The Man With No Name was supposed to have a detailed backstory in Fistful of Dollars, but thanks to Clint Eastwood, the plan was nixed. As his тιтle implies, Eastwood’s character in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy is a man of mystery, despite being the central protagonist of the three Spaghetti Westerns. There’s such little clarity as to his real idenтιтy that there’s often confusion among audiences as to whether the poncho-wearing gunslingers played by Clint Eastwood in Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly are the same person or three different characters entirely.

All three movies in the Dollars Trilogy manage to tell their stories without emphasis on the Man With No Name’s past as he involves himself in the matters of the other characters in the films. As a drifter with no personal connections to any of the figures in the casts, Sergio Leone’s Clint Eastwood Westerns are able to make this work. Interestingly, though, there was once an intention to explain a key part of his backstory, which would have cleared up some questions about his motivations.

Sergio Leone Wrote A Prologue For Fistful Of Dollars That Was Supposed To Explain The Man With No Name’s Backstory

Fistful Of Dollars’ Prologue Would Have Been Juxtaposed With Marisol’s Fate

Richard Schenkel explained in his Clint Eastwood biography, Clint Eastwood: A Biography, that a prologue was written (but never sH๏τ) for Fist of Dollars that would have tied into the movie’s narrative. The prologue was supposed to feature a young Man With No Name and his mother, who would have died in the scene. Exactly what happened isn’t clear, but it was stated in the book to be “similar” to what happens to Marisol in Fistful of Dollars. Played by Marianne Koch, Marisol was the woman taken away from her husband and son during the Rojo-Baxter conflict.

Since the two scenes were meant to connect with one another, it’s likely that the Man With No Name’s mother was going to be murdered by gang members in the prologue, and that this crime would have been witnessed by the child version of Eastwood’s character. Evidently, Leone envisioned the Man With No Name as a person shaped by a tragedy. That does make sense, considering that he’s a drifter with no known family or home to go back to. Being hardened by the violence in his past would also help explain his acceptance of the death that follows him in Fistful of Dollars and the trilogy’s subsequent installments.

One Moment In Fistful Of Dollars Hints The Cut Prologue Scene Did Happen

A Clint Eastwood Line In The Movie Seemingly References The Cut Scene

Of course, the prologue scene was ultimately cut and never filmed, but its influence on the story remains. In Fistful of Dollars, much of what Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name does is for his own benefit, meaning that he’s not a Western hero in a traditional sense, ala the characters typically played by Randolph Scott, John Wayne, and James Stewart. He’s much more of an anti-hero, and yet, there are moments that highlight a selfless side to the character. One such scene comes when the Man With No Name risks his alliance with the Rojos by freeing Marisol in the middle of the night and sending her off with some money.

When she asks the Man With No Name why he helped her, he explains, “Because I knew someone like you once, and there was no one to help.” He doesn’t outright say who he was talking about, but the idea that he helped Marisol because of something that happened in his past goes hand-in-hand with Leone’s cut prologue. And it does line up perfectly, as it provides a working explanation for his moment of heroism in Fistful of Dollars; no one saved his mother from injustice when he was a child, and he didn’t want to see the same thing happen to Marisol and her family, who may have gone through the same pain he did.

Clint Eastwood Convinced Sergio Leone To Cut Fistful Of Dollars’ Prologue

Clint Eastwood Maintained That The Prologue Was Unnecessary

Because of what happened to Marisol, the prologue certainly would have been relevant to the character and the story. As for why it cut anyway, the reason for that can be attributed – according to Clint Eastwood: A Biography – to the star himself. The book notes that Eastwood appealed to Sergio Leone, telling him that the prologue need not be included. Eastwood’s argument was that where the Man With No Name came from didn’t matter. It was Eastwood’s opinion that his character’s past ought to be left to the audience’s imagination. He suggested that instead of explaining directly, the movie should just offer a hint of a “little incident.”

Sergio Leone didn’t share that sentiment – or at least, not at first. He took some convincing, with Schenkel’s book explaining that the director was resistant to the idea, feeling that the movie needed to help the viewer understand the character. With Leone not budging from his position, Eastwood was prompted to try another approach. Schenkel wrote that Eastwood tried making a comparison to Hollywood filmmaking: “In a B movie, we tell everybody everything. But in a real Class A movie, we let the audience think.“

Based on the finished product, it’s safe to say that Eastwood was successful in making his case to Leone. Fistful of Dollars never reveals The Man With No Name’s backstory, and only offers a hint during his exchange with Marisol. It never goes any further than that. This allows for an air of unpredictability in regards to the Man With No Name. This works for the character, given that he’s not a traditional protagonist meant to grow and change with the story; his mysterious qualities are a major part of his appeal and by removing the prologue, Fistful of Dollars didn’t risk undermining that.