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

12. The Bridge Exploding Scene Resulted In A Crewman Being Fired

The Good The Bad And The Ugly Bridge
United Artists

During the large-scale battle scene near the end of the film, Sergio Leone asked the captain of the Spanish Army who was working with the crew to trigger the fuse to blow up the bridge for the scene's climax, as thanks for his collaboration.

Unfortunately, a crew member speaking on the same radio channel used similar terminology for an unrelated instruction, resulting in the captain thinking he had been given his cue and giving the signal to blow up the bridge. No cameras were rolling at the time, and a furious Leone immediately fired the crew member. The captain then offered to have the army rebuild the entire bridge to reshoot the scene on the condition that the crewman be re-hired.

Leone agreed, the crewman was forgiven, the scene was incredible and once again everything was right with the world.

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A self-taught video editor with nearly 25 years of experience, Joe worked in freelance videography for many years before joining WhatCulture in 2018. During that time, he has expanded his work to include both writing and presenting, and has been at the forefront of several new channel launches including WhatCulture Horror and WhatCulture Star Wars, largely defining their visual identity through the design and curation of their bespoke assets. As a dedicated WhatCulture Gaming staff member, he has spearheaded numerous new content strategies and formats, and has taken the lead on various charitable projects that have raised large sums of money for charities close to his heart. Bluesky and Instagram: @jjpinwheel