History Film / TheLastOutlaw

After the end of the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar, a gang of former Confederate soldiers turned outlaw are on a wild bank robbery spree across New Mexico, led by the utterly ruthless Graff, (Rourke) their former Colonel and commanding officer from the war. However, Graff's bloodthirsty attitude and increasing cruelty are alienating some of his men, especially his second-in-command Eustis, (Mulroney) who is growing closer to rebelling against Graff.

After their latest robbery goes turns into a bloody shootout with US Marshal Sharp (Gavan O'Herlihy) and his posse, many of the outlaws are injured, especially Loomis, (Daniel Quinn) the youngest member of the band. Knowing that pursuit from the marshal and his posse is inevitable, Graff threatens to leave Loomis behind if he can't keep up, and when it becomes clear that Loomis can barely stay in the saddle, Graff [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness moves to execute Loomis so he won't slow the rest of the outlaws down]]. This is the breaking point for Eustis, who shoots Graff and leaves him for dead before Graff can kill Loomis. However, Graff survives, and is captured by the posse led by Sharp and [=McClintock=], (Creator/RichardFancy) the wealthy owner of the bank. Graff soon starts aiding the posse so he can use it as a way to get revenge on his former gang.

** [=McClintock=], for a given value of evil. He's somewhat callous, doesn't care too much about the lives of his posse, and cares more about getting his money back then anything else, but he's always polite and treats Graff fairly well after taking him prisoner. He even decides to let the outlaws go after Wills returns the money, [[spoiler:only for Graff to kill him and frame Wills so the posse will continue the pursuit.]] He also showed concern for the people in the bank during the heist.

* FatalFlaw: Graff's overconfidence. He is a ruthless but highly capable leader and a crack shot. He is also a shrewd judge of character and extremely good at manipulating people. However, this leads him to believe himself superior to everyone and in the end he [[spoiler:understimates Eustis, [[EvilGloating taking the time to rub his superiority into his face instead of just killing him immediately]] because he believes Eustis has run out of bullets; what he doesn't count on is Eustis having a hidden derringer pistol]].

** Grubb is one of the few members of the posse given a personality, and it's that he's a greedy and unpleasant man. However, after the deaths of [=McClintock=] and the Marshall, he tells the rest of the posse [[KnowWhenToFoldEm they should forget about going for the rest of the gang]], they'd already have a large bounty they can claim just from the captured Graf and Philo, they should cut their losses, head back to town, claim the bounty, and call it a day. While a few agree with him, the rest are blinded by the thought of claiming the bounties for each member of the gang, so insist on continuing the hunt. This eventually gets everyone in the posse killed in the process.

* TheChessmaster: Graff cleverly takes control of the very posse that captured him. First, he takes advantage of the confusion caused by the outlaw ambush to kill the posse leader, Marshal Sharp, making it look like he died in the crossfire. He then offers to lead the posse to his former gang, playing on their greed. When an opportunity presents itself, he throws [McClintock] and his money off a cliff, making it look like the outlaws were responsible, so that the posse has further incentive to hunt down the remaining outlaws. This causes an argument among the remaining posse members, with Grubb and a couple of others trying to persuade the rest to kill Graff and go home and claim the bounty for two dead outlaws, while the others want to keep Graff alive so that he can help them track down the rest of the gang. The argument escalates into a gunfight in which Grubb and his supporters are killed, finally allowing Graff to regain his freedom and become leader of the remaining posse members, effectively turning them into his new gang.

* PoliticallyCorrectVillain: In spite of the gang consisting of ex-Confederate soldiers, the black Lovecraft is still a member and treated with respect by the rest of the gang. The only exception is when Graff refers to him by a racial slur[[note]] the term wasn't necessarily a slur in his time, but the way he uses it makes it one in a conversation with Eustis[[/note]], but it's ignored otherwise.

* TheChessmaster: Graff cleverly takes control of the very posse that captured him. First, he takes advantage of the confusion caused by the outlaw ambush to kill the posse leader, Marshal Sharp, making it look like he died in the crossfire. He then offers to lead the posse to his former gang, playing on their greed. When an opportunity presents itself, he throws McClintock and his money off a cliff, making it look like the outlaws were responsible, so that the posse has further incentive to hunt down the remaining outlaws. This causes an argument among the remaining posse members, with Grubb and a couple of others trying to persuade the rest to kill Graff and go home and claim the bounty for two dead outlaws, while the others want to keep Graff alive so that he can help them track down the rest of the gang. The argument escalates into a gunfight in which Grubb and his supporters are killed, finally allowing Graff to regain his freedom and become leader of the remaining posse members, effectively turning them into his new gang.

** Grubb is one of the few members of the posse given a personality, and it's that he's a greedy and unpleasant man. However, after the deaths of [=McClintock=] and the Marshall, he tells the rest of the posse [[KnowWhenToFoldEm they should forget about going for the rest of the gang]], they'd already have a large bounty they can claim just from the captured Graf and Philo, they should head back to town, claim that, and call it a day. While a few agree with him, the rest are blinded by the thought of claiming the bounties for each member of the gang, so insist on continuing the hunt. This eventually gets everyone in the posse killed in the process.

* PoliticallyCorrectVillain: In spite of the gang consisting of ex-Confederate soldiers, the black Lovecraft is still a member and treated with respect by the rest of the gang. The only exception is when Graff refers to him by a racial slur in a conversation with Eustis, but it's ignored otherwise.

* AssholeVictim: Grubbs is a greedy, unreliable {{Jerkass}}, so it's hard to feel bad when he's gunned down by the rest of the posse when he tries to get them to turn back rather than continue to pursue the outlaws.

** Grubbs is one of the few members of the posse given a personality, and it's that he's a greedy and unpleasant man. However, after the deaths of [=McClintock=] and the Marshall, he tells the rest of the posse [[KnowWhenToFoldEm they should forget about going for the rest of the gang]], they'd already have a large bounty they can claim just from the captured Graf and Philo, they should head back to town, claim that, and call it a day. While a few agree with him, the rest are blinded by the thought of claiming the bounties for each member of the gang, so insist on continuing the hunt. This eventually gets everyone in the posse killed in the process.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Potts, on occasion. The most notable case is at the start of the film when he's complaining about the ambush at the bank, which was supposed to be unguarded. Eustis, who hasn't yet turned on Graff, tries pointing out that Graff got them out of the ambush alive and correctly guessed that it was there before everyone else, which saved their skins. Potts counters that Graff also got them into the situation in the first place, and force marched them for days to arrive at the bank, only to be wrong about the resistance they'd face once they arrived. It's clear from Eustis's face that this hits home and is another factor that shakes his faith in Graff.

** [=McClintock=], who is otherwise fairly unlikeable, is worried about the people in the bank at the start.

* TheCorrupter: Graff functions as this to whatever group he's a part of. The outlaws are shocked by his ruthless disregard for lives during the heist, when he intends to burn and/or blow up the ban hostages. Once he becomes part of the posse, he soon begins corrupting and manipulating them. [[spoiler:It's all but said that if the posse had survived, it's likely that any remaining members would have simply become Graff's next gang of outlaws.]]

* JerkassHasApoint: Potts, on occasion. The most notable case is at the start of the film when he's complaining about the ambush at the bank, which was supposed to be unguarded. Eustis, who hasn't yet turned on Graff, tries pointing out that Graff got them out of the ambush alive and correctly guessed that it was there before everyone else, which saved their skins. Potts counters that Graff also got them into the situation in the first place, and force marched them for days to arrive at the bank, only to be wrong about the resistance they'd face once they arrived. It's clear from Eustis's face that this hits home and is another factor that shakes his faith in Graff.

* SanitySlippage: Lovecraft gradually starts to lose it and becomes convinced that Graff is immortal and and unkillable as he continually leads the posse against the gang. [[spoiler:It culminates in him turning against the outlaws so he can at least get a quick death from Graff.]]
* SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: While the film pointedly avoid making much if any reference to slavery, Graff, who is unquestionably the most evil person in the film, is a former plantation owner, and thus a slave owner as well.

* WorstAid: Graff "treats" the shoulder wound he suffered while riding away from the town by pouring gunpowder into it and setting said gunpowder on fire to cauterize the wound. This is an ''absolutely terrible'' way to attempt to deal with the wound and in real life would have likely cause worse problems with the potential for internal injuries, sepsis, and killing off a bunch of tissue inside his body. If done in real life or if the film had treated the "cure" realistically, the best case scenario for Graff would have been losing the use of that arm for the rest of his life, the worst case would have been death within days from sepsis.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: At one point when he thinks Graff is dead and is talking about him, Eustis refers to Graff's leadership in the Battle of Atlanta and calls it the bloodiest battle of the war. Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of the Civil War knows that this is not even remotely close to being accurate. The only way it can be remotely justified is if Eustis meant to say that it was the bloodiest battle that Graff and he fought in during the war.

* BigBadWannabe: Sharp is firmly a HeroAntagonist, [[GoodIsNotNice albeit not a very nice one]], who believes himself to be capable of taking down the outlaw gang, but he is repeatedly outsmarted by Graff during the heist and their escape afterward, and would have lost the outlaws if not for Graff pointing the posse in the right direction. [[spoiler:He's killed by Graff midway through the film, and Graff then manages to become the leader of the posse.]]

** Marshal Sharp straddles the line between cold and FriendlySniper. He's a HeroAntagonist, albeit a smug one who thinks too much of himself that's a deadly shot at long range.

* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: ZigZagged. Potts is constantly contradicting and complaining about whatever Graff and later Eustis tell him. While his repeated claims that there's no posse pursuing the gang, he's dead on with how he points out that Graff doesn't give a damn about the others' needs and that the gang should cut their losses and flee to Mexico rather than engage Graff and the posse directly.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Lovecraft]], both due to his inability to turn on Eustis and his belief that [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled it would be better than letting Graff do the deed.]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards: The rest of the gang are horrified when Graff kills the hostages during the opening bank heist by setting the bank on fire and leaving behind ignited dynamite to blow them up. Eustis finally has enough when he decides to leave Loomis to die too and shoots him, which unfortunately turns out even worse for the gang in the long run.
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Lovecraft]] turns on the gang so that Graff will at least grant him a quick death.

* FromCamouflageToCriminal: All of the outlaws (with the likely exception of Lovecraft) once served int he Confederate army and are now dangerous outlaws.
* GoodIsNotNice: Sharp is the HeroAntagonist and as close as the film gets to a genuinely good guy, but he's short-tempered, aggressive, and makes it very clear that he wants to see the entire gang dead for killing some of his men.

* HeroAntagonist: Sharp. He's pompous and not especially likeable, but he does genuinely want to see Justice done. It's averted by the rest of the posse, who are entirely concerned with their payment and have absolutely no loyalty to each other or devotion to the idea of justice.

* NobleDemon: Eustis is far more moral than Graff and deeply values loyalty, which leads to him turning on Graff for trying to kill Loomis. [[spoiler:However, Graff's torment gradually wears away at him until he's no better than his former commander.]]

* WorstAid: Graff "treats" the shoulder wound he suffered while riding away from the town by pouring gunpowder into it and setting said gunpowder on fire to cauterize the wound. This is an ''absolutely terrible'' way to attempt to deal with the wound and in real life would have likely cause worse problems with the potential for internal injuries, sepsis, and killing off a bunch of tissue inside his body. If done in real life or if the film had treated the "cure" realistically, the best case scenario for Graff would have been losing the use of that arm for the rest of his life, the worst case would have been death days later after sepsis killed him.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Eustis becomes increasingly ruthless as Graff and the posse's pursuit increases in intensity. Compare his earlier refusal to abandon an injured Loomis to him [[spoiler:abandoning Wills after his horse is shot and it becomes clear that Lovecraft's horse can't carry him. Although in fairness, there is ''literally'' nothing that Eustis can physically do to help Wills at that point, whereas Graff could have but refused to try with Loomis.]]

* Eustis explicitly says in his opening narration that after the war he still saw himself as fighting for the South, viewing things like robbing banks as stealing from or striking blows against the North.
* At one point Graff comments to Sharp that the war will never be over.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Eustis becomes increasingly ruthless as Graff and the posse's pursuit increases in intensity. Compare his earlier refusal to abandon an injured Loomis to him [[spoiler:abandoning an uninsured Wills after his horse is shot and it becomes clear that Lovecraft's horse can't carry him.]]

After the end of the Civil War, a gang of former Confederates turned outlaws are led by ruthless former Southern colonel Graff (Rourke) on a bank robbery spree across New Mexico, though his methods and increasing cruelty alienate him from his second-in-command Eustis (Mulroney). While on what is intended to be their last job, a posse led by US Marshal Sharp (Gavan O'Herlihy) and wealthy banker [=McClintock=] (Creator/RichardFancy) attacks, injuring many of the outlaws. When Graff threatens to leave the heavily injured Loomis (Daniel Quinn) behind, Eustis shoots Graff and leaves him for dead. However, Graff survives, and quickly joins up with the posse so he can get revenge on his former gang.

** [=McClintock=], for a given value of evil. He's somewhat callous, doesn't care too much about the lives of his posse, and cares more about getting his money back then anything else, but he's always polite and treats Graff fairly well after taking him prisoner. He even decides to let the outlaws go after Wills returns the money, [[spoiler:only for Graff to kill him and frame Wills so the posse will continue the pursuit.]]

* BigBadWannabe: Sharp is firmly a HeroAntagonist, [[GoodIsNotNice albeit not a very nice one]], but he clearly sees himself as the biggest threat to the outlaws. [[spoiler:He's killed by Graff midway through the film, who quickly manages to take over the posse.]]
* BittersweetEnding: Very heavy on the bitter side. [[spoiler:Eustis manages to escape to Mexico and kills Graff, but the rest of the gang is dead and the money they took during the heist is gone.]]

** Wills, terrified for his life after the posse managed to kill two members of the gang, grabs the money they had stolen during their heists and returns it to the posse to get them to stop their chase. While the gang lambasts him for his cowardice, Wills's decision almost works; McClintock is ready to call off the posse once the money is returned and let the outlaws escape, [[spoiler:only for Graff to covertly kill him to keep the chase going.]]

* GreyAndGrayMorality: The outlaws are violent criminals, but for the most part they have a code of honor and try to avoid killing civilians. Meanwhile, the posse are just as violent and - with the exception of Sharp - are entirely concerned with money and have absolutely no loyalty to each other. And there's Graff, who is a ruthless and sociopathic murderer playing both sides against each other so he can get his revenge on Eustis.
* HeroAntagonist: Graff. He's vicious and bloodthirsty, but he does genuinely want to see Justice done. It's averted by the rest of the posse, who are entirely concerned with their payment and have absolutely no loyalty to each other.

* PocketProtector: Graff survives Eustis shooting him because the bullet hits a flask he had been carrying. The rest of the gang don't know this, which leads an increasingly unstable Lovecraft to conclude that [[InsaneTrollLogic Graff is immortal and can't be killed.]]
* PoliticallyCorrectVillain: In spite of the gang consisting of ex-Confederate soldiers, the black Lovecraft is still a member and treated with respect by the rest of the gang. There is an attempt at correcting this when Graff refers to him by a racial slur, but it's ignored otherwise.

After the end of the Civil War, a gang of former Confederates turned outlaws are led by ruthless former Southern commander Graff (Rourke) on a bank robbery spree across New Mexico, though his methods and increasing cruelty alienate him from his second-in-command Eustis (Mulroney). While on what is intended to be their last job, a posse led by US Marshal Sharp (Gavan O'Herlihy) and wealthy banker [=McClintock=] (Creator/RichardFancy) attacks, injuring many of the outlaws. When Graff threatens to leave the heavily injured Loomis (Daniel Quinn) behind, Eustis shoots Graff and leaves him for dead. However, Graff survives, and quickly joins up with the posse so he can get revenge on his former gang.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: The outlaws are violent criminals, but for the most part they have a code of honor and try to avoid killing civilians.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath:

* {{Sadist}}: Graff shows signs of this. He shoots [[spoiler:Loomis]] repeatedly in non-vital areas, keeping him alive but suffering and on the verge of death, just to torment Eustis, and he later fatally wounds [[spoiler:Potts]] right when he reaches the Rio Grande so he can die just inches away from freedom. And of course, he makes it very clear that he's saving Eustis for last just to punish him all the more for his betrayal.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Lovecraft]], both due to his inability to turn on Eustis and his belief that [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled it would be better than letting Graff do the deed.]]

* BittersweetEnding: Very heavy on the bitter side. [[spoiler:Eustis manages to escape to Mexico and kills Graff, but the rest of the gang is dead and the money they took during the heist is gone.]]