The Dollar Trilogy in German Paperback

The Dollar Trilogy in German Paperback

I thought it would be an idea to post these rarely seen German paperback tie-in books here in one post as they’re certainly striking enough. 

All three film adaptations were published in Germany by HEYNE, WILHELM, with 1st editions being released in 1972. A Fistful of Dollars by Brian Fox (Für eine Handvoll Dollar, Heyne Western 2292) has a great cover shot of the film’s opening scene as the Man with no name guides his mule under a hangman’s rope.  For a Few Dollars More by Joe Millard (Für ein paar Dollar Mehr, Heyne Western) also features a cool shot taken from the film. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly also by Joe Millard (Zwei Glorreiche Halunken, Heyne Western 2296) is a little bit of a strange one. Much like the film poster, something is rather lost here in translation ‘Two Glorious Scoundrels’ is the literal translation, which is a little odd when there are three central characters – namely the Good – the Bad – and the Ugly… Moreover, when it comes to the book cover, we do have just that – 2 glorious scoundrels in the foreground, Clint’s Man with No name character is reduced to a far off spec in the distance at the end of the street, while Tuco and Angel eyes are nowhere to be seen? 

If the cover of  Zwei Glorreiche Halunken is still looking strangely odd, then perhaps it’s because the photo used is not from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly at all. It is in fact from For a Few Dollars More, and more accurately, from the same scene used on the cover of the Für ein paar Dollar Mehr paperback… It can all get a bit confusing! 

Regardless of the accuracy in regards to the cover photo selections, they really do work. All three are attractive, blue Spanish skies really brighten up the overall look, and despite the many different versions that are out there, you don’t see too many that actually use photos from the movies…

I don’t own any of these paperbacks myself, but the books also appear to have a textured cover, and from one example I discovered, there also seems to be another photo scene on the reverse. 

We have only ever featured the cover of Für eine Handvoll Dollar here on the Archive before, when I reviewed Steve Guariento’s excellent book on film paperbacks ‘Light into Ink’ (here). So thank you to Steve Saragossi for alerting me to the Für ein paar Dollar Mehr book, they certainly don’t show up much, and it was enough to inspire me to put this little piece together. 

Below: The reverse cover example for Für eine Handvoll Dollar