This ancient town in the province of Soria
was chosen to represent Mesa Verde in some scenes from Sergio Leone's “Duck You
Sucker” (1971). In fact, three distinct cities are used for this imaginary Mexican
city, where the character Juan Miranda (Rod Steiger), with his band with the
collaboration of Irishman John./Sean Mallory (James Coburn) wants to rob the bank,
three distinct cities (very distant from each other); the railway station of
the city of Almeria, the city of Guadix in the province of Granada and
Medinaceli. Founded by the Celtiberi with the name of Occilis, in a mountainous
area, at 1,200 meters, on the top of a hill overlooking the valley below,
Medinaceli was always important for its strategic position. For the Romans, who
made it a typical local city, it became the sentinel of the road that led from
Emerita Augusta (today's Merida) to Caesaragusta (today's Zaragoza); as a
symbol to the local civilization and power they built a large arch with three
arches (unique in Spain), still well preserved and clearly visible from the
road that connects Madrid to Zaragoza. It therefore became a Muslim city with
the man of Ciudad de la Mesa (Medina-Occilis ) and then a center of the Duchy
of Medinaceli, created by the Catholic Kings after the Crusades. The
quadrangular Plaza Mayor is mainly used for Sergio Leone's film. The eastern
side is occupied by the Ducal
Palace, sober and
elegant, with a rectangular piñata, whose facade was designed by the architect
Juan Gomez de Mora in 1623. On the north side: a public building now used as an
'Archaeological Hall' and three three-storey houses with arcades. On the western
side: a house without a porch, two with arcades and that of Dr. Francisco
Grande Covian (1909-1995). On the southern side, the historic three-story
Alhondiga building with arches (built in the 16th century) and other houses
with porticoes. La Alhondiga is the oldest building in the square: the lower
part was used as a warehouse and covered market place the upper part as a
meeting place for the Council. For “Duck You Sucker” all four sides of the
Plaza Mayor are used: but, given that the austere architectural style of
Castifliano is far from what was needed and so it had to be reconstructed in
the film, to create a more "Mexican" and stylistically more adherent
image to the era in which the story takes place (early twentieth century), two
sets were made. On the western side, in front of the houses next to Dr.
Covian's house, the large set of the Banca di Mesa Verde is built: a one-storey
building with six windows and an elaborate decorative motif on the front door.
On the southern side of the square, in front of the houses that line the
Alhondiga and built the set of the Café Carado, where Juan Miranda finds John
Mallory, who made contact with the revolutionaries, who gather in the cellar of
the coffee house to prepare the insurrection. Also in order to create a more
"Mexican" atmosphere, it is also enriched with baroque ornamental
elements on the top of the building now home to the "Archaeological
Hall", The Plaza Mayor de Medinaceli thus becomes a set of one of the most
spectacular scenes in the film: the assault on the bank, which initiated the
popular revolt against the government. For this sequence the narrow street from
the western side of the square leads to the Iglesia del Beato Julian is also used. Also in this
case, for the needs of the scene, the stone facade of a house, a typical
example of the rustic architecture of this Castilian town, is
"masked" with a fake facade to make it appear more
"Mexican". Also the train station of Medinaceli, which is located
three kilometers further downstream, is used for "Duck You Sucker":
it is the night sequence in which, in a square hit by a heavy rain (artificial
rain was used) and illuminated by the lights of military trucks, the shooting
of some revolutionaries takes place, who must first parade in front of the truck
of Colonel Gnther Reza (Domingo Antoine), next to which is seated Doctor
Villega (Romolo Valli, who, captured and tortured, is forced to identify his companions. The scene of the camp of
revolutionaries who have withdrawn from Mesa Verde, who under a tent Juan
Miranda and John Mallory discuss the meaning of the revolution, was also filmed
in the area around Medinaceli. Above Medinacelli you can enjoy a splendid view
of the valley below: a landscape that could have lent itself very well to
western films, such as that of Arcos de Jalon, a town on the E-90 road, fifteen
kilometers east of Medinaceli, near the border between Castile and Aragon,
dominated by hills where erosion has created a playground of shapes and colors
worthy of Utah or New Mexico landscapes.
“Duck You Sucker” 1971
“Duck You Sucker” 1971
“Duck You Sucker” 1971
“Duck You Sucker” 1971
“Duck You Sucker” 1971
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