Clint Eastwood's film cannon found in Spanish museum
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- The Sad Hill Cultural Association traced a 75mm Whitworth cannon—made in Manchester in 1873 and used in 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'—to a military museum in Cartagena, south-east Spain, confirming the match via serial numbers.
- Diego Montero, the association's treasurer, secured closeup photos from the Cartagena museum director showing the cannon's number matched images from a book on the film.
- The cannon was lent to Sergio Leone's production by the Spanish military, returned to the army museum in Madrid after filming, and moved to Toledo in 2010 before ending up in Cartagena.
- Lt Col Ernesto Terry, director of the Cartagena museum, said staff had no idea the cannon appeared in the film and described the resulting media attention and visitor surge as 'madness.'
- The Cartagena city council promoted the discovery on social media, asking 'Did you know that one of cinema's most famous cannons is in Cartagena and that you can visit it for free?' alongside Ennio Morricone's score.
- Protected heritage status rules out a temporary return to the Burgos filming site in time for the film's 60th anniversary, though the association hopes to eventually bring the cannon back there.
Why it matters: The cannon's rediscovery comes too late for the film's 60th anniversary: Spanish heritage rules block a timely loan that would have reunited the prop with the Burgos set where Leone filmed the climax. Cartagena's museum gains an unexpected tourism draw, but the Sad Hill volunteers—dedicated to restoring that set—lose the centerpiece they wanted for the milestone year.
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