Brett Sinclair

I was responding to another thread when this thought popped up.

I remember seeing the film 'Madame Sin' when it was released in 1972. Not a spectacular film but intriguing none the less. Looking at the cast list now there were some great supporting actors, Denholm Elliott, Gordon Jackson, Dudley Sutton, Catherine Schell, Charles Lloyd Pack and Frank Middlemass. Some have said that this was a possible pilot for a TV series that was never aired in the US, indeed the BFI states 'Made for US television market; theatrical exposure elsewhere' (although with Wagner being one of the producers, I don't see where they thought it would go as a series when the male lead is killed off)...I digress...

This did get me thinking about other films in which the hero dies. I had already mentioned 'The Poseidon Adventure (1972), but The Beguiled (1971) and Vanishing Point (1971) popped into my mind..I would be interested to see how many others you can come up with and the dates of release.

There's no need to kneel, I'm a very democratic sort of lord.

DB7

Frank Sinatra chasing the train in Von Ryan's Express, Michael Caine in The Last Valley and Get Carter.

Brett Sinclair

That reminded me of 'Too Late the Hero'...but I can't remember which one dies!

Seen the other two, but I don't recall having seen the last valley. Good call on the other two!

There's no need to kneel, I'm a very democratic sort of lord.

Moor Larkin

That had a 'hero' ?...... I thought the heroes were all in the audience.

Errol died as General Custer but I suppose as an historical event, he had to. Having said that, Sly Stallone didn't die, like Michael Caine did, but then his Carter was perhaps more of a hero - rather than an anti-hero. Lots of heroes in war films died but again, that was the whole point of the film............

The hero dying uselessly, and for no good reason might be more infrequent. The 'good' sergeant in Platoon was just killed for no good reason wasn't he? But was he a hero?

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orpheum

john wayne in the shootist

Hackett

Another Micheal Caine film where he gets killed in the end with Nigel Davenport (which should have been Richard Harris but he didn't show up) "PLAY DIRTY" 1968.

kelp

Cliff robertson died, Michael caine survived that long walk across the open ground with the japanese firing at them both. Excellent British film.

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Torquemada

John Wayne also died at the end of The Cowboys (1972), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), The Alamo (2004), and The Fighting Seabees (1944), and Glenn Campbell died at the end of True Grit (1969), although more a supporting hero he deserves a mention for shock value.

I think one of the most haunting is the death of Jeff Bridges at the end of Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974).

Of course Russel Crowe dies at the end of Gladiator (2000), Kirk Douglas at the end of Spartacus (1960) and Charlton Heston at the end of El Cid (1961).

Bad guys who are really heroes (at least in my eyes anyway) who die in films include Orson Welles in The Third Man (1949), Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner (1982) and Putter Smith and Bruce Glover in Diamonds are Forever (1971).

I also thought Michael Caine's early demise in The Battle of Britain (1969) rather a surprise and I still wait for him to turn up later in the film whenever I watch it.

Another 'shocker' is the demise of Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Hitcher (1986).

And the prize for biggest cheer at the demise of a film 'hero' goes to Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic.

The onset of designer endings by focus group means that we no longer have many hero deaths, nor even slightly unhappy endings and our films are worse for it.

Brett Sinclair

Thanks..I remember that zig-zagging run...a great bit of cinema

There's no need to kneel, I'm a very democratic sort of lord.

batman

paul scofield as thomas more in 'a man for all seasons' - a real hero

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

Brett Sinclair

I was trying to remember which reletively recent western I had seen which had seen the demise of John Wayne, and it was The Cowboys...however I had forgotten his comeback film as a ghostly Davy Crocket in The Alamo (2004)

I know that many leads have died/been killed off in films over the years, but I think what I was angling for was the shock deaths that you as the viewer weren't expecting. Your mention of MC in Battle of Britain is also one that I had forgotten and I remember having the same feeling the first time I saw it...I thought he was too cool to cop it.

There's no need to kneel, I'm a very democratic sort of lord.

Torquemada

Well I certainly think Jennifer Jason Leigh, Glenn Campbell and Jeff Bridges all fall into that category too even if they weren't all the main heroes.

Mark Frechette in Zabriskie Point (1970) was always a bit surprising in the same way Robert Blake's was in Electraglide in Blue (1973). And Mark Freshette's real untimely demise has to rank amongst the strangest in film history.

I think the 70s were definitely prime hero killing time.

BTW Vanishing Point one of my favourites.

Brett Sinclair

Sorry, I had meant to mention that those did fit in with my thinking.

However, can anyone top Sandra Bullocks demise in 'The Vanishing' (1993)?

The original Franco/Dutch production(1988) has one of the most dastardly endings ever....IMO

There's no need to kneel, I'm a very democratic sort of lord.

Torquemada

That was a good one too.

How about Donald Sutherland in Don't Look Now?

I don't think George Clooney's demise in Syriana was that shocking, but worth a mention because I love the film.

ChristineCB

I was thinking of older films, pre-'60s... thinking of the Errol Flynn DIED WITH BOOTS ON, that made me think a lot of war pix had to feature heroic deaths. WAKE ISLAND (1942) had Brian Donlevy die, but we're glad he got better for his QUATERMASS appearance. DAWN PATROL, and of course CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE. How many dry eyes were left there?

I don't know enough Valentino films and thanks to Image45, I've only recently discovered Ivor Novello. Surely THOSE guys had to find some tear-jerker Silents, yes?

1931's PUBLIC ENEMY has Jimmy Cagney all bound-up, falling dead as the credits give us a cautionary warning about raising out kids 'right'.

What about 1933's KING KONG? (I still get tears thinking of that little furry exo-skeleton falling all that way - how could Willis O'Brien do that to his baby?!! Heartless - the man was heartless! At least he was able to get some of his Scorpy friends to battle a few tanks later on...)

And in the same vein (er, so to speak...), THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933) with Claude Rains gained our sympathy at the end, despite his bicycle thefts and train crashings. I just love Una O'Connor - the original Scream Queen.