History Main / ShootTheRope

* ''Series/{{Zorro}}'': In an episode, Zorro saves an old friend of Don Diego from hanging by shooting the rope with a [[ArrowsOnFire flaming arrow]]. He does so before the trapdoor is opened, though, leaving time enough for the fire to burn the rope. He also [[PinnedToTheWall pins the executor's sleeve to the gallows]] by firing another arrow to prevent him from interfering.

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* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. In "Draw Back Your Bow", Oliver finds Cupid holding someone hostage with a hanging rope around his neck, and strapped to a bomb vest. He goes to shoot the rope only for Cupid to reveal the rope is laced with a tripwire that will activate bomb vest. Oliver does it anyway, tears off the vest and [[RelocatingTheExplosion throws it into the air where it's detonated with another arrow.]]

* Arrowette does this in the ''Comicbook/YoungJustice 80 Page Giant''.

* Realistically averted in the 2010 ''Film/TrueGrit'', where the heroes opt to climb a tree and cut the rope on a man hanged high.

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* After the ''ComicBook/ZeroHour'' storyline, this was revealed as [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]]'s [[MyGreatestFailure Greatest Failure]]. In his early days, Dick as Robin had to save Batman and the DA who replaced Harvey Dent after his transformation into Two-Face from a deathtrap the aforementioned villain had made. Dick thought it was easy - cut the rope when the trap was sprung. [[spoiler: He didn't realize that Two-Face's deathtraps followed his ''modus operandi'' - he saved the DA from hanging, only to drop him into the ocean below.]]

* Every version of ''Myth/RobinHood'' features this in some fashion. It is very much a staple of the BBC ''Series/RobinHood'' series.

* The History Channel show ''Extreme Marksmen'' noted that there were no documented examples of this trope actually being done (or even attempted) with a gun. But they had expert shooter attempt to do it anyway, just to see if it was possible. On his first attempt he eventually broke the rope, but it took about 5 or 6 shots. Naturally, that wouldn't have been fast enough to save the victim. He tried again, this time using wadcutter bullets (normally used only for shooting paper targets) which hit a slightly wider area than pointed or rounded bullets, and this time took only 2 shots to break the rope. Since he fired the first shot at the exact moment the "victim" (a sack of potatoes) was dropped, this left at least a slight chance that he could've survived, as the follow-up shot came very quickly due to the shooter's great skill. So with the right ammo and an exceptional shooter, it was possible (though extremely unlikely) that it could be done. It was mentioned that hangman's rope is roughly a half inch wide, which is wider than most bullets. And aside from some machine guns, sniper rifles and super-magnum hunting rifles (that almost all came onto the scene after hanging had begun to fall out of favor and was certainly no longer used in in places public enough to be disrupted), most guns with bullets larger than a half-inch in diameter have poor accuracy. So there's no realistic way to take out the rope in a single shot.
* A 'Slash the Rope' variant happens in the pilot episode of ''Series/QueenOfSwords'', with the masked heroine charging the gallows on a galloping horse to cut the rope with her sword as the executioner is kicking the stool out from under the victim.

* ''Series/WildBoys'': Captain Gunpowder does it to save Jack from being lynched in the miners camp.
* ''Series/TheLoneRanger'' does the shoot-with-a-bullet type to save Tonto in one episode.
* ''Series/MissFishersMurderMysteries'': In "Framed for Murder", Phryne shoots the rope holding a sandbag, causing it to drop and extinguish a fire.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Doctor has to do this during his TrialByOrdeal in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E4TheFaceOfEvil The Face of Evil]]". In this case he's standing on a plank over a pit of nasty biting creatures, holding a crossbow with only one quarrel. The rope is attached to a weight, pulling machinery that's opening the pit beneath him. The rope gets thinner the longer you wait (making it easier to cut) but the weight moves faster.
* ''Series/{{Bones}}'': When the SerialKillerKiller Booth and Bones have tracked down tries to hang himself, Booth pulls out his pistol and shoots the knot around the support beam, weakening the rope just enough that it breaks instead of the guy's neck so he can be arrested. Notably, Bones mentioned that the distance of the fall would be enough to snap the neck just before he jumps.
* One scene in ''Series/{{Intelligence 2014}}'' has Gabriel and Riley practicing in the the shooting range. Then Chris Jameson, who up to now has just been presented as a techie, comes up to the bar and knocks down his entire target sheet by shooting the strings it's hanging from. Lest the full implications escape you, Riley is a US Secret Service agent, and Gabriel is former Delta Force and a {{cyborg}}.

* ''Series/TheNewAvengers'': Done as part of a TwangHello by a bow-wielding assassin in "Faces". He uses an arrow to sever the the rope holding up a training dummy next to Purdey as a way of announcing his presence.
* ''Series/WynonnaEarp'': Wynonna does to this save Waverly from being lynched by the reveants in "Purgatory: using Peacemaker to shoot out the block and tackle they are using to string her up.
* In the ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' episode [[Recap/LegendsOfTomorrowS2E6OutlawCountry "Outlaw Country"]], [[Comicbook/BlackCanary Sara]] saves the hanging Comicbook/JonahHex by shooting the rope, while it's swinging, no less.
* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': In "The Death of the Small Coppers", a halfblind old woman with a shotgun shoots through the rope holding Winter in a DeathTrap just in time for him to free himself before the crossbow trigger.

* Colette of ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' does this with a [[RingsOfDeath chakram]], which makes a little more sense.

** ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'', Rockstar's spiritual successor to ''VideoGame/RedDeadRevolver'' as well as its [[VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2 prequel]], uses this often in some side missions and at least once in the story campaigns.
* Proper use of this trope is the only way to win ''VideoGame/YouHaveToBurnTheRope''. When you confront the BigBad [[spoiler: you have to burn the rope]] to win.

* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed:''
** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'' has an early mission in which you run around Nassau saving pirates from British soldiers in order to recruit them into your crew. The final pirate you're made to save is about to be hanged; one of the missions' bonus objectives is to shoot the rope to free him. Definitely a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome if done correctly.
** Shay, from ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRogue'', can do this to save Gist from being hanged by the gangs of New York. Just like in ''Black Flag'', the bonus objective demands it for the OneHundredPercentCompletion.

* This is done at the starting of ''VideoGame/BraveFencerMusashi'', although they were magic machine gun bullets coming straight from your [[FingerGun hand]].
* In the InteractiveFiction game ''[[http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=xwedbibfksczn7eq Gun Mute]]'', the PC has to do this to save his boyfriend.
* In ''VideoGame/AnakshaFemaleAssassin'', [[spoiler:this is how you beat the last stage. Your target is fully armored and [[KungFuProofMook can't be killed by your bullets]], but there's a steel girder tied to a rope that's hanging over the street...]]
* Among other things the [[ImprobableAimingSkills Bond Focus]] mechanic in ''VideoGame/DoubleOhSevenFromRussiaWithLove'' allows Bond to shoot rappelling lines, causing the unfortunate {{Mooks}} to plummet to their deaths.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Desperados}}''. Trying to shoot the rope off Doc's neck in his rescue mission is a surefire way to get a GameOver. John has to get up there and cut it with his knife to free him.

* In ''Naruto: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom'', young Hikaru saves his father Michiru this way with one of several real arrows he received earlier for his bow.

* Malcolm Lightbourne shots himself free of a snare in ''ComicBook/{{Ruse}}'' #4 (the Marvel revival version).

* In ''Detective Comics'' #20, the Penguin saves Franchise/{{Batman}} by using his umbrella gun to shoot the chain Ogilivy was using to hang him.
* ComicBook/NikolaiDante pulls one of these to save [[BloodKnight Elena Kurakin]] from being executed as a deserter.
* ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'': In "The Parliament of Fear", the Doctor and Bass Reaves come charging in on horseback to the camp where Bill has been taken. Bass uses the a rifle to shoot the rope that is holding Bill trussed to a totem pole; while still mounted and at the gallop.

* In ''ComicBook/TheFurtherAdventuresOfIndianaJones'' #27, a Cossack attempts to kill Indy by [[CruelAndUnusualDeath tying his four limbs to four horses and driving them off in different directions]]. His companion Beth Cody saves him by shooting out three of the four ropes. However, she cannot get a clear shot at the fourth rope, leaving Indy being [[WhatADrag dragged by his leg behind a panicked horse]].
* In ''ComicBook/JusdgeColt'' #2, Colt saves an Indian who is being lynched by a rancher by shooting out the rope around his neck.

* Mater does this near the end of ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'' to escape from Big Bentley, when the villains tried to kill him, Finn [=McMissile=], and Holly Shiftwell by crushing them with the clock's gears.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad'': In ''The Wind in the Willows'', the main characters lower Mole down on a BedsheetLadder to take back the deed to Toad Hall from a sleeping Winky. As they're pulling him back up, a weasel guard spots them and throws a knife at the rope, causing Mole to fall onto Winky and kick off the climax.

* ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'' had this as part of a scam with the hero turning in his partner for the bounty and repeatedly saving him from the gallows before the sentence could be carried out in this fashion. The comedic variation also occurred at one point. It's a RuleOfThrees: first time played straight, second time the rope is only partially severed; by the time the rope breaks, the horse has run off and Tuco has to catch a lift on Blondie's horse; this incident leads to an acrimonious breakup. By the time Tuco catches up with him intent on revenge, Blondie is about to do the scam with a new partner. Tuco refuses to allow Blondie to shoot, and the man is hung.
* ''Film/TheOutlawJoseyWales'' sends a posse for a "Missouri Boat Ride" by severing a ferry cable with a rifle shot.
* ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights'' also has this (when someone comments on the [[LampshadeHanging improbable shot]], the shooter admits he was really [[AccidentalAimingSkills aiming for the hangman]]). This may have been a parody of a similar scene in ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves''.
* A variant was used toward the end of ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'': [[spoiler:Will Turner throws his sword, not to cut the rope, but to give Jack a foothold so he doesn't drop far enough to die.]]
* In ''Film/TheQuickAndTheDead'', [[ActionGirl "The Lady" Ellen]] pulls this to save [[TheAtoner the Preacher]] from being hanged by his ex-colleagues. [[spoiler:Then it's subverted in her flashback to when she was [[ChildrenAreInnocent 8 years old]]: the BigBad is about to hang her father, but tells her to shoot the rope, promising to release him if she manages to hit it. ''[[TearJerker She hits her father instead.]]'']]

* Not exactly a hangman's noose, but Mal does shoot the rope that connects a harpoon in Jayne's leg to a Reaver vehicle in ''Film/{{Serenity}}''. It only worked on the third try, though, and was {{played for laughs}} with Jayne thinking that Mal was going to shoot ''him'' [[MercyKill so the Reavers wouldn't]] [[FateWorseThanDeath get their hands on him]].
* In ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Han does shoot the tentacle trying to drag Lando into the Sarlacc's mouth on the first try while nearly blind. While his near-blindness at the time makes the accuracy quite implausible, the fact that it's a tentacle rather than a rope means severing it wasn't necessary; merely inflicting pain was enough to make it release its grip.
* Heather from ''Film/{{Tremors}}'' saves her husband Burt from being dragged into a [[SandWorm Graboid's]] mouth by shooting its tentacle repeatedly with a shotgun until it's severed.
* In ''Film/PlunkettAndMacleane'', [[spoiler: Plunkett]] does this to [[spoiler: save Macleane from hanging]] in a BigDamnHeroes moment.
* Done in ''Film/ShanghaiNoon'' by Chon's new wife.
* In ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'', a T-600 is strung up by a rope trap. After firing unsuccessfully at its targets, it points its gun up as if to shoot the rope... [[LifeOrLimbDecision only to blast its own foot off instead]].

* In ''Film/QuigleyDownUnder'', Quigley sets off a dead fall trap on one of his pursuers by shooting a rope.
* Realistically averted in the 2010 ''Film/TrueGrit'', where the heroes opt to climb a tree and cut the rope on a man hanged high.
* ''Film/TheATeam'': Hannibal Smith goes against the [[ATeamFiring norm]] by cutting through Face's noose in the film with three or four bullets in rapid succession.
* Inverted in ''Film/{{House}}'', in which a flying skeletal monster steals Roger's shotgun as he's dangling from a rope, then fires it (after a Gun Twirl, no less!) to break the rope and send him plummeting ''into'' danger. Unlike most examples here, it's plausible that the line would break, as a shotgun can damage a whole section of the rope rather than just one small spot.
* ''Film/CatBallou'' gets rescued in this manner in the the eponymous movie.
* ''Film/MacheteKills''. Our MadeOfIron hero is hung by a redneck sheriff, but it [[TheManTheyCouldntHang doesn't kill him]]. The sheriff then gets a phone call, draws his pistol in an [[BaitAndSwitchGunshot apparent attempt to finish off Machete]], shoots the rope and hands him the phone. It's the President of the United States, offering a pardon for Machete.

* ''Film/TheMountie'': When Grayling first meets Cleora, she is attempting to shoot the body of the mountain man down from a tree. Grayling takes the rifle off her and shoots through the rope with a single shot. Later, Cleora saves Grayling from being lynched by shooting the rope.

* ''Film/TheBoldCaballero'': As the Commandante is about to hang Isabella's duenna, Zorro and his Indians shoot [[ArrowsOnFire flaming arrows]] into the scaffold, where they burn the rope so that it snaps when the trapdoor is opened.

* One of the many possible opportunities for Colee McGrath to [[KarmaMeter increase his Good Karma]] in ''Videogame/InFAMOUS2'' is freeing civilians from being hanged by [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic the Militia]] by blasting the rope with his electric powers.

* In ''Naruto: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom'', young Hikaru saves his father Michiru this way with one of several real arrows he receives earlier for his bow.

** ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'', Rockstar's spiritual successor to ''VideoGame/RedDeadRevolver'', uses this often in side missions and at least once in a story mission.

* Done by the villain of ''Disney/TheRescuersDownUnder''. It takes him a couple of shots.

* ''Disney/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad'': In ''The Wind in the Willows'', the main characters lower Mole down on a BedsheetLadder to take back the deed to Toad Hall from a sleeping Winky. As they're pulling him back up, a weasel guard spots them and throws a knife at the rope, causing Mole to fall onto Winky and kick off the climax.

* Red Arrow does this (from horseback) to save GreenLantern's life when they are trapped in the Old West and Green Lantern is about to be lynched in ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica 80 Page Giant''.

* ''Franchise/TheLoneRanger'' does the shoot-with-a-bullet type to save Tonto in one episode.

* In ''Film/GangOfRoses'', Rachel and her gang recruit Kim by riding into the town where she is scheduled to be [[PublicExecution publicly hanged]]. The trapdoor has already been sprung and Kim is slowly strangling when Chas fires the bullet that severs the rope.

In RealLife, this is much less likely to happen than in fiction. First of all, in the nineteenth century, we figured out that hanging from a higher altitude can kill instantly by breaking the neck, and since then the majority of hangings are done in this way, with only particularly sadistic or incompetent executioners using short drops. Second, even if the victim survives the initial drop, they may struggle or convulse while suffocating, causing the rope to twitch and bounce around and making the already thin target even harder to hit. Despite all this, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5_f5NGpMq4 cutting a rope with a bullet is not completely impossible]]... so long as you manage to hit the rope in the first place.[[CuttingTheKnot A better solution is just to shoot the hangman.]]

In RealLife, this is much less likely to happen than in fiction. First of all, in the nineteenth century, we figured out that hanging from a higher altitude can kill instantly by breaking the neck, and since then the majority of hangings are done in this way, with only particularly sadistic or incompetent executioners using short drops. Second, even if the victim survives the initial drop, they may struggle or convulse while suffocating, causing the rope to twitch and bounce around and making the already thin target even harder to hit. Despite all this, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5_f5NGpMq4 cutting a rope with a bullet is not completely impossible]]... so long as you manage to hit the rope in the first place. A better solution is just to shoot the hangman.

In RealLife, this is much less likely to happen than in fiction. First of all, in the nineteenth century, we figured out that hanging from a higher altitude can kill instantly by breaking the neck, and since then the majority of hangings are done in this way, with only particularly sadistic or incompetent executioners using short drops. Second, even if the victim survives the initial drop, they may struggle or convulse while suffocating, causing the rope to twitch and bounce around and making the already thin target even harder to hit. Despite all this, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5_f5NGpMq4 cutting a rope with a bullet is not completely impossible]]... so long as you manage to hit the rope in the first place.

** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'' has an early mission in which you run around Nassau saving pirates from British soldiers in order to recruit them into your crew. The final pirate you're made to save is about to be hanged; one of the missions' bonus objectives is to shoot the rope to free him. Definitely a CrowningMomentOfAwesome if done correctly.

* Every version of ''Myth/RobinHood'' features this in some fashion. It is very much a staple of the current ''Series/RobinHood'' series.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Doctor has to do this during his Trial By Ordeal in "The Face of Evil". In this case he's standing on a plank over a pit of nasty biting creatures, holding a crossbow with only one quarrel. The rope is attached to a weight, pulling machinery that's opening the pit beneath him. The rope gets thinner the longer you wait (making it easier to cut) but the weight moves faster.