A mysterious stranger with no name (Eastwood) rides out of the desert, into the isolated mining town of Lago, on the shore of a small lake in an unnamed western territory. Three men follow him into the saloon, taunting him, then follow him to the barbershop. When they challenge him, he kills all three with little effort. Attractive townswoman Callie Travers (Mariana Hill) deliberately bumps into him in the street, knocks his cigar from his mouth, and loudly insults him. He drags her into the livery stable and rapes her.[5]That night, in his hotel room, the Stranger dreams of a man being brutally whipped. In the morning, while he's having a bath at the barbershop, Callie takes several inaccurate shots at him as he ducks underwater. He casually resurfaces, cigar still in mouth, and remarks to the diminutive barbershop employee Mordecai (Billy Curtis), âI wonder what took her so long to get mad?âA flashback reveals that Jim Duncan (Buddy Van Horn), a federal marshal who bore an uncanny resemblance to the Stranger, was whipped to death in front of the hotel by outlaws Stacey Bridges (Geoffrey Lewis) and brothers Dan and Cole Carlin (Dan Vadis and Anthony James) as the people of Lago looked on. The murderers were jailed, but their release is imminent, and the townspeople are terrified.Sheriff Sam Shaw (Walter Barnes) approaches the Stranger and offers him the job previously held by the men he killedâdefending the town from the vengeful outlaws. He declines. Shaw, in desperation, offers him anything he wants in return. Eventually, the Stranger learns why they are so desperate: Not only did the townspeople do nothing to prevent Duncan's murder, but some were complicit in it; they hired the outlaws to kill him after he discovered that the town's only source of income, the mine, was on government land, and therefore illegal. They then double-crossed the murderers and turned them in.Upon learning this, the Stranger accepts the job, and takes full advantage of the deal. He appoints Mordecai sheriff and mayor, and after the shopkeeper (Richard Bull) insults a Native American and his children and tries to eject them from his store, he provides them with a large cache of supplies at the shopkeeper's expense. He orders the hotel owner, Lewis Belding (Ted Hartley), to vacate the premises along with all the other guests, leaving him its sole occupant. He then orders Belding's barn dismantled, and the lumber used to build picnic tables. When Beldingâs wife Sarah (Verna Bloom) objects, he drags her, kicking and screaming, into her bedroom. The next morning, a post-coital Sarah tells the Stranger that Duncan cannot rest in peace, because he is buried in an unmarked grave outside of town.The Stranger instructs the townspeople in defensive tactics, but they clearly lack the skills or courage for the job. He also orders that every building in town be painted blood red. âSurely you donât mean the church too!â exclaims the preacher (Robert Donner). âI mean especially the church,â he replies. Then, without explanation, he mounts his horse and rides out of town, pausing to replace âLagoâ on the town sign with âHellâ.Meanwhile, Bridges and his gang have been wreaking havoc on their way to Lago. The Stranger harasses them with dynamite and long-range rifle fire, leaving them to ponder the identity of their mysterious attacker. Returning to Lago, the Stranger inspects the preparationsâtown painted red, townsmen with rifles stationed on rooftops, picnic tables laden with food and drink, and a big "WELCOME" banner overheadâthen, to everyoneâs consternation, he remounts and departs again.The Bridges gang arrives and easily overcomes the inept resistance of the townspeople. Bridges shoots several of the corrupt civic leaders who double-crossed them. By nightfall the town is in flames, and the terrified townspeople are huddled in the saloon. A mysterious sound is heard in the street; when Cole Carlin walks outside to investigate, the criminals and townspeople listen in horror as he is whipped to death. Dan Carlin is found dead too, hanging from another whip. At last the Stranger reveals himself, beats Bridges to the draw, and kills him. Belding sneaks behind the Stranger, intending to shoot him in the back, but Mordecai shoots him dead.On his way out of town the following morning, the Stranger pauses at the cemetery as Mordecai is finishing a new grave marker. âI never did know your name,â Mordecai says. "Yes, you do," the Stranger replies. As he rides into the desert whence he came past a bewildered Mordecai, the camera, in a reverse angle, comes around to reveal the new headstone: Marshal Jim DuncanâRest in Peace.
Output: Question: How many people whipped Jim Duncan to death?, Answer: Three