A Fistful of Dollars - Plot

Plot

A stranger arrives at the little Mexican border town of San Miguel. He is taciturn, watchful, and incredibly fast and accurate with his gun, able to outdraw and kill four men with startling ease. An innkeeper, Silvanito, tells the Stranger about the bitter feud between two families vying to gain control of the town: on the one side, the Rojo brothers, consisting of Don Miguel (the eldest and nominally in charge), Esteban (the most headstrong), and Ramón (the most capable and intelligent); on the other, the family of the town sheriff, John Baxter,

The Stranger, spying an opportunity to make money from the situation, decides to play both families against each other. His opportunity comes when a detachment of Mexican soldiers escorting a shipment of gold passes through the town. The gold is ostensibly being delivered to a troop of American soldiers in exchange for weapons, but following the Mexican troops out of town, the Stranger witnesses them being massacred by members of the Rojo gang, dressed in American uniforms and led by Ramon Rojo. The Rojos take the gold.

The Stranger takes two of the bodies to a nearby cemetery and sells information to both sides that two Mexican soldiers survived the attack. Both sides race to the cemetery, the Baxters to get the "survivors" to testify against the Rojos, the Rojos to silence them. The factions engage in a fierce gunfight, with Ramon managing to "kill" the "survivors" and Esteban capturing John Baxter's son, Antonio. While the Rojos and the Baxters are fighting, the Stranger searches the Rojo hacienda for the gold but accidentally knocks out Ramón's beautiful prisoner and unwilling mistress, Marisol, when she surprises him. He takes her to the Baxters, who, in turn, arrange to return her to the Rojos in exchange for Antonio.

Before the exchange takes place, the Stranger learns Marisol's history from Silvanito: "... a happy little family until trouble comes along. And trouble is the name of Ramon, claiming the husband cheated at cards, which wasn't true. He gets the wife to live with him as hostage." During the exchange, Marisol's son runs to her, with her husband following. While the family embraces, Ramon orders one of his men to kill her husband, as he has already told him to leave town. Silvanito attempts to protect the family with a shotgun, but is about to be killed himself when the Stranger backs him up, staring down Ramon's henchman. Neither Ramon nor any of his men attempt to challenge the stranger, knowing that he is too fast on the draw. The Stranger then tells Marisol to go to Ramon and for her husband to take their son home. That night, while the Rojos are celebrating, the Stranger rides out and frees Marisol, shooting the guards and wrecking the house in which she is being held in order to make it appear as if it were attacked by the Baxters. The Stranger tells Marisol, her husband, and their son to leave town, at the same time giving them some money to tide them over. Marisol asks the Stranger, "Why do you do this for us?", and for the first and only time the Stranger provides an insight into his actions: "Why? Because I knew someone like you once. There was no one there to help."

Discovering that he freed Marisol, the Rojos capture and beat the Stranger, but he escapes, killing Chico in the process. Believing the Stranger to be protected by the Baxters, the Rojos set fire to the Baxter home and massacre all the residents as they are forced to flee. Among the dead are John Baxter, his wife, Consuelo, and Antonio. Now the only gang left in San Miguel, the Rojos confront and beat Silvanito, who they think is hiding the Stranger.

The Stranger returns to town, where he faces the Rojos in a dramatic showdown. With a steel chest plate hidden beneath his poncho, he taunts Ramon to "aim for the heart" as Ramon's rifle shots bounce off. Killing all present except Ramon, the Stranger challenges Ramon to reload his rifle faster than he, the Stranger, can reload his pistol. He then shoots and kills Ramon. Esteban Rojo, unseen by the Stranger and aiming at him from a nearby building, is shot dead by Silvanito. The Stranger says his goodbyes and rides from the town.