Clint Eastwood’s ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ cannon found in Spain

A cannon used by Clint Eastwood to ignite a fuse in the 1966 spaghetti western "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" has been rediscovered at a museum in southeastern Spain, six decades after the iconic scene.

The Manchester-made artillery piece was located by the Sad Hill Cultural Association, a volunteer group dedicated to restoring the cemetery near Burgos built for the film’s climax by director Sergio Leone.

After finding images of the cannon in a book about the movie, the association began tracing weapons used in the production ahead of the 60th anniversary of the film’s release later this year.

The 75mm cannon, manufactured in Manchester by Whitworth in 1873, was among antique arms loaned to Leone’s team by the Spanish military and later returned to the army museum in Madrid, where it remained outdoors until 2010, when the collection moved to Toledo.

Diego Montero, treasurer of the Sad Hill Cultural Association, visited the Toledo museum months ago seeking the cannon, and further research led to Cartagena, where a group of retired soldiers had been restoring a 19th-century British cannon from the local military history museum.

"A few days ago we wanted to check the photos from the book against a more detailed photo, so we wrote to the director of the Cartagena museum, and he sent us a closeup photo of the top of the cannon and of the piece's number," Montero said. "The serial numbers matched."

"The museum had no idea that they had the cannon that was used in the film," he added. "We told them that we were going to put out a press release because we knew that a lot of people would be interested – and they'd get loads of visits."

The Cartagena city council has embraced the discovery, posting on social media Monday: "Did you know that one of cinema's most famous cannons is in Cartagena and that you can visit it for free?" The post included Ennio Morricone's theme.

The museum director, Lt. Col. Ernesto Terry, acknowledged the cannon's newfound fame. "We had no idea this was the cannon from the film," he said. "It's been crazy and I've been talking about it non-stop to the media and to people who have been ringing to ask me about it. It's been madness and we've had a lot more visitors."

The Sad Hill Cultural Association aims to borrow the cannon and temporarily reinstall it in Burgos, where it last stood 60 years ago, but protected heritage status prevents that before the anniversary.

"The bureaucratic procedures are very lengthy, and we don't have time," Montero said. "But we'll definitely try to do something in the future. Maybe we can get hold of the piece and at least bring it to Burgos, because there's a military museum there."

The association continues to explore future options for relocating the cannon to Burgos for a temporary display, pending lengthy heritage approvals.