History Film / HighPlainsDrifter

* WhamShot: While it doesn't exactly clear up the mystery of who The Stranger is, [[spoiler:the [[{{Dolly}} dolly shot]] and {{zoom}} in the final scene showing Marshal Jim Duncan's name on the gravestone Mordecai just finished engraving after The Stranger tells him that he does in fact know The Stranger's name establishes at the very least that The Stranger did indeed come to Lago to avenge Duncan's death.]]

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:The three gunmen all get what they deserve, but the first one to die, Cole, is whipped to death just as the Marshal was. Flashbacks to Marshal Duncan's murder showed Cole wearing the biggest grin; he's definitely not smiling when he gets on the wrong end of the bullwhip, but [[KickTheSonOfABitch his pathetic pleas for mercy earn him no pity from either audience]].]]

* WhiteMansBurden: Minor Example, the Native American family that shows up for a very brief scene exists only to look helpless so The Stranger can stand up for them. Though it probably helped they weren't a part of his real target.

* UngratefulTownsfolk: This happens ''before'' the beginning of the movie and is the basis for everything that happens during it. Including the subversion that happens before we actually learn this; after seemingly teaching the townsfolk to fight back against the evil bandits threatening the town, the 'hero' betrays the ''townspeople'' by abandoning them, letting the bandits have the run of the town before he returns to take his own vengeance on them.

* WhiteMansBurden: The Native American family that shows up for a very brief scene exists only to look helpless so The Stranger can stand up for them.

* AmbiguousInnocence: There's a sense that [[TownWithADarkSecret the whole town knows what happened to Marshal Duncan and why]], but Luttie the bartender and a couple of other credited townspeople aren't specifically seen [[spoiler:among the people watching him get whipped to death in the flashback.]], Granted, the discussion with the Hotelier and his wife implied that they were aware of it.

* AmbiguousInnocence: There's a sense that [[TownWithADarkSecret the whole town knows what happened to Marshal Duncan and why]], but Luttie the bartender and a couple of other credited townspeople aren't specifically seen [[spoiler:among the people watching him get whipped to death in the flashback.]]

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In the first 10 minutes we saw the Stranger silently wander into Lago, order a drink, kill three men without hesitation when they started bothering him to find out who he is, and then rapes a woman for insulting him. This pretty much tells you that this man isn't [[Film/TheDollarsTrilogy the Man with No Name]].

* LittlePeopleAreSurreal: Mordecai not only enjoys spying on the Stranger having sex, but is eventually given the dual title of sheriff and mayor.

* HitlerCam: The Stranger from Callie's perspective after he rapes her.

* WhamShot: While it doesn't exactly clear up the mystery of who The Stranger is, [[spoiler:the [[{{Dolly}} dolly shot]] and {{zoom}} in the final scene showing Marshal Jim Duncan's name on the gravestone Mordecai just finished engraving after The Stranger tells him that he does in fact know The Stranger's name establishes at the very least that he came to town to avenge Duncan's death.]]

* WhamShot: While it doesn't exactly clear up the mystery of who The Stranger is, [[spoiler:the dolly shot and zoom in the final scene showing Marshal Jim Duncan's name on the gravestone Mordecai just finished engraving after The Stranger tells him that he does in fact know The Stranger's name establishes at the very least that he came to town to avenge Duncan's death.]]

** On the maybe magic side of the argument, an often-overlooked detail is that the Stranger rides a pale horse...

** Or [[KickTheSonOfABitch Kick the Bitch]], depending on how you feel about Callie.

* MercyKill: Having murdered Tom Allen, Stacey Bridges tells The Stranger that he was already dying from his arm wound and he just put him out of his misery.

* AssShove: The Sheriff threatens a guy with this. Wisely, the dude backs off.

''High Plains Drifter'' is a 1973 {{Western}} directed by (and starring) Creator/ClintEastwood, with a screenplay by Ernest Tidyman (''Film/TheFrenchConnection'', ''Film/{{Shaft}}''). It was Eastwood's second film as director, and the first Western he directed.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/high_plains_drifter_4.jpg]]

A [[TheDrifter mysterious drifter]] referred to only as "The Stranger" rides into the dismal mining town of Lago, which has a crisis on its hands: three ruthless gunmen are making their way to the town so they can settle scores over an old wrong done to them by the townspeople. After the Stranger kills a group of men hired by the cowardly townspeople to protect Lago, the town's elders decide to hire the Stranger as their protector. The Stranger only agrees to take up the role after the town meets his bizarre demands -- including painting the town's buildings red and rechristening the town itself as "Hell".

As the Stranger trains the townsfolk to take arms and the gunmen draw closer, the hidden secrets and corruptions of the town begin to unravel, and the truth behind Lago's feud with the outlaws -- and their culpability in the death of a federal marshal, with whom the Stranger has a connection -- soon comes to light...

* {{Tsundere}}: Horribly gone wrong. It appears Callie wanted to flirt with the Drifter by bumping into him and insulting him. This is a horrible mistake.

** There are two headstones in the graveyard with the names of Don Siegel and Creator/SergioLeone on them -- a tribute from Eastwood to the two (then-living) directors who shaped his career.

* WhipItGood: Marshal Duncan was whipped to death in the street. Yes, you can be whipped to death. The Stranger then gets revenge on those who did it and he whips Cole to death in the flame-lit street and hangs Dan with a whip.

* WhamShot: While it doesn't exactly clear up the mystery of who The Stranger is, [[spoiler:the dolly shot in the final scene showing Marshal Jim Duncan's name on the gravestone Mordecai just finished engraving after The Stranger tells him that he does in fact know The Stranger's name establishes at the very least that he came to town to avenge Duncan's death.]]

''High Plains Drifter'' is a 1973 {{Western}} directed by (and starring) Creator/ClintEastwood, with a screenplay by Ernest Tidyman (''Film/TheFrenchConnection'', ''Film/{{Shaft}}'').

In the Old West, a [[TheDrifter mysterious drifter]] referred to only as "The Stranger" rides into the dismal mining town of Lago, which has a crisis on its hands: three ruthless gunmen are making their way to the town so they can settle scores over an old wrong done to them by the townspeople. After the Stranger kills a group of men hired by the cowardly townspeople to protect Lago, the town's elders decide to hire the Stranger as their protector. The Stranger only agrees to take up the role after the town meets his bizarre demands -- including painting the town's buildings red and rechristening the town itself as "Hell".