“When the film was first broadcast on American television, a new sequence was added by network executives (unknown to either Eastwood or Leone). In this prologue, the Man with No Name (played by a look-a-like) has his prison sentence commuted by the prison warden, provided he cleans up the Mexican village of the film. The prologue was dropped from later releases and broadcasts of the film.”
Wow anyone recall this? I wonder what year it was first broadcast.
Freegards
I believe the terrible added footage is shown on one of the DVDs and/or Blu-rays as a supplement. Apparently, the network in the 70's was troubled that Eastwood's character was motivated strictly by reward money (this was in the "no-violence on TV" 70's). so they added the sequence in which the killings are sanctioned by the government for some reason nobler than bounty-hunting. Harry Dean Stanton played the officer who briefs "Eastwood" at the beginning. The "double" for Eastwood never shows his face, and seems to be considerably shorter than Eastwood. They cut in some shots of Eastwood's squinty eyes from elsewhere in the film in a lame attempt to sell the viewer on the idea that it's Eastwood. Really ridiculous.
***Wow anyone recall this? I wonder what year it was first broadcast.***
I remember seeing that when it was first broadcast on TV sometime in the early 1970s. They even had a dialog to mouth mismatch.