My Name Is Nobody

Jack Beauregard (Henry Fonda) is an aging gunslinger who wants to retire peacefully to Europe. Three gunmen attempt to ambush him in a barbershop. After he has shot all three in quick succession, the barber's son asks his father if there is anyone in the world faster than Beauregard, to which the barber replies, "Faster than him? Nobody!"

Beauregard pauses on his way to watch a down-and-out (Terence Hill) catching fish. He continues on to an old goldmine, only to find his friend Red has just been shot by a gang. He lies there dying. Beauregard asks Red about the whereabouts of a certain "Nevada", but Red only manages to disclose Nevada's village before dying.

At a horse relay station, the down-and-out is asked by three men to deliver a basket to someone inside, who turns out to be Beauregard. The bum talks to Beauregard, revealing his detailed knowledge of Beauregard's feats, then throws the basket outside. A bomb hidden inside explodes. The bum identifies himself as "Nobody". He idolizes Beauregard and wants him to end his career in style by taking on all 150 of the Wild Bunch single-handed. The bandits are using a worthless goldmine to launder their stolen gold. Sullivan, the mine owner fronting for them, thinks Beauregard is out to kill him, and is trying to get him first. The leader of the Wild Bunch tells Sullivan not to give away their operation.

At Nevada's village, Beauregard finds Nobody already there. He reveals that the Nevada Kid, Beauregard's brother, is dead. Again Nobody challenges him to face the Wild Bunch. Again Beauregard declines.

Nobody arrives at a town. After showing his skill with a gun, he is hired by Sullivan to kill Beauregard. Instead, he helps Beauregard to do away with Sullivan's men. In a reveling mistake, Nobody fires 7 shots (4 at Beauregard's hat, one at the rope holding-up the barn door and one at Sullivan's shooter).

Then the Wild Bunch ride into town to collect sticks of dynamite, stashing them in their saddlebags. Later, an old man tells Beauregard that he was bought out of a worthless gold mine by his partners Nevada and Red, only to have the mine produce much gold afterwards. Beauregard hurries off to the mine and catches Sullivan loading sacks of gold powder. Sullivan offers Beauregard Nevada's share, but Beauregard tells him he could not care less about his brother, and just takes two sacks, as well as $500 to pay for his passage to Europe. He then leaves to catch a train to New Orleans.

A train is being loaded at a station with bars of gold, guarded by soldiers, when Nobody steals the train. Beauregard is waiting down the line when the Wild Bunch charge towards him across a featureless plain. Nobody arrives with the train, but refuses to rescue Beauregard until he "makes his name in the history books". Remembering the mirrored conchas on the gang’s dynamite-filled saddlebags, Beauregard aims at them. One by one, they explode, blowing up most of the charging gang until Nobody lets him board the train.

In New Orleans, Beauregard and Nobody finally face off in the street, with a photographer and many spectators on hand. Nobody is the faster, and Beauregard falls to the ground. A sign is put up reading "Jack Beauregard 1848–1899 Nobody was faster on the draw”. What's left of the Wild Bunch see it and switch their search to the anonymous Nobody. Later, Nobody walks by the ship (named Sundowner) that was to take Beauregard to Europe. However, it is revealed that Beauregard is in his cabin aboard, writing Nobody an affectionate farewell and leaving him to survive in his own playful and unheroic way.

Shooting for My Name Is Nobody started on April 30, 1973.[4] It was one of the few films related to Sergio Leone where 80% of the outdoor scenes were actually shot in the United States.[4] The film was shot in nine weeks.[4]

Filming took place at Acoma Pueblo, the ghost town of Cabezon, the mission of San Esteban Del Rey in New Mexico and in the chalk dunes at White Sands.[4] Leone predominantly stayed at home for the shoot and went to join the crew for five days in New Orleans.[4] Leone replaced director Tonino Valerii, who was suffering from an ear infection, for one day on the set.[4]

Tensions rose on set between cinematographer Armando Nannuzzi and Valerii.[4] Fonda was being told how to pick up money off the ground and was told two different ways to pick up between Valerii and Nannuzzi.[4] Their relationship became more intense, with Nannuzzi eventually leaving the film.[4]

Prior to its release in Italy, My Name Is Nobody was released in West Germany and France on December 13 and 14 respectively.[7] Italian audiences got to see it starting 21 December 1973, where it was distributed by Titanus.[3][7] The film grossed over 3.6 billion lire and was the third highest-grossing film in Italy of the year, behind Salvatore Samperi's Malicious (5.5 billion lire) and Dino Risi's Sessomatto.[7] In the United States, it was cut to 111 minutes and "nearly flopped" according to Italian film historian Roberto Curti.[7]

In 2015, a novelization of the film by Michael R. Hudson was published in the United States by Raven Head Press as part of a series of adaptations of several of Gastaldi's scripts, including The Horrible Dr. Hichcock and The Case of the Bloody Iris.[9]

Contemporary reviews are positive.[10] The New York Times gave it a positive review, saying it was "very entertaining" and that it "...is the kind of Western that only an immensely appreciative and witty Italian film maker could make."[11]

• My Name Is Nobody on IMDb
• My Name Is Nobody at Rotten Tomatoes