20 Things You Didn't Know About The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
8. Eli Wallach Was Almost Killed When He Accidentally Drank Acid
Yes, it's Eli Wallach again, in his 3rd brush with death on set. During the filming of the film's climactic Sad Hill Cemetery scene, the crew used acid to weaken one of the bags of gold so that it would split immediately when Tuco hit it with his shovel.
What they failed to mention to anyone was that they were keeping the acid in an old lemon soda bottle - a brand that Wallach particularly liked and had been drinking on set. He picked up an innocent looking bottle only to take a swig of highly corrosive liquid. Luckily, Wallach immediately spat the acid out before swallowing it, and performed the scene with a mouthful of painful sores.
It turns out that all Eastwood's prior warnings about Italian film crews' lack of safety awareness were right on the money.