The last and most expensive of director Sergio Leone's "Dollar" trilogy grossed a respectable $6.1 million in 1966 and solidified Clint Eastwood's status as a major Western star. Following the success of Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari, 1964) and For a Few Dollars More (Per qualche dollaro in piu, 1965), The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Il buono, il brutto, et il cattivo, 1966) signifies the aesthetic high point of the Italian-produced spaghetti westerns, which revitalized the western hero through Eastwood's portrayal of the calculating "Man with No Name." Energized by Leone's vibrant film style and Ennio Morricone's didactic score, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly's international influence permanently altered popular conceptions of the western and its themes.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly's plot follows the progress of three ruthless...