Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) is an epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone, who co-wrote it with Sergio Donati based on a story by Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci and Leone. A train pulls into the Old West town of ‘Flagstone’, and a man wearing a harmonica around his neck disembarks. He swiftly dispatches three gunfighters who were waiting for him. The leader of the outlaws, Frank, is in cahoots with railroad tycoon Morton, who has his eyes set on the land belonging to Brett McBain’s family. Harmonica notices the distinctive dusters worn by Frank’s men and suspects that they are working for rival outlaw Cheyenne. While Frank and his gang carry out their sinister plans, they pin the blame on Cheyenne by killing McBain and his children at their ranch in ‘Sweetwater’.

Upon arriving in Flagstone, a woman named Jill had plans to marry McBain at Sweetwater. However, as it turns out, she is actually a former New Orleans prostitute who married McBain just a month prior. This makes her the sole heir to Sweetwater. It becomes clear that McBain was well aware of the fact that the railroad would eventually pass through his land, and he had plans to build a watering station there. However, there was a catch – if the station was not built by the time the railroad reached Sweetwater, McBain would forfeit ownership of the land. Meanwhile, Morton instructed Frank to simply intimidate McBain, but their relationship has been strained ever since Frank went against those orders and committed murder. While Morton sees potential in making a deal with Jill, Frank has his own selfish desires for the land.