Based on the true story of Harry Tracy, this film follows the exploits of the titular Western outlaw as he struggles to survive the new era of the United States and, along the way, wins the heart of a judge's daughter, whom he takes on the run with her.
Harry Tracy provides examples of:
- An Aesop: Not everything is as it seems.
- Creator Cameo: Not the creator of the film, but the creator of the main song "My Love For You", Gordon Lightfoot. He portrays the film's main villain, Morrie Nathan.
- Disproportionate Retribution: What Harry Tracy goes through all throughout the film, to the point that one could call this film "Disproportionate Retribution: The Movie"
- Downer Ending: Tracy has been cornered, fought a losing battle, and killed himself to avoid capture, and now, Catherine Tuttle is loveless.
- End of an Age: The film is set in a time when all the famous outlaws of the Old West have either been killed or arrested, along with the United States entering the era of modernization.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Like the Yautja, Harry Tracy has made it a point not to harm anybody who can't fight back.
- Hero Antagonist: U.S. Marshal Morrie Nathan
- Kick the Dog: Pretty much any law enforcement or government official Tracy encounters treats him like shit.
- Pet the Dog: Catherine Tuttle and her family hold no ill will toward Tracy. Catherine's mother even shows disgust at how Tracy is treated while in custody.
- The Determinator: Harry Tracy becomes determined to win Catherine Tuttle's heart upon meeting her, and newly-elected Oregon governor Raymond Millhouse, whom Tracy met with earlier, becomes determined to bring him in dead or alive.
- Twilight of the Old West: See End of an Age above
- Villain Protagonist: Harry Tracy
- With Friends Like These...: Before Tracy's final escape, David Merrill makes a deal with the government and is later found out by Tracy, with whom he engages in a duel that costs him his life.
