History Main / TwilightOfTheOldWest

* Although ''Film/FortyGuns'' is set squarely in the WildWest (a comment from the telegraph operator indicates the date is around 1882), several characters can already see their time is ending. Griff foresees a time when gunfighters will be as anachronistic as Roman gladiators, and Jessica knows that Arizona becoming a state will spell an end to the way she does business and her use of a private army.

* ComicBook/JonahHex's DeadlyDistantFinale.

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]], [[BankRobbery 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 UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans ended with Geronimo's surrender in 1886 and the aforementioned Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Instead, stories involving Native Americans will likely be set on a NeglectedRez. 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. Territories became states, and filled up the contiguous Union, starting with [[UsefulNotes/NorthDakota North]] and UsefulNotes/SouthDakota in 1889, and ending with UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} in 1912, at the same time the country expanded [[UsefulNotes/{{Hawaii}} further]] [[UsefulNotes/{{Guam}} west into]] [[UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} the Pacific]] following the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar.

** ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' is a prequel to ''Red Dead Redemption'' but also emphasizes this point.

* In ''Film/{{Sunset}}'', which is set in 1920s Hollywood, Wyatt Earp is watching his life being mythologised while he is still alive.

* ''A Man Called Frank'' was a western themed take on ComicBook/ThePunisher. Frank Castle is a cowboy (and veteran of the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar) during this time who is out for revenge to the criminals who killed his family.

The Twilight of the Old West is a trope invoked by stories depicting the changes that took place in Western UsefulNotes/NorthAmerica and UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}} during the closing days of the WildWest and the beginning days of the NewOldWest. This is roughly the period between [[TheGayNineties 1890]] (when 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 [[TheRoaringTwenties 1920]] (which marked the official end of UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution when guerrilla/bandit forces operated along the US/Mexican border and the beginning of Prohibition in the U.S. which closed the last of the saloons).

Sub-trope of TheWestern and EndOfAnAge that overlaps with the latter stage of the WildWest and the beginning of the NewOldWest. Opposite of DawnOfTheWildWest. The East Coast equivalent would be UsefulNotes/TheProgressiveEra, encompassing the socioeconomic reforms of UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt and UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson at the end of TheGildedAge. For the {{Samurai}} version of this trope, see works set during and immediately after the UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration. Also compare to works set in UsefulNotes/TheSovietTwenties, which often had this feel out in the Soviet East.

* The ''Series/KraftSuspenseTheatre'' episode "Threepersons" is set on the Texas/Mexico border circa [[TheRoaringTwenties 1923]], with horses and automobiles sharing the streets. The heroes go after a gang who's smuggling booze across the border.

* An ad 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.

* In ''Custer Of The West'', Robert Shaw's Custer has a conversation with Sitting Bull prior to the Battle of the Little Big Horn in which he tells him that the Indians must return to the reservation because trains, steel and Gatling guns means that their way of life - and this way of waging war - is over. To which Sitting Bull laconically replies "One last time then." Like much of the film, the exchange is a complete invention and given that this is taking place in 1876, probably a little too prescient. However, it does accurately reflect the real Custer's romanticised view of life on the frontier and how it was coming to an end.

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]], [[BankRobbery 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 UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans 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. Territories became states, and filled up the contiguous Union, starting with [[UsefulNotes/NorthDakota North]] and UsefulNotes/SouthDakota in 1889, and ending with UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} in 1912, at the same time the country expanded [[UsefulNotes/{{Hawaii}} further]] [[UsefulNotes/{{Guam}} west into]] [[UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} the Pacific]] following the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar.

Sub-trope of TheWestern and EndOfAnAge that overlaps with the latter stage of the WildWest and the beginning of the NewOldWest. Opposite of DawnOfTheWildWest. The East Coast equivalent would be the Progressive Era, encompassing the socioeconomic reforms of UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt and UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson at the end of TheGildedAge. For the {{Samurai}} version of this trope, see works set during and immediately after the UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration. Also compare to works set in UsefulNotes/TheSovietTwenties, which often had this feel out in the Soviet East.

[[/folder]]\

[[folder:Radio]]
* ''Radio/TheSixShooter'' starred Creator/JimmyStewart as Britt Ponset, a [[TheDrifter drifting cowboy]] in the final years of TheWildWest.

The Twilight of the Old West is a trope invoked by stories depicting the changes that took place in Western UsefulNotes/NorthAmerica and UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}} during the closing days of the WildWest and the beginning days of the NewOldWest. This is roughly the period between 1890 (when 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 guerrilla/bandit forces operated along the US/Mexican border and the beginning of Prohibition in the U.S. which closed the last of the saloons).

->''Our days are [all almost] over''
->''Times have changed around these parts''
->''There ain't no more cowboys''
->''Only men with violent hearts''

-->'''Harmonica''': So you found out you're not a businessman after all?
-->'''Frank''': Just a man.
-->'''Harmonica''': An ancient race. ''[looks to the approaching railroad]'' Other Mortons 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]], [[BankRobbery 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 UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans 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. Territories became states, and filled up the contiguous Union, starting with [[UsefulNotes/NorthDakota North]] and UsefulNotes/SouthDakota in 1889, and ending with UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} in 1912.

* ''1923'', a prequel series to Yellowstone, deals with this. Especially in the third episode when the Duttons head to town.
** Later in the same episode, an old west-style shootout with revolvers, lever-action rifles, and horses is brought to a violent and decisive end when one of the enemy sheepherders shows up in an automobile with a tommy gun.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Has nothing to do]] with [[Literature/{{Twilight}} cowboy vampire romance]] or [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic a certain purple unicorn ruling the outback]].