Western films are a phenomenon of American culture – so of course, their plots often deal with themes of money and greed. Anything goes in the wild west, including theft and bribery. Whether the films’ stars are fending off robbers or are set on getting some money of their own, the Western genre offers a unique take on the powerful effect of cold hard cash.
In those days there were no loans such as those you can find here — geldlenen-spoed.nl, so people resorted to other means to get money. Nowadays you can easily get money in 15 minutes after checking a Saldodipje company review and applying for a loan, but in the period of cowboys, the rules were different. In such a short period of time, money could only be stolen or taken away by force. And instead of checking the credit conditions in Krediet Vooruit, as they do now, Americans were looking for someone they could steal money from.
So, let’s dive right into the topic of money in Western films and check out some of the films below.
The best films featuring money heists
The Man of the West (1958)
In Man of the West, a bag of money illustrates both the hope and difficulty of a new beginning. The film stars Gary Cooper as Link Jones, a reformed outlaw who is traveling to Fort Worth with money from the members of his town to hire a schoolteacher. On the train from Crosscut, he has time to meet conman Sam Beasely and singer Billie Ellis before a robbery is mounted, Link is knocked unconscious, and the money stolen.
He wakes up to find that the train has left Sam, Billie, and himself behind, but in familiar territory, near his home from many years ago. He leads the others there only to find it occupied by the thieves who robbed the train, along with Dock Tobin, Link’s uncle and former mentor in the ways of the wild west. Realizing that he has no choice, Link pretends to have returned on purpose, with friend Sam and girlfriend Billie. He’s perhaps unwisely welcomed back by Tobin, who has regretted his absence since he left.
The other gang members are not so trusting — one, Coaley, plays mind games with Link by forcing Billie to strip naked while Link watches, helpless. Link later gets his revenge by beating Coaley hand to hand and tearing off his clothes. Angered beyond the limit, Coaley tries to shoot Link, but Sam dives to save him; Coaley is shot by Tobin instead, for disobedience to his orders.
The attempted robbing of a bank in nearby Lassoo, which turns out to have become a ghost town, provides Link with the opportunity to finish off the rest of the gang, killing his childhood friend with determination and some regret. Tobin is the last to go — after having violated Billie in the gang’s absence — as Link shoots him and deems him a ghost of the past.
Link faces various temptations, including amorous advances from Billie, which he could act on if he were willing to be unfaithful to his wife and children back in Good Hope. But he is determined to rescue what the outlaws have taken from him and return to his peaceful life; that he must use violence to get there is what makes the film something of a tragedy. Equal parts gripping thriller and psychological portrait, The Man of the West is a classic worth considering.
Vera Cruz (1954)
Vera Cruz is a film that features plenty of double-crossing and tempting sums of money. Also starring Gary Cooper as Ben Trane, a soldier who recently came from the Confederate army and is looking for work as a mercenary in Mexico. While there he meets Joe Erin, a local gang leader. Together they’re hired to escort Countess Duvare to Veracruz in service of the Emperor, for a total of $50,000.
While on the road, however, they discover that the Countess is transporting nearly $3 million worth of gold, which they decide to steal and split between them. The plan is disrupted by invading Juaristas, and the Countess’s entourage manages to get the gold to its destination. Unwilling to give up, Erin interrogates the Countess for information, until Trane arrives and they engage in a gunfight that ends in Erin’s death.
This is a film where greed is constantly dissolving and forming alliances, and it takes a decidedly pessimistic view of human nature. The scene of destruction at the end hammers this home, as the women are left to pick through the remains of the battle. For a film that matches greed with passion and gets to the heart of desperation, this is a good place to start.
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
3:10 to Yuma is another famous Western film whose leading man finds himself in desperate circumstances. Dan Evans, a rancher whose fortunes have been ruined by drought, agrees to escort notorious outlaw Ben Wade to Contention City for a reward.
After witnessing Wade rob a stagecoach and kill the drivers, Evans helps the marshall of Bisbee, the nearest town, to arrest him. He then volunteers to accompany Wade to the train station where he will be taken to his trial on the 3:10 to Yuma. Once they arrive in Contention City, Wade, knowing that Evans was tempted once by money, tries to bribe him into letting him go. However, Evans refuses and their conversation is interrupted by the brother of the driver Wade killed in the robbery, seeking his revenge. Evans manages to disarm him, but the gun fires, alerting Wade’s gang,
The fallout of this ends with a chase of Dan and Wade by the outlaws, wherein Wade returns the favor he owes Evans and helps him to escape, agreeing to go to Yuma and help Dan claim his reward. In the end, the two men who once seemed so opposed have found a common ground in an unexpected form.
