Fictional Impressions: "Man with NO Name" Thoughts?

ferrissteve1

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Oct 5, 2018
OK, before I even start I know this will likely receive some fairly harsh scorning, but after having perused all 63 previous pages of postings I didn't see anything quite like this topic. I've been a Civil War enthusiast since I was a kid, however, the interest waned in my 20's and picked up again last fall. Life has a way of doing that. BUT my big question is the following: I'm looking to put together a 'Man with No Name' impression that I could attend events as. I know that historically this was NOT an actual individual (I understand that), but at the same time with interest waning and recruitment numbers down would it not add to the overall experience for spectators? I've not seen it done before or even really mentioned...might it be a way to bring more people to events and perhaps interest into the hobby?

Again I understand that this will likely be seen as the epitome of farb, cosplay, cowboy/gunslinger, fantasy etc....but those elements aside if I were a spectator and I saw someone with a GOOD ensemble 'kit' representing a fictional character I would not only give him/her the props they deserve but possibly ask for a picture as well. It also doesn't hurt that the time frame in which the character is featured is during the War. So again while not historically correct in the traditional manner it still would fit within the time period the event was replicating, the 1860's. And lastly, I don't half a** my collection so this would be as close to screen accurate as I can presently get, so the quality of the impression (despite fictional) would be a good one.
 
Here are some images that might help.

Clint-Eastwood-The-Good-Bad-And-Ugly-Spaghetti-_1.jpg


48e33048fc6bbb36fc4fac0aac2a32fe.jpg
 
To a Wild West show yes, to a civil war reenactment no. Nothing Clint is wearing is period correct to start with, but don't get me wrong Clint is one of my heroes. What would a western gunfighter be doing at a Civil War battle?
 
The Man With No Name was at least a decade after the Civil War, and he carried a Colt Single Action .45 caliber cartridge revolver. You could put together a similar kit with percussion revolvers and portray Josie Wales, who was also fictitious, but who was at least a CW era Missouri guerrilla / bushwhacker. Or you could go a step further and portray an all-out Bushwhacker.

I can't tell you how this would be received, as I don't go to reenacting events. I imagine the results would vary depending on the specific event.
 
Well he is after a box of 200,000 in gold coins buried in a Confederate cemetery in The Good, the Bad and The Ugly and has considerable run ins with both the Union and Confederacy throughout the film. So while its technically/Historically inaccurate, there is a 'tie in' so to speak. I know the impression would represent a stretch, however, the thought being it would add to the overall entertainment value the event could provide its patrons.
 
I've actually incorporated some of the Josey Wales aspects into the impression, but the green poncho I feel is a must as it has become so iconic. As for the pistol, well I figure I might take a slight liberty with that an carry a Griswald.
 
To go to most events you have to register and be affiliated with a group (company/regiment) it would be chaos if everyone just showed up with their own individual impression. Individuals do show up portraying individuals like Lincoln, Grant, and Lee impersonators but they are approved by the event ahead of time. You couldn't have 10 Lincolns running around. Usually when you look at the rules of an event it specifically says no individual impressions unless approved. So, I guess if you contacted the event staff ahead of time and asked if they'd like a western gunfighter there and they said yes go for it, but I wouldn't count on it. Just to add to that, most events prohibit sidearms except for officers and mounted cavalry.
 
Another thing to consider an armed individual in civilian clothes wouldn't be allowed to just roam around military operations. The Good Bad and the Ugly is one of my favorite movies but it's pure fantasy. Please don't take any of this the wrong way. I would never try to discourage anyone from participating in reenacting in the area they are interested but this one is a stretch in many different ways.
 
The Man With No Name was at least a decade after the Civil War,
The good, the bad and the ugly take place during the civil war...

But back to the central issue.
This "impression" might be suited for a western festival or and should be just fine for a cosplay convention...

But This "impression" would have no place at any reenactment event... at best the organizers would ask you polity to leave...
More likely they would not be polite.
At worse they do not do so and you would **** off large numbers of reenactors.
 
Thanks to everyone who has responded to my inquiry thus far. I would not just show up in 'character' without the prior consent of the governing body of the event. I do respect that there is and would be a protocol that would have to be adhered too for something like this. If they said 'no thanks' it would be simply left at that, no harm no foul. Again I know its a stretch given that his character is purely fictional and reenactments are of an actual historical event.
I just think it would be a fun addition to an event and maybe help to pull in a few more spectators. Worse that can happen when asked is I'm told 'no', which wouldn't be the first time, and doubt it will be the last.
 
The good, the bad and the ugly take place during the civil war...
Sure it did, but the original Man With No Name movie was "A Fist Full of Dollars," which was a post-CW story timeline. Our new friend has posted a picture of Clint (in the dark poncho) in that specific role. I'm trying to get our friend refocused on Clint's CW depictions--and then beyond.
 
Another thing that has to be considered is safety and insurance ramifications. It's not just a matter of authenticity. When you are part of a group, even a new recruit, you have to at least have some minimal safety training and drill before you take the field. Also you are inspected by your groups officers before every action to make sure your firearm is clean and in good working order, and cartridge box is checked. And in a group we are all watching each other's back. Event staff doesn't want people roaming around on their own with none of this oversight. We are talking about real firearms, they won't just take your word for it that it's been done and you know what you're doing.
 
The safety aspect makes sense, but if you were to use a non-firing replica and not take the actual field? Basically, walk the grounds and campsites I'd imagine that particular aspect of liability would be less of a concern? And Clint did wear the poncho at the end of GBU and wears it during the final duel. Again I think I've got enough of an idea of how it will/won't be received with event coordinators. And I know that Hollywood is certainly not history (thank God) but it can have its place, just trying to determine the best outlet where.
 
I agree with the ones saying ask some local units. I'd imagine for them to say yes is going to depend on location, but know a few units further west also reenact postwar west besides CW.
 
"Man with No Name" impression at a CW event.....

No, no, no, no , and no. First off, I like those westerns, heck I love them I grew up watching Clint Eastwood, and John Wayne more than I did cartoons in the 90's and early 2000's, still love them, (best grandad ever), and "The Good, the Bad, and Ugly" still ranks as one of my all time favorite westerns. But that impression for a CW event is not only asking for trouble but shows a misunderstanding of reenactments, to be unreasonably blunt.

For anyone joining a unit and getting started in reenacting, everyone wants to be special, but you have to earn that, it takes years, until then your just a private in the ranks, another body for the dropping if you will. There are many who go out there wanting to be General Lee or Grant, but it won't happen. You start out as a private soldier with a rifle in a uniform, no sixguns, no cowboy hats, unless you go with a heavily scorned type of unit. Oh and there is no western type scenarios at a CW, we portray Civil War battles and Civil War goings on, no saloons, and no Western towns, (at least not a serious CW reenactments worth going to), and no showdowns on main street. Your wanting to go in to CW reenactments with the wrong attitude. I'm sorry if I seem a little hard nosed and mean, I don't like to be that way, but your looking at CW reenactments through the lens of western movies, and they don't go together. Westerns are fiction, usually with either an entirely made up plot, or loosely inspired by real events, (just look at "Tombstone", they got most of the story of the Earp-Clanton feud wrong, its called "creative license"), and the Western era itself tends to be different from what's in western movies. They're entertainment, not a literal interpretation of real history for the entertainment of the masses, (plus to make some $$$).

But if your heart is set on a "Man with No Name" impression, or something else western, there are Western reenactments, some with the towns, and townspeople, (I myself have been yearning to get into them), and there's also "Cowboy Action Shooting" (I personally wouldn't recommend them, they've gotten bland with overbearing rules in my humble opinion). I think you really want that, and let me tell ya, you'd be disappointed at a CW event, and probably be howled out of camp in embarrassment with most outfits. But even at a western reenactment you'd probably be howled at for a "Man with No Name" impression, but the impressions are numerous, you could always work your way to it.

I strongly recommend you change your course, for what you want CW isn't what you want. Here in Texas we got folks who've come into CW reenactments with this exact attitude, and they are EXTREMLY hated, with most leaving, straightening they're act up, or hanging around to the constant chagrin of CW reenactors. Trust me you'd be WAY happier, and maybe fulfilled at a Western reenactment with the mindset you have.
But either way good luck.
 
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