I disagree slighly with you Roland on the Italian western character
Joe the character whom Clint plays in a fistful of dollars does change, he helps the woman break free with her husband and son and gives her a lot of money possibly all he got for his previous deeds. He takes a bad beating for this and even at the end he risks his life to come back and help the man he befriends in the town. I think this character is not as bad as a lot would have us believe.