Clint Eastwood makes his first appearance as the eponymous Man with No Name (sometimes referred to as Joe), who has found himself at the border town of San Miguel. Upon arrival, "Joe" finds himself in the middle of a conflict between to rival smuggler gangs: The Rojos and the Baxters. He soon decides to play off the two gangs against each other in order to profit from it. Unfortunately, his plan gets complicated when he sticks his neck out for the beautiful Marisol - the reluctant mistress of Ramon Rojo, the youngest but most intelligent and ruthless of the Rojo brothers, played by Gian Maria Volonte.
Eastwood is fantastic. He says very little, but when he does speak, he commands presence. When he isn't speaking, he's delivering hard stares and out-drawing his opponents. Volonte is also great as Ramon - but he really shines in the sequel.
Because the film was originally Italian, most of the actors are dubbed, and the dubbing isn't always done well - but that's fair enough. It was the 60s after all.
All in all, it's a good film, but probably the weakest of the trilogy. This is a series where the sequels do get better.
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