Once Upon a Time in the West - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[melinda]

Co-writer Bernardo Bertolucci says on the film's DVD that when he first suggested to director Sergio Leone that the film's central character be a woman, Leone was hesitant. Leone first budged on this subject by suggesting the introductory shot of Jill would be from below the train platform so the camera could see under Jill's dress and show she wasn't wearing any undergarments. Claudia Cardinale said she was never told this idea, and said she probably wouldn't have agreed to be in the movie if it required this shot (suggesting that Leone, mercifully, gave up on the idea in the writing process).

[violet]

Robert Ryan was offered the role of the Sheriff played by Keenan Wynn. Ryan initially accepted, but backed out after being given a larger role in Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1969).