A Fistful of Dollars

Revealing mistake: When Ramón and his men massacre a detachment of Mexican soldiers by ambushing them with a Gatling gun, it's easy to tell that the soldiers are just pretending to be hit by bullets. There isn't a single bullet hole or drop of blood on any of the soldiers also in the wide shots not one horse is hit in the crossfire nor has the carriage been damaged by gunfire. (00:25:43)

Jack Vaughan

Revealing mistake: During the prisoner exchange scene, when Marisol is told to move forward on her horse, if you look at the building behind her you can see it's a partially built set. Through the buildings window you can see the desert. (00:53:05)

Jack Vaughan

Revealing mistake: After Joe (Clint Eastwood) shoots dead the five men in the "small house" there is a close-up shot of one of the dead men lying across the table and his eyes are still open. Joe then pushes him off the table and as his body falls the dead man closes his eyes. (01:02:38)

Jack Vaughan

Revealing mistake: When Clint Eastwood ambushes the two guards by crushing them with a large barrel you can see two extended rails have been added to either side of the ramp, presumably to help with the stunt. (01:11:20)

Jack Vaughan

Revealing mistake: About 40 minutes into the film, there is a shot of guys on horses going one direction. Before the shot cuts, a road sign pole is visible. This indicates the camera crew are on a dirt road.

manthabeat

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.

More mistakes in A Fistful of Dollars

Marisol: Why are you doing this for us?
Joe: Because I knew someone like you once and there was no-one there to help. Now, get moving.

More quotes from A Fistful of Dollars
More trivia for A Fistful of Dollars

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?

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

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