My kids don't get my fascination and admiration for Clint Eastwood. FACT: In his heyday, he was simply irresistible! Drawing upon my childhood memories once again ( an absolute must when you're a skeptic and don't trust everything you find on the Internet :) ) - who can forget “ Rollin, rollin, rollin ”, theme song for the TV show “Rawhide ” which was my introduction to a young actor named Clint Eastwood.
Next thing that happened was a string of spaghetti westerns; films starring that tall lanky handsome man who made a fashion statement wearing a poncho. If they haven't done it already, it should be done. Clint Eastwood's poncho belongs in the Smithsonian. All Americans will agree, it's a national treasure.
Then, there was a collection of Dirty Harry movies. Mr. Eastwood still had a cowboy-style even though he was playing a modern detective in the city. That was it for me and Clint. My affair with him ended and didn't bother to follow his acting career after that.
No need. The most memorable scene ever played out in a movie about the wild wild west was already embedded in my mind so that I could hit the “instant recall button”, any time, any place. What scene was that? “ For a Few Dollars More ”. Colonel Mortimer and Indigo face off! It's time Indigo! You're going down down down!
The outlaw Indigo holds a stolen watch in his hand that plays lovely chime music. The music starts playing. When the music ends, there will only be one left standing.
Shhhh … The audience in the dark crowded movie theater is completely silent. All you can hear is the music. Everybody is waiting for the chimes to end. The last note of the chimes sound and then … bing … bing bong … bing bing … bing bong … What's that? It's the sound of more chime music. What? Who?? Where?? How??
The hero, Clint Eastwood, appears with another watch that plays the same exact chime music. The audience erupts into cheers. YAY!! YAY!! Whew! For a minute there we didn't know how the bad guy was going to get his comeuppance.
Shhhh ... The audience gets quiet. Everybody's waiting for the chime music to end. AGAIN!!
To this day, that final duel between Mortimer and Indigo never gets old! Especially the music!! Loyal fans will watch it over and over.
For a Few Dollars More - Final Duel (1965 HD)
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Content first published at PersonaPaper, April 13, 2015.
