The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

9 mistakes since 20 Sep '18, 00:00

(24 votes)

Factual error: The judges reading Tuco and Shorty's death sentences mention them being wanted by so many counties within "the state." This cannot be correct. The battles the characters are near at all times in the film depict the battles over New Mexico. The Union never invaded Texas through its western deserts, despite landing in the Rio Grande valley. New Mexico was not a state until 1912 and was never treated as a state by the CSA. Thus, the judges should be saying territory.

Fireball

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly mistake picture

Revealing mistake: When Tuco first enters Sad Hill Cemetery, you can see the dual tire track ruts left by the dump truck that brought in the sand to make the grave mounds.

Factual error: The guns Tuco and Blondie use appear to be 1851 Colt Navy because they have octagonal barrels and the loading ram below the barrel. 2 problems are that 1) the '51 was only made in .36 calibre. When shown from the business end the muzzles appear to be much larger. Colt '61 / '60 came in .44 caliber, but they had round barrels. 2) More importantly they are using brass cartridges to load. Conversions for those pistols to load cartridges did not exist till after the war and these were cap 'n' ball only then.

Other mistake: When Blondie is cleaning his pistol he only loaded 3 bullets, but as Tuco's bandits enter the door Blondie shoots off 4 rounds.

Continuity mistake: When Tuco pulls the corporal from train they fall down a steep grade. When train runs over the corporal, they're on flat ground. The corporal would be too heavy for Tuco to carry far enough for the ground to flatten out. Watch the ground when the train approaches before the jump.

Factual error: While cleaning his pistol Eastwood is using a plastic bore brush, not available in that era. (00:00:45 - 00:50:00)

Factual error: The movie depicts General Sibley's New Mexico campaign. This occurred in the first half of 1862, with the last battle occurring on June 1, prior to a Confederate retreat to Texas. General Sibley is seen, and he lost his battlefield command altogether in 1863. However, Angel Eyes makes reference to Andersonville prison, which did not open until 1864. The question is also begged as to how Arch Stanton, who died in February of 1862, had completely rotted away by May in dry soil.

Fireball

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly mistake picture

Continuity mistake: A dirty Union cavalry officer hits himself to clean off the dust that made him appeared Confederate. His first two strikes barely shake the dust on his uniform, yet, after a cutaway and two off-screen strikes, his arm is almost completely free of dust. (01:16:50)

Fireball

Factual error: Regarding the train scenes when Tuco is taken then escapes from Mario Brega, there were no trains / railways in New Mexico in any of the years of the US Civil War, let alone 1862 when Selby's short-lived and daft campaign was limited to. I believe the RRs were starting to move into Texas then, but not NM until the 1870s. Also, the whole geography of the film is wrong if the gold was intercepted but 'escaped' with the three people in the wagon near Glorietta Pass in early 1862. The sequence of events means all involved had to go up and down the Rio Bravo constantly - eg. the 'jornado del muerto' is hundreds of miles from Glorietta. This is too complicated to summarise here, but check the actual battles and timelines.

Tuco: Hurrah! Hurrah for the Confederacy! HURRAH! Down with General Grant! Hurrah for General... What's his name? Lee! LEE! Ha ha. God is with us because he hates the Yanks too. HURRAH!
Man With No Name: God is not on our side because he hates idiots also.

More quotes from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Trivia: There is no dialogue in the first 10 minutes of the film.

More trivia for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Question: At the end of the film Blondie, sitting on the horse, turns around, aims his rifle, fires, and severs the rope with a single shot. Lets face it, that rope would be a very small target, and difficult to hit with precision, even from ten or twenty feet, and Blondie is now so far from Tuco that he would no longer even be able to see the rope. Could anyone hit such a small target from such a distance with such incredible accuracy?

Rob Halliday

Answer: There's a show called "Hollywood Weapons: Fact or Fiction" which dealt with this exact question (s01e03). Blondie is roughly 200 yds away. In the show the host didn't hit the rope, but only missed by an inch on his first attempt. I definitely think an expert Sharps Rifle shooter could make the shot. The issue however, is the bullet would most likely not actually slice the rope apart as seen in the film (they fired the Sharps at point blank and the rope remained partially intact still). They also tested shooting a hat off someone and (as expected) the bullet just goes right through the hat without lifting the hat at all.

Bishop73

That was another thing that puzzled me. On several occasions in this film, Tuco is suspended from a rope, and Blondie cuts the rope by firing a bullet at it, (I think Clint Eastwood repeated the trick in "The Outlaw Josey Wales"). But if you fired a bullet at a rope holding a (rather large) person like Tuco (or a similarly heavy weight), even at close range, would it really sever the rope? I will have to look out for "Hollywood Weapons Fact Or Fiction." I hope they only used a dummy or a model to re-create the shooting feats. I don't think I would have liked to have been hanging on a rope while somebody fired bullets at me to see if this would sever the rope, or to stand there while they fired bullets into my hat to see if they could lift it off my head.

Rob Halliday

Answer: Probably not, but remember...this is a movie, a western at that and they typically have over the top action to excite audiences. Kinda like how it's impossible to shoot someone's hat off without harming them. It's all for show.

Dra9onBorn117

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