The time that Brighton was the home of the Spaghetti Western

Sergio Leone was troubled. He had the shot set up. The camera would sweep up and up to reveal Claudia Cardinale walking out of the station to into the town she would make her home. Ennio Moricone’s magnificent score, recorded before the film had even begun shooting, would make the moment an operatic hymn to the West in the way that no one had ever done before.

There was only one problem; the sunburnt man with a handkerchief on his head playing crazy golf in the background.

The Spaghetti Western had become one of the most popular movie genres of the sixties – grizzled faces, parched landscapes and graphic violence proved a huge hit with audiences everywhere.

King

However, in 1967, the undisputed king of the Spaghetti Western – Sergio Leone, was set to make Once Upon A Time In The West. He’d made the ‘Dollars’ trilogy mainly in studios in Rome and was looking for a more authentic setting. So he turned to the obvious location – the seaside town of Brighton on the south coast of England.

“It was an interesting decision,” said one of the camera operators.

“We thought that with Sergio looking for authenticity, he’d head out to Montana or Texas or somewhere, but he’d seen Brighton in Carry On At Your Convenience and was convinced that it was the perfect fit for Once Upon A Time.”

Prince

However, the unusual location was not without it’s problems.

“Oh man, that was a tricky, tricky shoot. You know that opening shot? With the three guys waiting at the station? All filmed on Brighton pier. It was perfect, we dressed up the Helter Skelter as the water tower and the Ghost Train…well, that was the actual train. I mean, perfect, right? Right. Except for the roller coaster. We needed a silence for the scene and you just can’t get kids to be quiet on a roller coaster.”

“We ended up just filming in between roller coaster rides, when everyone was getting on and off. It took eight weeks, but I think it turned out pretty good.”

Madonna

Ultimately, it was one of the more difficult movies Sergio Leone ever made, but also one of his happiest due to, as he says in his autobiography – ‘Those penny arcade machines on the pier were bellissimo.’

As for the man with the handkerchief on his head? That was Henry Fonda, after a brief conversation over an ice cream cone, he agreed to join the picture and one of the most iconic bad-guys in movie history was created.