History Main / TwilightOfTheOldWest

* ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezGunslinger'' actually starts off in 1910. Most of the story however is told via flashback during the heyday of the Wild West.

* An add for the original [[CoolGuns Thompson sub-machine gun]] features a cowboy on the porch of a ranch house spraying the iconic weapon into a band of cattle rustlers. Indeed the first batch of guns seems to have gone out the large ranches along the border.

* ''Film/{{Hardcase}}'' is set sometime around 1910. The protagonist Jack Rutherford is a veteran of the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar who gets caught up in the UsefulNotes/MexicanRevolution when he ventures into Mexico looking for his wife who has run-off with a Mexican revolutionary.

In stories set during the Twilight of the Old West, there will still be many elements of the WildWest present like [[{{Cowboy}} cowboys]], [[TheGunslinger gunfighters]], [[{{Outlaw}} outlaws]], bank and [[TrainJob train robberies]], saloons, and [[CattleDrive cattle drives]] but, as you get deeper into the 20th century, they'll gradually become less common. InjunCountry will not be seen at all, as the last spasmodic resistance by Native Americans ended with Geronimo's surrender in 1886 and the aforementioned Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Instead, stories involving Native Americans will be set on TheRez. Probably the most noticeable change is the shift away from horses as a mode of transportation in favor of trains and--especially--automobiles. The replacement of gas and oil lights in favor of electricity follows close behind as an indication of progress as do the appearances of new inventions like telephones, motion pictures, phonographs, and airplanes.

In stories set during the Twilight of the Old West, there will still be many elements of the WildWest present like [[{{Cowboy}} cowboys]], [[TheGunslinger gunfighters]], [[{{Outlaw}} outlaws]], bank and [[TrainJob train robberies]], saloons, and [[CattleDrive cattle drives]] but, as you get deeper into the 20th century, they'll gradually become less common. InjunCountry will not be seen at all, as the last spasmodic resistance by Native Americans ended with Geronimo's surrender in 1886. Probably the most noticeable change is the shift away from horses as a mode of transportation in favor of trains and--especially--automobiles. The replacement of gas and oil lights in favor of electricity follows close behind as an indication of progress as do the appearances of new inventions like telephones, motion pictures, phonographs, and airplanes.

* ''Film/TheManWhoShotLibertyValance'' has this dramatized by the tragic CharacterArc of Creator/JohnWayne's character, as he sees his way of life fading away with Creator/JimmyStewart's character [[{{Pun}} taking the reins (so to speak)]].

-->'''Harmonica''': An ancient race. ''[looks to the approaching railroad]'' Other Mortons will be along and they'll kill it off.

* ''Film/ThreeAmigos'' lampshades and parodies Wild Western tropes...even though the plot takes place in the Mexican frontiers around UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, with the protagonists washed-up silent film stars pretending to be cowboys. At one point, German military pilots show up to train the main villain's banditos in more "modern" weapons.
* ''Film/TheWildBunch'' is set in 1913 when the film's characters, a gang of aging outlaws, have clearly lived past their time. Electricity and automobiles are present as are such "modern" weapons like [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1911 Colt M1911 handguns]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1903_Springfield_rifle M1903 Springfield rifles]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Model_1897#Military_use Winchester Model 1897 shotguns]] and an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1917_Browning_machine_gun M1917 machine gun]] which underscore the mechanized brutality of the modern era.

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' takes place in 1911, with this trope in full effect. Federal agents have shown up to tame the Wild West, and they've brought an automobile with them. They repeatedly refer to the hero, RetiredOutlaw John Marston, as a remnant of a bygone age, even as they use him to track down his former gang mates. Indeed, one of the game's major themes is the incompatibility of the old west with "civilized" people, who are ever encroaching upon it.
** Dutch van der Linde saw himself not as a criminal, but a man fighting back against a corrupt system to liberate the Old West. He [[TragicDream has a dream in his mind]] - to be an outlaw to the very end, and to force civilization back from the "purity" of the West. By 1911, he is a man clinging to false hope and belief as the West has been settled. When John finally confronts him, [[spoiler: he simply accepts that the Wild West era is over and he commits suicide.]]
** ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' emphasizes this point even more so, despite being set several years earlier. Much of the plot revolves around Marston's former gang and its leader, whose ideals of the West are heavily contested when the gang is forced to relocate to the almost entirely "civilized" East. [[spoiler:The epilogue revolves around Marston himself attempting to establish himself as a peaceful ranch owner, rather than another gunslinger.]]

* Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, which toured from 1883 to 1913, was a result of the closing of the West. There were all of these people still alive who had lived through the wildest days of the West, which had finally been tamed and fenced in. So the only way left to experience the WildWest was TheThemeParkVersion, and William F. Cody brought some of the best to his show, like Annie Oakley and Sitting Bull.

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->''Our days are over''

-->-- '''Music/MiracleOfSound''', "Redemption Blues"[[labelnote:*]]Inspired by ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption''[[/labelnote]]

The Twilight of the Old West is a trope invoked by stories depicting the changes that took place in Western North America and Mexico during the closing days of the WildWest and the beginning days of the NewOldWest. This is roughly the period between 1890 (the year the U.S. Census Bureau announced the closing of the frontier and the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred thereby marking the end of the Indian Wars) and 1920 (which marked the official end of UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution when guerilla/bandit forces operated along the US/Mexican border and the beginning of Prohibition in the U.S. which closed the last of the old West saloons).

* The spaghetti western ''Film/MyNameIsNobody'' takes place in 1899 and the trope is part of the plot. Jack Beauregard, an old and, by then, [[FastestGunInTheWest famous gunslinger]] in the Wild West decides to call it quits and retire to Europe. However, he meets '[[SomeodyNamedNobody Nobody]]', a young enthusiastic gunfighter whose idol is exactly Beauregard. Nobody wants Beauregard to definitely end in a blaze of glory in the history books by facing the Wild Bunch (a horse-riding gang of 150 bandits) [[OneManArmy alone]].

* [[UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution The hunt for Pancho Villa]] had both the primitive setting of the borderlands and the high-tech for their time gasoline-powered trucks, airplanes, radios and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragón_rifle automatic weapons.]]

* Much of the first half of ''WesternAnimation/MissingLink'' has a setting whose architecture and culture is highly evocative of the Wild West. However, there is no frontier left--Lionel and Mr. Link travel between a logging town near present-day Seattle, Washington, and Santa Ana, California, two places on the Pacific Coast. In the main characters make extensive use of a comprehensive railway network in the United States stretching from coast to coast, as well as a stagecoach traveling a well-worn path through the desert. A background detail in the closing credits shows the movie is set in 1909, right in the date range specified in this trope's description.

* ''Film/TerrorInATexasTown'': TheWildWest is coming to an end and multiple characters remark that a gunslinger like Johnny Crale is an anachronism. One man with a gun cannot wander into a town and dominate it anymore, and developments like an organized state police make it harder for outlaws to hide.

* ''Film/TheSistersBrothers'' is set [[JustBeforeTheEnd just before this period]], and the sense that the world is changing hangs over much of the film. The main characters are divided on how to respond; Eli is happy to let the Wild West die, while Charlie is scared by the possible change.

In stories set during the Twilight of the Old West, there will still be many elements of the WildWest present like [[{{Cowboy}} cowboys]], [[TheGunslinger gunfighters]], [[{{Outlaw}} outlaws]], bank and [[TrainJob train robberies]], saloons, and [[CattleDrive cattle drives]] but, as you get deeper into the 20th century, they'll gradually become less common. Probably the most noticeable change is the shift away from horses as a mode of transportation in favor of trains and--especially--automobiles. The replacement of gas and oil lights in favor of electricity follows close behind as an indication of progress as do the appearances of new inventions like telephones, motion pictures, phonographs, and airplanes.

* Though still set squarely in the Old West, ''Film/TheLastSamurai'' shows a time when - for some people, at least - that time was already starting to die out. The hero, no longer needed as an Indian fighter in his own land, is offered employment oversees fighting a different kind of "savage". This also mirrors the fact that Japan, at the same time, is facing its own EndOfAnAge, with the decline of the samurai and feudal era.

* Most of ''Film/ThereWillBeBlood'' takes place in this period during the great oil rush. The rural ranchers of the fading Old West are represented by the young preacher Eli Sunday, while the hard-bitten oil men of the new, more industrialized West are represented by Daniel Plainview.
* The prologue of ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' depicts a young Indiana Jones in Utah during this period.
* ''Film/LegendsOfTheFall'' starts off around this era, before moving into World War 1 and the Prohibition Era.
* Both versions of ''Film/MonteWalsh'' (the 1970 version starring Lee Marvin and the 2003 version starring Tom Selleck) address the plight of aging cowboys in an era where the frontier is vanishing.
* ''Film/{{Hidalgo}}''; protagonist Frank Hopkins delivered the orders that resulted in the Wounded Knee Massacre, and he becomes a headliner in Buffalo Bill's show before being asked to participate in a race across the Arabian desert.
* ''Film/BiteTheBullet'' takes place in 1908 and features a 700 mile horse race. The reporter for the newspaper sponsoring the race drives in an automobile, which the heroes borrow to pursue escaped convicts who stole their horses. It's clear that the old west is seen more as a the stuff of novels than a way of life for most outside of the cowboy protagonist.
* ''Film/TheSistersBrothers'' is set [[JustBeforeTheEnd just before this period]], and the sense that the world is changing hangs over much of the film. The main characters are divided on how to respond; Eli is happy to let the Wild West die, while Charlie is scared by the possible change.

* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr'' takes place in 1893, as the old ways are changing, although unlike most versions of this trope, it's mostly played for laughs. The titular protagonist, however, is actually optimistic about the scientific advancements that are being made, calling them "the coming thing." He's also a lawyer in addition to being a bounty hunter and still trusts his horse Comet over a [[spoiler: a motorcycle]] because Comet has brains and loyalty to him, making Brisco an interesting contrast to the regular Western hero's reaction to the new age. Considering that [[spoiler: the BigBad comes from the future which he admits is idyllic but boring to him]], Brisco's optimism may be warranted.

* Parodied in the final story of a ''ComicBook/{{Lobo}}'' {{Elseworld}} that reimagined the Main Man as various Western characters. "The Last Despera-bo" is a wistful page of the character reflecting on how times are changing and there doesn't seem to be much place for him any more. Then he gets hit by a truck.

** The Season 2 episode "Mild, Mild West", in which a murder is committed at Buffallo Bill's Roadshow, and Murdoch's brand of [[ByTheBookCop by-the-book]] law and order is contrasted with the sort of lawman who gets involved in shootouts on Main Street.

Sub-trope of TheWestern and EndOfAnAge that overlaps with the latter stage of the WildWest and the beginning of the NewOldWest. Opposite of DawnOfTheWildWest. For the {{Samurai}} version of this trope, see works set during and immediately after the UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration.

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' takes place in 1911, with this trope in full effect. Federal agents have shown up to tame the Wild West, and they've brought an automobile with them. They repeatedly refer to the hero, RetiredOutlaw John Marston, as a remnant of a bygone age, even as they use him to track down his former gang mates. Indeed, one of the game's major themes is the incompatibility of the old west with "civilized" people, whom are ever encroaching upon it.

* The spaghetti western ''Film/MyNameIsNobody'' takes place in 1899 and the trope is part of the plot. Jack Beauregard, an old and, by then, [[FastestGunInTheWest famous gunslinger]] in the Wild West decides to call it quits and retire to Europe. However, he meets '[[NoNameGiven Nobody]]', a young enthusiastic gunfighter whose idol is exactly Beauregard. Nobody wants Beauregard to definitely end in a blaze of glory in the history books by facing the Wild Bunch (a horse-riding gang of 150 bandits) [[OneManArmy alone]].

-->'''Harmonica''': An ancient race. ''[looks to the approaching railroad]'' Other Mortons[[note]]The BiggerBad, who's a businessman[[/note]] will be along and they'll kill it off.

In stories set during the Twilight Of The Old West, there will still be many elements of the WildWest present like [[{{Cowboy}} cowboys]], [[TheGunslinger gunfighters]], [[{{Outlaw}} outlaws]], bank and [[TrainJob train robberies]], saloons, and [[CattleDrive cattle drives]] but, as you get deeper into the 20th century, they'll gradually become less common. Probably the most noticeable change is the shift away from horses as a mode of transportation in favor of trains and--especially--automobiles. The replacement of gas and oil lights in favor of electricity follows close behind as an indication of progress as do the appearances of new inventions like telephones, motion pictures, phonographs, and airplanes.

While technological changes play a major role, the Twilight Of The Old West mainly deals with changes in society and how they affect those who still feel tied to the "old ways" of the WildWest. For example, bringing justice to an area now means criminals are dealt with by sheriffs, police, judges, and jails rather than vigilante justice. Also, {{Cattle Drive}}s become more infrequent and smaller with the end of the open range and the spread of the railroad system beyond the hub cities that were usually the destination of such drives.