This is fun topic I’ve been thinking about for a while but I never got around to posting on it. Does anyone want to play?
It’s 1967/1968 and while preparing Once Upon A Time In The West… Leone pulls out and so does Paramount and most of the money. You are now the director and on a much reduced budget you must cast the picture. For budgetary reasons you can only cast actors who are already working or are about to work in the SW universe. You can’t import expensive American stars!
The only bit of casting I can come up with is Anthony Steffan to play Frank, as he looks vaguely like Fonda and it would be against type for him to play the villian. Apparently Robert Hossein and Enrico Maria Salerno were originally in line for Morton, both would make good alternative casting I think.
[quote=“JonathanCorbett, post:5, topic:2954”]Frank (Henry Fonda) - ANTHONY GHIDRA
Harmonica (Charles Bronson) - KEN WOOD
Cheyenne (Jason Robards) - MARIO ADORF
Jill (Claudia Cardinale) - NICOLETTA MACHIAVELLI
Morton (Gabrielle Ferzetti) - ENRICO MARIA SALERNO
[/quote]
Very interesting idea with Anthony Ghidra’s performance. He was so good actor that we could easily cope with this role.
And agree, Salerno would be perfect for Morton’s role (love his all appearances in spaghettis).
Frank - Robert Shaw
Harmonica - Giuliano Gemma (you may laugh, I reckon he could have pulled it off)
Cheyenne - Franco Nero
Jill - Femi Benussi*
Morton - James Mason*
I thought of Susan Scott and Enrico Maria Salerno but didn’t want the same as anyone else.
Frank (Henry Fonda) - William Berger
Harmonica (Charles Bronson) - Leonard Mann
Cheyenne (Jason Robards) - Robert Woods
Jill (Claudia Cardinale) - Charo López (from Dead Men Ride)
Morton (Gabrielle Ferzetti) - Gian Maria Volonté
Frank (Henry Fonda) - Eduardo Fajardo
Harmonica (Charles Bronson) - Fabio Testi
Cheyenne (Jason Robards) - Gianni Garko
Jill (Claudia Cardinale) - Edwige Fenech (actresses isn’t my strong side, Fenech was the only one I could think of)
Morton (Gabrielle Ferzetti) - Antonio Casas
Harmonica - You need a face that was sculptured from a rock by Michelangelo himself. Two possibilities, Steve McQueen (Like Stanton said he’s at his best when he’s not really acting, just being there, and we would finally know who had more charisma, Chuck or Steve), or Yul Brynner. I think I go for Brynner. Frank - Leone knew a villain is more dispicable when he’s charming (he cast notorious ladies man Volonté twice as a psychopath). So you need a friendly, good-looking man to play the beast. I thought of James Garner, but my favourite would be Marcello Mastroianni (he told Corbucci once he would like to do a western) Cheyenne - A difficult choice. There aren’t too many actors with a natural talent for comedy AND drama. Peter Sellers is the one who had it all, but I can’t picture him in a western (or can I?). Burt Lancaster maybe. Not sure. Richard Burton would be a possibility too. His accent would fit the character. His liquour consumption too. "Any decent man would put a bullet in his brain, you keep drinking." Morton - Salerno. Leone’s first idea was the best. Jill - Sophia Loren would be a good choice, but I already appointed an Italian actor as Frank, and I want to respect the balance: Three Anglo-Saxon, two Latin. Elisabeth Taylor is the only one imo with the same qualities as the Italian ladies Sofia and Claudia. After all Jill represents the double virgin/mother symbolism. It takes an angel who’s also a diva, a virgin who can turn into a whore (and back) in one moment. And if you cast her, you might as well Richard too.
Interesting choices all. A lot of love for Ghirda and Hilton.
I particularly like the Fidani casting but I don’t think I could sit through it, a lot of riding around a sand pit and no actual trains!
But I certainly cannot afford actors like Steve McQueen and Elizabeth Taylor. I have discussed it with Grimaldi and Etoile Film Paris, and I’m sorry we just can’t import such people!
He’s a bit too young but how about Giuliano Gemma for Frank, can you imagine Gemma killing a little kid?
