What Happened to Harmonica – “Once Upon a Time in the West” missing scene

A lost scene from "Once Upon a Time in the West", Parte Seconda: The Blattner & Blakely Corral 

Leone did his homework. The Blattner & Blakely company did exist. It wasn’t just a made-up name. They were a hardware store that handled feed & grain, stoves, and agricultural implements, and was founded in the 1870’s. There were several of their establishments across Kansas: Junction City in Geary County, at 615-617 N. Washington and another in Salina. It was operated by Jacob J. Blattner.

Leone and his set decorator Carlo Simi, found this information in their research and made a point of having it included in their ‘Flagstone’ set signage.

 As in the first “A lost scene from "Once Upon a Time in the West" from April 29, 2019, much of the production set up would have been the same (May 1968).

 The Blattner & Blakely Corral scene would have come before both the beatings of Harmonica and Wobbles, as both characters have yet to be bloodied.

 The following passage would have read something like…‘Jill comes out of the Saloon and walks between Wobbles and Harmonica not noticing either in the shadows and all three proceed separately down the street”. On the page a mere sentence in Sergio Leone’s hands a tense minute, or more.

 First: Jill steps out and walks into the street…

Second: Multiple Townsfolk walk past unaware…

Third: Wobbles comes around a corner at the side of the ‘Corral’ and sees Jill pass by…

Fourth: Harmonica watches Jill and sees Wobbles also watching her…

Fifth: Jill heads down the street as Wobbles moves along, and Harmonica follows…

CUT.

Filmed and discarded.

After this Wobbles would have arrived at the Chinese laundry shop and Harmonica then followed him inside… All of this would have led up to Harmonica beating Wobbles and putting him through the wringer. Literally. For Leone time was running, and running out as the film started to clock in at well over three hours. And there was still more to shoot. Some trims had to be made, and the plot had to be drawn out by showing less. And the ‘Blattner & Blakely Corral’ scene was reduced to nothing.

 

By Michael Ferguson