In the West during the 1870's, Frank, a
ruthless killer, sends three of his henchmen to a remote railway
depot to wait for The Man, an impassive gunman whose trademark is
playing sad songs on a harmonica. The Man guesses their
murderous intent when they refuse to answer a question about Frank,
and he kills them before they can reach for their guns.
Meanwhile, rancher Brett McBain and his
three motherless children await the arrival of Jill, a New Orleans
prostitute whom Brett has recently married. Suddenly, Frank
and his gang appear and gun down Brett and the children. They
plant evidence implicating Cheyenne, a notorious half-breed.
Arriving at the ranch, Jill finds a
burial service being conducted and learns that McBain's promise of
wealth was for the future when his property, through which a new
railroad must pass, would become the center of a thriving community.
Too frightened to remain in the area, Jill is forced to auction off
her property. Frank, who is employed by Morton, a crippled
railroad executive, tries to fix the sale, but The Man appears with
Cheyenne in tow and buys the land for $5,000--the exact amount of
the reward money for capturing Cheyenne. The Man then returns
the land rights to Jill but refuses to explain his actions.
A short time later, he rescues Frank
from an ambush by his own men who had sold their loyalty to the
double-crossing Morton. The Man still refuses to explain his
motives or reveal his true identity to Frank, but he returns to the
ranch to help Jill with the work and to protect her from Frank.
Cheyenne, who is now on friendly terms with The Man, also arrives
after being cleared of the McBains' murders. He has been
wounded in a gunfight with Morton's men.
Frank eventually shows up to face The
Man in a gun duel, and he is shot before he has time to draw his
gun. Before Frank dies, The Man explains to him the reason for
the vendetta: when The Man was 15 years old, Frank forced him to
play the harmonica while his older brother was tortured and hanged.
With his mission accomplished, The Man says goodbye to Jill and
rides off with the mortally wounded Cheyenne.
Alone at the ranch, Jill distributes
water to the men who are helping to build the new railroad town.
Notes
Filmed in the United States (Arizona and Utah) and Spain.
Released in Italy in 1968 as C'era una volta il West .
Subsequent release versions were cut to between 132 and 144 min.
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