The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (theme) 80's R & B band Cameo used the theme's opening whistle in their singles "Word Up!" and "Single Life". Las Vegas, Nevada-based band Sin City Sinners always walk onto stage with a recording of the tune playing in the background. In the film , the character Jacob Moore, played by Shia LaBeouf, had a mobile cell phone ring tone of the opening tune of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", the film coincidentally also starred the actor who played the "Ugly", Eli Wallach. In the film "Faster, "the character "Killer" also had a mobile cell phone ring tone of
Clint Eastwood in the 1960s all three were generally given bad reviews by critics (despite select American critics, who had seen the films in Italy, previously having positive outlooks) and marked the beginning of Eastwood's battle to win the respect of American film critics. Judith Crist described "A Fistful of Dollars" as "cheapjack" while "Newsweek" described "For a Few Dollars More" as "excruciatingly dopey". "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" was similarly panned by most critics upon US release. Renata Adler of "The New York Times" describing it as "the most expensive, pious and repellent movie in the history of its peculiar genre". "Variety"