The Quick and the Dead is a 1995 American revisionist Western film directed by Sam Raimi, and starring Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Plot[]
In 1881, a gunslinger known as "The Lady" arrives in the Old West town of Redemption, which is ruled by a ruthless outlaw-turned-mayor named John Herod. Herod has announced a fast-draw single-elimination shooting tournament with a large cash prize for the winner. The rules stipulate that any contestant may challenge any other, no challenge can be refused, every contestant must fight once per day, and a fight continues until one contestant either yields or dies. The Lady announces her participation, insisting that she is only interested in the prize.
During the sign-up, Herod's henchmen arrive with Cort, an exceptionally skilled gunfighter and a former member of their gang. Cort has renounced violence to become a preacher and refuses to participate in the tournament. Herod's men attempt to lynch him, but The Lady shoots through the rope, freeing him. The Lady meets "The Kid", a brash young man who believes Herod is his father and hopes to earn his respect by winning the tournament. She wakes up alone in The Kid's bed, and notices some barrels of loose dynamite under it.
In the first round, Herod kills Ace Hanlon, a braggart who tried to take credit for some of Herod's kills as an outlaw. The Kid and The Lady easily defeat their opponents. Herod buys a cheap gun for Cort from The Kid and declares that he can only have one bullet at a time, to prevent him from shooting his way out of town. Despite his conversion, Cort reflexively draws when challenged and wins his first-round duel.
Before the second round, Herod meets with Clay Cantrell, a professional gunfighter hired by the townspeople to kill him. Herod then declares that all duels are now to the death and kills Cantrell. The Kid wins his second fight. Later, The Lady faces off with Eugene Dred after he molests the saloon owner's young daughter, eventually killing him. Upset, she rides out of town.
Meanwhile, Cort duels a Native American gunslinger, Spotted Horse, but fails to kill him with the first shot and only finishes him off with a second bullet thrown by a spectator. Doc Wallace finds The Lady at a nearby cemetery and tells her that he recognizes her and knows why she is there. Flashbacks reveal that the Lady's real name is Ellen. Her father was the marshal in Redemption until Herod's gang invaded and lynched him. Herod gave Ellen a pistol and three shots to try to break the rope, but she accidentally killed her father, after which she fled town. Doc hands Ellen her father's old badge and persuades her to help rid the town of Herod.
The following day, Ellen challenges Herod, but he has already accepted a challenge from The Kid. As Ellen and Cort are the only fighters left, Herod orders them to fight, threatening to kill them himself if they refuse. Herod urges The Kid to withdraw, but he refuses. He wounds Herod, but is fatally shot himself. Herod coldly refuses to take his hand as he dies, and afterward says it was never proven that he was The Kid's father. When Cort and Ellen face off, Cort draws and fires on her, and Doc declares Ellen dead. Cort angrily demands to fight Herod immediately, but settles for dawn of the next day. That night, one of Herod's men breaks Cort's right hand.
The next morning, Herod rebukes the henchman and kills him for harming Cort. Herod confesses that he is afraid of Cort, which is why he forced him to enter the tournament. As a matter of honor, he offers to fight Cort left-handed, but still instructs his henchmen to kill Cort if he wins. At the moment Herod draws, several buildings explode, including Herod's house and the clock tower. Ellen emerges from the smoke and flames, having faked her death and planted The Kid's dynamite with help from Cort and Doc. Cort kills Herod's remaining henchmen while Ellen faces off against Herod, revealing her identity by throwing her father's badge at his feet. Herod wounds Ellen, but she shoots him through the chest and finishes him off with a bullet to the eye. She tosses the badge to Cort and rides away, leaving him in charge of bringing law and order back to Redemption.
Cast[]
- Sharon Stone as Ellen "The Lady" McKenzie
- Stacy Linn Ramsower as Young Ellen McKenzie
- Gene Hackman as John Herod
- Russell Crowe as Cort
- Leonardo DiCaprio as Fee "The Kid" Herod
- Pat Hingle as Horace Pinnick
- Kevin Conway as Eugene Dred
- Keith David as Sergeant Clay Cantrell
- Lance Henriksen as "Ace" Hanlon
- Mark Boone Junior as "Scars"
- Tobin Bell as Leonard "Dog" Kelly
- Raynor Scheine as Ratsy
- Lennie Loftin as Foy
- Fay Masterson as Mattie Silk
- Olivia Burnette as Katie Pinnick
- Roberts Blossom as "Doc" Walter Wallace
- Gary Sinise as Marshal McKenzie
- Sven-Ole Thorsen as "Swede" Gutzon
- David Cornell as "Simp" Dixon
- Josef Rainer as Virgil Sparks
- Arturo Gastelum as Carlos Montoya Castillo de Castillo
- Scott Spiegel as Gold Teeth Man
- Woody Strode as Charlie Moonlight
- Bruce Campbell as Wedding Shemp
- Jonothon Gill as Spotted Horse
- Jerry Swindall as The Blind Boy
- Kevin Allmark (Uncredited) as Bar Brawler #1