Plot hole: The man with no name kills five Rojo bandits outside the city, in the so-called small house. His gunfire is heard in the town, where other Rojos respond by riding to the place of incident. In the film time, it is daytime. Shortly afterwards, the man with no name starts a fire. It is now night in the film. A fire alarm is sounded. Many scramble to extinguish it. Rojos then toss the entire town, looking for the man. Soon after that, Rojos blow up the external fence of the Baxter residence. So much ruckus in town until this point, but not a single Baxter has reacted. They still won't react until one minute later, when Rojos have set fire to their residence. 34 Baxters die on screen. Seriously, where were all these Baxters all this time? In a soundproof chamber of some sort? In coma? (01:02:10)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
1 plot hole
Directed by: Sergio Leone
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volonte, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy
Factual error: When the "U.S." soldiers open fire on the Mexican cavalry, they employ a machine gun. The only two rapid-firing weapons in that time period were the Gatling gun, which used a magazine or drum of rounds and was fired by turning a crank, or the "Mitrailleuse" volley gun, which required at least two men to operate it, one to load the ammunition blocks, and the other to turn, once again, a crank to fire the weapon. The gun pictured has a single operator and neither a crank, nor any visible cartridge feed.
Trivia: The boots Clint Eastwood wears in this film are the same ones he wore in "Rawhide".
Question: When the Baxter House is lit on fire, everybody comes out the front door and is promptly shot. Was there no rear exit or window?
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Answer: A house that size likely had a back door and windows. Being made of wood, the fire could spread quickly, and the flames may have blocked the rear exit, as well as thick smoke making it difficult to breathe and see where one is going. The front door was probably the closest exit. Of course, the point of the plot is that they all get shot when they run out.
raywest ★