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What’s a Wild West movie without a rattlesnake, or a whole pit of them? Over the years, rattlers have appeared in scores of classic and not-so-classic films, from Bronco Billy to Billy Jack. Iconic actors like Gary Cooper (Distant Drums) and Charles Bronson (Chato’s Land) have shot at them, used them as makeshift weapons, whipped them around by their tails, or cut off their heads, often for no apparent reason. Here are five cinematic moments starring Hollywood’s most (unfairly) reviled reptile.
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THE RATTLESNAKE (1913)
Cinematic rattlers predate the advent of talkies. In this silent western shot in Las Vegas, New Mexico, a jealous lover places his pet rattlesnake in his rival’s bed—perhaps the first “murder by snake” attempt by a Hollywood character.
GIANT (1956)
Rock Hudson! Elizabeth Taylor! James Dean! And one very dead rattlesnake, blown to bits by Texas rancher Jordan “Bick” Benedict, played by Hudson. Why shoot the rattler? Because that’s what cinematic cowboys do.
WESTWORLD (1973)
Even futuristic amusement parks inspired by the American West still need rattlers. Here, the rattlesnakes are high-tech robots that have mysteriously gone haywire. “That’s not supposed to happen,” whines park visitor John Blane (played by James Brolin) after a leaping mechanical rattler sinks its fangs into him.
HARD TARGET (1993)
In this John Woo action film, martial artist Jean-Claude Van Damme, playing a former Marine, takes a quick break from kicking people to grab a rattlesnake by the neck, punch it in its face, yank its rattle out with his teeth, then leave the now silent but still deadly beast as a booby trap for his intrepid pursuers.
TRUE GRIT (2010)
The 1969 John Wayne original had a single snake. In the 2010 Coen brothers remake, young Mattie falls into a pit exploding with them. When one of them bites her, Jeff Bridges, as Rooster, cuts her skin and attempts to suck out the venom, a misbegotten snakebite “remedy” that many people still mistakenly believe in.
Robert Ito is a journalist based in Los Angeles. He writes about film, television, and theater for the New York Times.
