Morton's Death in "Once upon a time in the west"

[hellpatrol68]

Just shows how ruthless and cold blooded Fondas character was. He took more joy in letting Morton suffer and die slow than ending it quick.

[schallrd1]

We all have a little bit of Frank in all of us. Some people a lot more.

[calimero902]

Cette scène ou Frank laisse Morton agoniser m'avait choqué : on le voit sourire (toujours ce sourire qui fait froid dans le dos) en voyant son ancien patron se traîner vers l'eau, et ce sadisme est inhumain (un peu lorsqu'il tue le gosse au début du film).

[Wilderneshunter]

HENRY WAS THE BEST!!!

[LeCutter]

Aww you missed the best part! Just before when he asked Frank what it was like sitting behind the desk and he replies...."Almost like holding a gun."

[glynamus]

dont feel sorry for him, in his youth he was just like frank but worse, he understood that money was a tool that worked guns

[klimtkiller]

once upon a time... a man died.

[2kmx5]

OMG! Fonda was cast perfectly as the vilian. Typed cast completely against character and totally splendid in his portrayal as a villian. Bronson brought so much more to this role than Eastwood could have. With Eastwood as the man with no name, his previous character would not have lended credibility to the person seeking revenge.

[pelontorjunta]

Fonda ain't the right person as brutal villain. Gian Maria Volonte was much better. And Bronson didn't have the charisma like Clint Eastwood. Perhaps these are some of the reason why i don't appreciate this film. Claudia Cardinale should have been in role of young new fresh whore.

You can forget this film.

[rotatingi]

@pelontorjunta You must have no idea WHY Fonda was chosen for the film, and WHY the film was made, and what it is truly about.

[borgoff55]

@pelontorjunta can forget you cuz you dont know shit. keep your worthless opinions to yourself

[juresaiyan]

This scene, for me, was completely heartwrenching...

[dmchatster]

hey, put this in your tags and it should stretch the picture to fit the player: yt:stretch=16:9.

[tweakiepop]

The most stonehearted bastard cinema has ever seen.... and the 'best' death of a broken, sad man..we all die alone. 

[tokiluv1]

An amazing scene, I love it.

[Nibelungenherr1876]

I guess you have mixed an opinion and fact, they are different things, you know. Not saying Fonda isn't great actor but you can hardly call it fact.

[Nibelungenherr1876]

... in For a few dollars more. His gang robs the bank so quickly and professionally that you hardly even notice they already did it. And then they ride away with the money with Morricone's great il vizio d'uccidere playing background. It's like they are thinking: "Yeah, we're awesome and we know it!"

[Nibelungenherr1876]

Well, I could go further and say Gian Maria Volonté as Indio and Ramon was/were the best Leone villain/s. His magnificent acting skills are even more magnificent when thinking he didn't even consider these roles as important. Yet you can see him giving 100 % pure awesomeness in every second he is on the screen. When he sweats while trying to desperately shoot clint with hidden armor plate, I sweat with him. But my most favorite scene from him is when he robs bank as Indio

[tokiluv1]

@Nibelungenherr1876 As I said, Frank is the best villain, a fact, no other even comes close. Maybe Angel Eyes comes close, but only him. Anyways, Frank is the best villain from Leone's westers.

[patgarrett5755]

Better Villain....Frank or Angel Eyes?

[Nibelungenherr1876]

@patgarrett5755 Everyone probably hates me for this, but I would say Angel Eyes. Even though Henry Fonda is awesome and Frank is really kickass character, I still like Angel Eyes bit more, perhaps because he is more humane and complex (although the shortened version doesn't show it that much; they cut off for ex. the scene where Angel Eyes visits camp and shows pity towards wounded soldiers and even gives one guy a bottle of whiskey and tells him to keep it). Plus it's Lee van Cleef.

[hugodrax71]

@Nibelungenherr1876 I agree with you, it's Angel Eyes for me. Van Cleef was superb in the role.

[tokiluv1]

@Nibelungenherr1876 I completely disagree. For me it's Frank. He is way more complex, way more evil and way more interesting, overall a far better villain than Angel Eyes and plus, it's fuckin Henry Fonda, one of the best actors in the history of cinema.

[lewisner]

@patgarrett5755 Angel Eyes. Fonda was obviously a better actor but AE had such a lethal look about him.

[tokiluv1]

@lewisner As I said, Frank, not Angel Eyes, a fact.

[jarmark11]

@ 0:44 you can see how pissed Morton was that Frank was not killed by the men he paid off earlier. Poor bastard couldn't even get that much, lol. All the while - Frank with that sinister smirk on his face.

Great characters. Great story. Great movie.

[sietepeo1]

that was beutiful and patetic at the same time

[YoungZer0]

Damn, Henry Fonda is so absolutely fantastic in this one.

[luger666666]

This scene shows how Sergio Leone is great. The poor man wanted to see the Pacific Ocean after leaving the Atlantic Ocean. And finally he died beside a puddle full of mud + we hear the sound of the waves that we already heard when he was looking at the picture in the railroad car :(

[gianlu64]

@luger666666 well right but the "poor" man had done a bunch of bad things for his purpose. So bad that Frank (i.e. Henry Fonda) finally decides that he is not even worth a bullet.

[fahqmein]

1:05-1:10:  utterly pitiless

[DarkDefender95]

In 1:56 as the music changes it's like "Well, shit happens lol - life goes on"

[TwilightCodex]

One of the most sad scenes I've ever seen in a film.

[epicvlas]

GREAT SCENE! THIS WESTERN IS THE BEST WESTERN EVER MADE!

[juresaiyan]

To me, this is the saddest movie scene of all time. Morton' struggling is just mesmerising. And the theme is soo sad.

[limmywinks]

I don't get why Frank didn't just kill him. I guess he would rather him suffer through his last few moments than to put him out of his misery.

[Rambo4President]

Now you've got your ocean!

[DynastyQg9]

WOW..

[karlvorderman]

I just love the smirk on Frank's face at around 1:12. He decided in the end that Morton wasn't even worth a bullet. Such contempt for his former paymaster.

[DarkDefender95]

He always wanted to see the pacific... and he ended up reaching for a puddle of dirt.

[TheBoomViper]

Classic scene, classic movie, classic cast and crew. R.I.P. Sergio Leone, Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Jason Robards!

A legendary western by legends themselves.

[92af]

Henry Fonda is so awesome in this movie

[patfealy]

this film don't make a lick a sense

[TheBoomViper]

Henry Fonda was a true actor, one of the greatest! R.I.P. Mr Fonda.

[potatoepeter1]

very goog music

[92af]

Henry Fonda was a great actor

[Stilla818]

What is piece from the score is playing during this scene ? it's wonderful

[StumpyClark3217]

Ennio Morricone wrote it. Look up Frank's theme "Once upon a time in the west" each character had their own theme in the movie.  There are only four different score's - all amazing. Actually the movie was written to the music, there are scene's where the horses gallop to the rhythem of the theme etc. Its a real masterpiece.

[zeeox]

It's Morton's theme... or simply 'Morton'. Track 21 of the extended soundtrack. My fave piece of the score too!

[AllenbysEyes]

It's Morton, track 21 on the extended soundtrack.

[FinnMove]

I think this the same Gabrielle Ferzetti who played in the Bond movie On Her Majesty´s Secret Service the father of the wife of James Bond.

[skullknap]

What did Morton suffer from? I don't remember.

[FinnMove]

I think he had a cancer in his bones.

[thheNO]

No, he had tuberculosis in his legs, slowly spreading upwards. Thats why it was not a matter of money for Morton, but time

[CreativeCritisizm]

,,auto accident.

[92af]

Henry Fonda was way better than James Mason was

[manwar9999]

aeny taim

[PalatHar]

funny is that the end of the movie showed that the time of these Mortons is slowly coming, while the time of cowboys and Harmonicas is ending

[johnnycabot]

Good comments on this one.

This is one of my favorite scenes ever.  It's inherently meaningful...even if you haven't seen the rest of the movie.

...and the music is great.

[EhDewd]

This is my favorite Sergio Leone film personally. I also agree with a lot of people here that it was one of the best scenes in this film. The marriage of Sergio Leone's still and stoic direction with the haunting score of Ennio Morricone is simply flawless.

On a side note, I've listened to the soundtrack to this film but I cannot find the score to this track. Does anyone know what it's called or if it's even available to purchase anywhere?

[polycera]

I got from one of those filesharing sites some years ago. I just typed in Morton and after a few wrong files got the correct one. It is a simple and beautiful piece of music that conveys all the longing and frustration that the Morton character feels about his desire to see his railroad reach the Pacific coast before he dies.

[AugerMartel]

Best scene in the movie, very moving.

[drudge20]

Lets see this happen in 1976. I think we both know your father is dead. How many nights have you waken up in a cold sweat? Fonda was acting.

[drudge20]

Thanks for replying. I just retired,40 years with the same company. I look back it seem like seconds. I told myself to retire now. At that speed I would be dead in 5 minutes. Visit your father for yourself not for him. Time waits for no one. Peace.

[MANTLEBERG]

this is the end the banking industry,die in the mud, i wish it was tony(hitler) blair, the scottish bastardo, R.I.P. British isles

[corncoon]

THIS SCENE IS NOT the righteous death of a corrupted coward.

THIS SCENE IS the end of a little boy´s innocent dream.

[Xenostrobe]

@corncoon Interesting point but just how 'innocent' do you think the dream really was? “What good man would prefer a country covered by forests and ranged by a few thousand savages to our extensive republic studded with cities, towns and prosperous farms. Embellished with all the improvements that art can devise and industry can execute.” Andrew Jackson (and he wasn't even into the industrial revolution).

[Xenostrobe]

@Xenostrobe And somewhat in this spirit did John Wesley Powell get his lesson in humility, ¾ of a mile the depths of the earth, the Colorado river in the Grand Canyon proved not hospitable to such thinking. And indeed, in the 1970’s, Jimmy Carter tried to warn of hubris “If we succumb to a dreamworld, then we’ll wake up to a nightmare”

But alas, that didn’t go down too well and today the Land of Plenty would appear to be running up against the limits of growth.

[matteoprez]

@corncoon - yup, you got that right.

[anton1990]

@corncoon

One of the greatest comment's I've ever read on this site.

[CreativeCritisizm]

Get down in the mud and crawl like a worm you poor pittiful crippled man !

[KorparnasTid]

I don't think I've ever been affected by a scene in a film the same way I was affected by this one.

[OgLuc1]

Does anybody know the chords of this melody?

[WALTKRIEG]

What I like in spaghetti-western is that everything is slow and... talk is cheap ! Bullets are stronger than words...

[ShakeITyEA]

dont even think of calling this move a spaghetti-western again, mate. its much more than that. it may be corny at times like in this scene, but it still is probably one of the best movies ever made and true art.

and to be honest i always have tears in my eyes when i watch this. the great soundtrack does its job..

[WALTKRIEG]

Do you find pejorative the term : Spaghetti-western ? If yes, may be your right... I'll take care for the connoisseurs.

[cholulasaucehot]

hes not a mate just a kid....best western ever period the GBU is second and a close second at that dont forget about TUCO

[Pushtrak]

Why treat spaghetti western as if its a stigma?

[arthur131313]

Wish it was Mr. Wall Street instead of Morton.

[payrera]

Funny, I watched this scene last week, and I immediately thought of the financial crisis. Morton, in this scene, is almost like a metaphor for Wall street. Powerful, yet fragile.

[jari10litmanen]

good point

[dapoetmaster]

This is one of the greatest minor themes in Moricone's entire song book. Very deep stuff....

[007koko007]

I agree with you dapoetmaster! I was so disappointed when I found there is no this melody on soundtrack, but they put it later on expanded version! I think this melody describes better Morton's state of mind and soul and his nostalgy than any words could ever do that.

[Gorgone81]

Bye bye ciuf ciuf...

[Katin11]

ugh... why bother posting clips like this when you can't get the aspect ratio right? Absolutely ruins the whole thing. Not even watchable.

[DonFarshido]

I'm asking myself if I'm the only one on this planet who sees this scene as a direct reference to/ quotation of Welles' "The Lady from Shanghai".

[AllenbysEyes]

There was a similar scene in Western Union where Randolph Scott, having been wounded/kicked in the ribs, crawls towards a puddle for a drink. I don't think he dies though.

[dorisu]

Thank you so much for putting this up. I absolutely adore this scene.

[nicos31123]

Henry Fonda comme on ne l'avait jamais vu auparavant. "Il était une fois dans l'Ouest" est un véritable monmuent du 7ème Art, un film qui restera à jamais graver dans l'Histoire, Histoire avec un grand H,du cinéma.

[arendr]

Great scene, but the full screen kills it.

And Lucas and Spielberg have taken note. Star Wars is heavily inspired by Leone. It's pretty much a Spaghetti Western in space.

[LordKupanoff]

Well, Lucas and Spielberg may have taken note at one time, but the lesson has been long forgotten...but I would agree with you on their relatively early work.

That being said, there was one sequence in Episode III where it looked like Lucas was perhaps starting to figure it out again - right before Anakin goes to "help" Mace Windu arrest the Palpatine...when Anakin and what's her name are sort of "staring across the city" at each other, so to speak.

[phille22]

this scene is, just like the film, perfect

[dingane19]

It`s very interesting that you mention Clinton Eastwood. Origionally there was discussion with him a part in the movie. As we all know Leone put Eastwood`s career in overdrive. However, the proposition for part failed. If I am correct, it was JACK ELAM`S PART!!!

[thheNO]

You are correct ;)

[johnnycabot]

Yeah, from what I heard, there was discussion about the three main actors from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly playing the three dudes waiting for Harmonica at the train station during the opening scene...

[AllenbysEyes]

This scene is brilliant, if only for making you care about a scumbag like Morton. The music and Gabriele Ferzeti's performance in this scene are amazing.

[Crow010101]

This was Morton's Dream.

Crawling into that piece of water was like crawling into the Pacific Ocean with the trains.

That was what it really meant.

And Frank was mean enough by not killing him, instead humiliating and leaving him suffering until the moment he dies.

One of the best scenes ever.

The death of the kid was very powerful and the beginning at the station was brilliant

But nothing surpassed the death of Frank.

The deep revenge of a poor hurt kid.

Best movie I have ever seen in my life.

[dingane19]

Your comment is excellent, Crow10101. So often a writers wish that critics and commentators could so fluidly percieve and appreciate their work! here is something for you, a little trivia; did you know that gentleman who plays the imfamous Mr. Morton was actually a celebrated opera conductor in Italy? But for some reason, Sergio Leone insisted having him play part, regardless of lack of acting experience! The caprice of genius!

[Crow010101]

Yeah still he was excellent.

Sure all the crew is, Charles Bronson was perfect for the role of the calm but also vengeful Man of the Harmonica and Claudia Cardinale was one of the best actrices I had the pleasure of watching of all time.

But Henry Fonda surpassed all.

He is pure greatness.

Clint Eastwood should be in this movie because he is my fav. actor of all time but he is also great in cowboy movies.

Ennio had the best sweet, sad, gr8 music and Leone, like Ennio, was a pure genious.

[AllenbysEyes]

Where did you get that trivia from? Ferzetti had been acting in films since the '40s and had been for a time of one Italy's biggest movie stars - not to mention a great deal of theater work. The star of L'Aventurra was no novice. Indeed, Leone's biographer Christopher Frayling compared Ferzetti to an Italian Laurence Olivier.

[CreativeCritisizm]

Get down in the mud and crawl like a worm you poor pittiful crippled man !

[IQ136]

This 1969 movie is superb!!! I wish that it would be that warm and dry here in cold Cheyenne, Wyoming!!!

[LordKupanoff]

Thank you for posting this. It's one of my favorite scenes of all time.

It's amazing how much more effectively the thoughts and emotions of the characters, as well as the mood of the scene, can sometimes be brought out with no dialog, simple camera work, and good music.

Spielberg and Lucas should take note.