This is not unusual for a Western to end on a negative note, and here are some of the most tragic hero deaths in the genre. While the early days of “Oaters” tended to depict good and evil in broad strokes, westerns became darker and bloodier as they evolved.
The John Ford/John Wayne collaboration, The researchersis one of the first examples of a game-changing game, where Wayne’s “hero” is as violent and hateful as any traditional villain. Clint Eastwood’s westerns would change things further, where the line between good guys and bad guys was thin and happy endings were far from guaranteed.
The saddest Westerns go further and kill off their protagonists, either in heroic sacrifice or to emphasize the story’s themes.. Executed well, these moments linger with the audience long after the credits roll and avoid being meaningless shock value.
Bone Tomahawk (2015) – Sheriff Hunt
horror western Bone Tomahawk became infamous for a particularly unpleasant death that occurs in the third actand it is by far the darkest film on this list. The film is also a loose remake of The researcherswhere Kurt Russell’s Sheriff Hunt and his group seek to save a kidnapped woman from a clan of cannibals.
The finale sees Hunt and his crew captured and placed on the menu, with the sheriff mortally wounded after being tortured. Hunt then stays with a rifle after the others break free, vowing to kill the remaining cannibals. before dying. In the final scene, three gunshots ring out.
Young Guns 2 (1990) – Doc Scurlock
Kiefer Sutherland’s Doc was the co-lead of the Young guns series. Although the real Scurlock survived to old age, Sutherland’s program for Young guns 2 only allowed him to participate in filming for a short time. This was Sutherland’s call for Doc to be killed during an ambush sequence around the second act of the sequel..
A third film entitled Young guns: dead or alive will enter production in late 2025, with the return of Emilio Estevez as star And director, while Christian Slater and Lou Diamond Phillips are set to reprise their roles.
This sees Doc leave Billy the Kid’s (Emilio Estevez) gang when he discovers another lie from Billy, only to be fatally shot by a sniper. Realizing his time is up, Doc grabs two revolvers and charges the group outside to buy his buddies time. Doc is then riddled with bullets, ensuring that Sutherland will not return for Young guns 3.
The Shooter (1976) – JB Books
The shooter wasn’t intended to be John Wayne’s final western, but it happened thanks to the star’s poor health. This drama features him as Books, a legendary shooter diagnosed with cancer. Books returns to his violent past in his final days, as he mentors a teenager (played by Ron Howard) and plans a glorious final shootout.
THE Shooter the finale proves how good Books is, as even with his poor health he still takes down a bar full of his rivals. Books’ victory is short-lived as a bartender shoots him from behindand when Books’ protégé shoots his attacker dead, his disgust at killing himself proves that he will not follow in Books’ footsteps.
True Grit (2010) – Rooster Cogburn
The Coen brothers Real courage is a superior adaptation of the same novel that was used for the 1969 John Wayne film. This version is a crueler, meaner take on the subject, where Jeff Bridges’ surly Marshal Cogburn is hired by a teenage girl to find the outlaw who murdered her father.
As Mattie (Hailee Steinfeld) gets her revenge, the trip takes a toll on her and Rooster. After he saves her life following a snake bite (which claims his arm), she and Rooster never see each other again. When Mattie travels decades later to see his Wild West show, it is tragically revealed that Cogburn died just days earlier. of old age.
3:10 p.m. to Yuma (2007) – Dan Evans
3:10 p.m. for Yuma is another remake, in which Christian Bale’s rancher Dan is hired to escort notorious outlaw Wade (Russell Crowe) to the titular train. Wade and Dan form an unlikely bond during their journey, with the two having more in common than expected. The final shootout sees Dan and Wade desperately trying to catch the train.
With victory assured, Wade’s group shot Evans, with his son witnessing his death. Wade, furious, cuts all ties to his past by wiping out his own gang and, to honor his deceased friend, Wade boards the 3:10 to Yuma so Dan’s son can see his father’s death was not in vain.
The Cowboys (1972) – Wil Andersen
John Wayne hasn’t died often in his films, so when it has happened (as in The shooter ), it had a big impact. The most shocking example is that of The Cowboyswhere his gruff rancher hires a group of boys to help him on a cattle drive. Along the way, they run into thieves led by Bruce Dern’s odious Watts.
At a key moment, Wayne’s Andersen and Watts come to blows, and the latter shoots him from behind. Seeing Wayne shot (and shot in the back, no less) well before the finale was a shock in 1972.and while his cowboys take revenge on Watts, Andersen’s disappearance is as heartbreaking as ever.
Tombstone (1993) – Doc Holliday
The late, great Val Kilmer gave his best performance in Tombstoneas Wyatt Earp’s best friend, Doc Holliday. Kilmer steals every scene and gets all the best lines as the incredibly charming Doc, although he also conveys the character’s self-loathing and loneliness. As far as he’s concerned, Wyatt is his only true friend.
Doc’s ending comes not in the form of a glorious final shootout, but rather in the form of dying from tuberculosis in a hospital. This forms Tombstone most moving scene, like Holliday orders Earp to let him die in peace and go find the woman he loves instead.. It’s an immensely sad but beautiful scene, made even better by Kilmer’s performance.
Django Unchained (2012) – Dr. King Schultz
There has rarely been a more perfect fusion of actor and director than Christoph Waltz and Quentin Tarantino. In both of their collaborations, QT adapted Waltz’s characters and in both cases, the actor delivered in spades. Waltz is co-responsible for much of the blood-soaked films. Django unleashedwith his character Schultz helping Django find his wife.
Despite an agreement with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Candie to free Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), Schultz is so disgusted by the slaver that he ends up shooting Candie.. Despite knowing he will be killed by Candie’s bodyguards for this, he tells Jamie Foxx’s Django: “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist“.
The Great Silence (1969) – Silence
The great silence is a revisionist western that overturns just about every genre rule imaginable. This Sergio Corbucci at the head of Western pits the mute shooter Silence (Jean-Louis Trintignant) against a group of bounty hunters led by Klaus Kinski’s Loco. Like all existing westerns, the story turns into an inevitable confrontation between them.
Except that The great silence doesn’t give the audience any catharsis. Instead, Loco’s men fire wounding shots at Silence before he is shot in the head. Soon after, Silence’s lover is shot while trying to avenge him, and the bounty hunters then kill the outlaws Silence was trying to save. It’s the darkest ending of any Western and its brutal power is unmatched..
