Westerns that Kill Off the Hero!

Westerns that do away with the hero leverage the connection made between viewers and the hero. Many of the tropes used by Revisionist Westerns, killing off the hero in the end became a Western movie tradition. Whatever a movie's main message may be, the demise of its hero highlights the dangers of the Wild West frontier.
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[@pauldourlet]

There are no good guys in The Wild Bunch or Tarantino's Hateful 8. What holds The Wild Bunch together --is a code of honor -as thin as it is. Or as Pike said -when you ride with a man you stick with him-if you don't you're finished -you're an animal.

[@ThomasGidley-kv2uj]

Paul gets it in Hombre and never deserved it.

[@rony41165]

Shane while we didnt see him die he was bleeding as he rode away.

[@cdeford2]

A lot of these are morality tales. Crime - or questionable morality - must always have consequences in Hollywood's mind. Or that used to be the case. More recent films such as No Country For Old Men and Unforgiven have taken a more nihilistic approach. But real heroes dying at the end has always been a staple of Hollywood. especially tragic and misunderstood heroes. The Way West, Von Ryan's Express and The Poseidon Adventure are good examples.

[@LowPlainsDrifter60]

Not really a hero but Clint copped it in 'The Beguiled' (1971) & of course, Clancy Brown unexpectedly gets his, half way through 'The Burrowers' (2008)
The most shocking "killing off" though was that of Hilary Swank in ' The Homesman' (2014) and of course that of 'Silence' (Jean-Louis Trintignant) in 'The Great Silence' (1968) No one was expecting that outcome at the time.

[@bravehome4276]

The Beguiled is more a Southern than a Western, but I get your point!

[@emava]

Clint Walker - "More Dead Than Alive"

[@a1productionllc]

Of these "The Shootist" was the best, but they were all rather good.

[@rony41165]

How about Gregory peck in the gunfighter, Gary cooper in the plainsman, john wayne in the man that shot liberty vallence died a horrible death.

[@johanngottlieb]

Joel Mccrea in Ride the High Country

[@rony41165]

How about doc holliday in my darling clementine which is about the gunfight at the ok corral in the actual story holliday survived but in this one he died.

[@joelkweskin8545]

Victor Mature

[@bravehome4276]

There are deaths in movies that seem to have meaning, and deaths that seem to have none (unless nihilism is a meaning). I prefer those with meaning.

[@maureencora1]

Good Movies with Bad Endings.