The Ugly in The Good and The Bad

The Ugly in The Good and The Bad

If I had gotten the time out of my stressful exam period to write a post on Father's Day, then you would have understood the importance of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly for me.

Nonetheless…

The western classic is held in high regard by me and my father. While he never truly decided to introduce me to the film through the TV box or a CD, when I was a child he spoke of it often as a film that was awesome beyond awesome.

So that was my first sort of taste of the Western genre, one if you remember has a damn great influence on me.

When my dad spoke of the film, he spoke mostly of the gun fighting, cowboys (thing I would mimic) and the mystic greatness that is Clint freaking Eastwood.

So when I watched the film years later, I definitely watched it for the gun fights, the cowboys or outlaws and Wild West god Clint Eastwood. Yet nothing grabbed me like that creepy, disgusting, evil prick known as Tuco AKA Eli Wallach.

Tuco; Ugliness Personified

It was a mesmerizing performance, a turn that embodied the vile and as suited ugliness of the outlaw's of the Wild West. It was funny, scary and dramatic everything you need in such a genre. Wallach's turn is beyond anything else and it's a testament to the fact that for me as a legendary actor he's known for this film and one more.

Eli Wallach forms the basis for some of the most sneakiest and slimiest villains that I write in my comics, mostly for those in my own Wild West comic; The Outlaw.

The other role would come a few months just after that. The original spark for me to watch Westerns was The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and from there I saw a cavalcade or cavalry of films in the genre.

One such as mentioned above was another Eli Wallach film.

The Magnificent Seven

Now keep in mind. Like any good Bollywood watching Indian, I had already been struck by the power of instant classic Sholay which was an 'unofficial' (to put it nicely, since we can't insult Sholay) remake of the Magnificent Seven (itself a remake of Akira Kurosowa's masterpiece Seven Samurai). So I was already a fan of the delectable Gabbar Singh, the villain of the piece and the most iconic villain in Hindi Cinema.

Even then the greatness of Wallach is unmatched.

Do I like Amjad Khan's Gabbar more?

Yes.

Do I like Sholay more than The Magnificent Seven?

Most Definitely.

Yet Wallach holds strong. He is a devil in disguise and an entertaining spectacle to watch. 

Once again I'll say this, I'm not ashamed to admit that these are the only two films I've seen Wallach in or I can remember him for. It's a testament to the fact that he is such an iconic actor (for me) on the basis of just these two films. It speaks volumes how magnificent and good (sorry The Ugly) he must be as an actor.

The Net tells me that he was also part of Godfather III and Mr Freeze in the 60's Batman show, well what do you know!

Today I wait for the results of an exam that could begin a new chapter in my life. Today the world lost Eli Wallach.

I'm stressed and shit scared but above all else I'm depressed. We lost the talents of Eli Wallach, we lost our Ugly.

Rest In Peace

Eli Wallach

And

Thank You for your Magnificent work…The Ugly