20 Things You Didn't Know About The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

During the Sad Hill Cemetery scene when Blondie kicks the lid off Arch Stanton's coffin to reveal not a cache of gold but a desiccated skeleton, you're not looking at a prop. Rather than acquire an imitation one, the filmmakers opted to use authentic human remains.

However, this wasn't a cost-cutting exercise or a shock tactic of any kind, but quite a heartwarming (if relatively morbid) tale. Set designer Carlo Leva found out that a woman in Madrid had a real skeleton for hire. It was that of her actress mother, who had written in her will that even after she had died, she wanted to continue acting.

Whether she is still working in film to this day is unknown.