Once Upon a Time in the West

Factual error: It seems unlikely that the bullet hole in Harmonica's jacket should have burned edges - he was shot at a distance of more than ten metres. (00:36:35)

Factual error: At the end of the post station scene Cheyenne advises Harmonica to "watch those false notes". Harmonica anwers this with a discordant chord that could not be produced on a harmonica like his. (00:43:35)

NancyFelix

Factual error: When Harmonica climbs down the ladder, only to meet Frank at the other end of a '45, we see that the ladder is electro-welded to the wagon and the steps are also electro-welded to the legs of the ladder - rather lousy welding seams, too! The movie takes place around 1870. Electro-welding started during the '90s, but the method got practicable only in the 1920s - and began to be commonly used in the late '30s when the great navies (except for the Royal Navy) started to use the method for their first-line ships. The great leap forward came during WW2, when Liberty ships and many other vessels were electro-welded. (01:19:50)

Factual error: As Martha is lying the table near the beginning, she is singing Danny Boy. The song was published in 1913, long after the time period of the movie.

Factual error: If the movie takes place in the 1870's, then the hanging of Harmonica's brother had to have occurred at least 20 years before. Frank and his crew wear gunbelts with cartridges, an item not generally utilized until 1871.

Factual error: The camera rises up the side and over the roof of the Rail Road Office. The roof of the RR office looked like it was 100 years old. It would have leaked like a sieve all over. That RR office would have been a beautiful new building as it was on the interior scenes at that time.

Factual error: Cheyenne says his mother was "a whore in Alameda..." Alameda was founded in 1853 and incorporated 1854. The story takes place in the 1870's. Jason Robards was 46 in 1968. His character could have been not much older than 20.

Revealing mistake: Jack Elam gets bothered by a fly crawling over his face (nice stunt, actually). When the fly moves over the bench, just before he catches it with the muzzle of his gun, look at the hind legs. You'll notice that the fly is dead. (00:07:50)

NancyFelix

More mistakes in Once Upon a Time in the West

Cheyenne: Listen, Harmonica, a town built around a railroad - mm mm mm mmm - you could make a fortune, huh? Hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hey, more than that. Thousands of thousands.
Harmonica: They call them "millions."
Cheyenne: "Millions." Hm.

More quotes from Once Upon a Time in the West

Trivia: While Morton's private train plays a key role in the movie, and the train moves several times, the train's engineer and fireman are never shown, nor is any reference ever made to them.

More trivia for Once Upon a Time in the West

Question: At first it seemed Cheyenne didn't know harmonica man, but later in the movie they help one another once to get the $5,000 from Cheyenne's bounty. Then Cheyenne rescues harmonica man from the train. And finally Cheyenne didn't want harmonica man to see him die they were leaving together I just think they knew each other and this was planned?

Answer: They formed an alliance, Cheyenne wanted to know why he was being framed for the massacre of an entire family by Henry Fonda and Harmonica seemed to know everything.

More questions & answers from Once Upon a Time in the West

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