he wanted. The film is believed to have been influenced by Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, and it shares some plot elements with Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, a western film also starring Coburn and released a year later. Leone biographer and film historian Sir Christopher Frayling noted that Duck, You Sucker! was made in a period of Italian cinema where filmmakers were 'rethinking' their relationship with fascism and the Nazi occupation of Rome. He has identified numerous references to both World Wars in the film, such as Colonel Reza's commanding of an armored car resembling a Nazi tank commander, the massacre of Juan's family (which bears similarities to the Ardeatine massacre of 1944), and an execution victim resembling Benito Mussolini. Casting Casting the lead roles of Duck, You Sucker! proved to be a difficult process. The role of John Mallory was written for Jason Robards, who had played Cheyenne in Once Upon a Time in the West. However, the studio wanted a bigger name for his character. Clint Eastwood was then approached by Leone for the role, but he saw it as just a different take of the same character he had already played in the Dollars Trilogy, and he also wanted to end his association with the Italian film industry. As a result, he declined the offer and starred in Hang 'Em High instead. George Lazenby was then approached to play John, but he declined. A young Malcolm McDowell, then mostly known for his performance in if...., was considered for both John and Nolan, John's Irish friend, but Leone eventually settled on James Coburn to play John. Coburn had previously been considered for other Leone projects, including A Fistful of Dollars and Once Upon a Time in the West. He had also previously been considered for a role in another United Artists-financed Zapata Western, Sergio Corbucci's The Mercenary, but Franco Nero was later cast in what was originally his role. The role of Juan Miranda was written for Eli Wallach, based on his performance of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, but Wallach had already committed to another project with Jean-Paul Belmondo. After Leone begged Wallach to play the part, he dropped out of the other project to play Juan. However, Rod Steiger owed the studio another movie and they refused to back the picture unless Steiger was used. Leone offered no compensation to Wallach,