Dollars Trilogy

The Dollars Trilogy (also referred to as the Man with No Name Trilogy) is a series of Spaghetti Western films directed by Sergio Leone, consisting of A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The films were not originally intended to be a series, but the American distributor, United Artists, invented the concept for marketing purposes, establishing Clint Eastwood's character in each film to actually be the same person. Thus, the films have been considered by many to be a series ever since. Additionally, a series of novels released in the years after the films establish the films as belonging to the same continuity.

Continuity

Although the films were not originally envisioned as a series, they do not contain any major continuity errors when viewed as such. When considered a series, the chronological order of the films is also unclear. However, it can be deduced that the films take place in the following order: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, For a Few Dollars More, A Fistful of Dollars.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly would take place first, as grave markers are seen marked 1864 and the Civil War (which is still active during the film's events) ended in 1865, thus placing the film in either of these years. Additionally, the "Man with No Name" is seen acquiring his attire in this film that he wears in the previous two films.

For a Few Dollars More takes place after The Good, the Bad and the Ugly because Colonel Douglas Mortimer is a veteran of the Civil War, which – by the time of the film's events – is over. Furthermore, a newspaper archive is seen in the film containing the year 1872.

The two factors that set For a Few Dollars More before A Fistful of Dollars is that the "Man with No Name's" hat is shot several times, creating holes in it that are visible in the latter film, and a gravestone seen during the cemetery shootout is marked 1873.

despite the “Man with No Names’s” wardrobe suggesting that the films took place in the order outlined above, what actually happens in the movies suggest that it happens in the order of first, “For a few Dollars More”, “The good the Bad and the Ugly” then finally “A fistful of dollars”. This is because the man with no name meets angle eyes for the first time in “For a Few Dollars More”, and he kills him in “the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” which means that they could not have taken place in the opposite order. Counter to what is listed above where Colonel Douglas Mortimer is said to be a veteran of the civil war, there is no mention of exactly when he served, and again, if he was killed by the man with no name during the civil war, then “For a Few Dollars More” could not have taken place afterwards. Placing “A Fist Full of Dollars” at the end of the timeline would explain the gunshots in the man with no names hat from “For a Few Dollars More”. Of course there are discrepancies to this with dates on gravestones and newspapers but as the actual story line for the characters the only order that makes sense is “For a Few Dollars More”, “the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” and last, “A Fistful of Dollars”.