmarts and outmaneuvers his enemies in the most surprising of ways at the end of the story. A Fistful of Dollars will always be one of the best appearances of “The Man with No Name” because everything he did in the film, he did for the first time. The centerpiece of the entire movie, the “Man with No Name” exerts himself at every turn and, in the end, he wins in the most entertaining way possible in one of the coolest final duels ever seen in westerns.
Blondie Became Iconic in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Director: Sergio Leone
Not only is it the best movie of the ones mentioned so far, but The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is also the best appearance by Clint Eastwood’s “Man with No Name.” By 1966, director Sergio Leone had perfected his take on a new kind of Western, giving audiences an epic of the old American West that included a perfected use of multi-perspective storytelling from the eyes of three distinct archetypal Western figures. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly successfully utilized all three of its major characters until all of them were as iconic as any classic character in cinema. Of course, the most prominent and well-written of the bunch was the now-titled “Blondie,” the good, the “Man with No Name.” The way his path crosses with the other two, made for one of the most compelling stories in western movie cinema.
Even though the “Man with No Name” shares a considerable amount of screen time with the other titular characters in the film, his presence becomes the most memorable. Every scene or sequence Blondie is in, he steals the show with his slick quips, clever reactions and stylish gunfights. The “hanging con” alone is one of Sergio Leone’s best-written “Man with No Name” set pieces. The way the “Man with No Name” bounces off of the character of Tuco is what helped make this appearance so effective. Stereotypes aside, sometimes the “Man with No Name” works best when his smarts are counteracting another character’s dimness. Leone knew how to build to a moment too, because it’s not too long before we realize the “Man with No Name” is going to outsmart everybody, even the one almost as smart as he is. When watching the “Dollars Trilogy,” saving the best for last is the best way to go. It’s hard to top one of the most tense, epic and brilliant final duels in Western history. Clint Eastwood’s best “Man with No Name” appearance will always be The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.