Written by Old Bluffer 4th Sep 2006

Robert Roy McGregor is a clansman with a business idea, so he needs to secure a loan for one thousand pounds from one of the wealthy nobles of the region. Unfortunately he chooses to approach the Marquis of Montrose (John Hurt), who is later revealed to be "a stoat of a man". Even worse, the Marquis has in his employ two rogues that are greasier than a Scotsman's arteries.
The first is Killearn, the official factor and therefore the man the clan has to go through in order to get the loan.
The second is an Englishman, Archibald Cunningham (q.v.), a professional sycophant, fop and hired blade.
Together these two scoundrels plan "skullduggery", to take the thousand pounds for themselves and cast suspicion elsewhere.

To this end, Killearn keeps Alan McDonald waiting all day for the credit note, and then informs him at sundown that the note was not signed and the best he can offer is coin (quite a lot of coin in fact, it is a nice heavy sack).
Now McDonald is one of Rob's most trusted friends, but he is well known for dreaming of a new life in America. So, robbing him and then hiding the body is actually a rather masterful plan, as everyone apart from Rob will assume that the sight of a "lifetime's wages" would turn a loyal clansman into a thief.

Fatally, McDonald reluctantly signs for the cash, and starts riding back, alone through the woods at night. With the benefit of hindsight he could have spared himself a lot of anguish by just wandering into a local pub and asking the locals if they could change his thousand pounds into something a bit less bulky. He would have still been robbed but cutpurses wouldn't necessarily have killed him.

Instead, he continues along the Woodland Trail For People Who Want To Get Ambushed, and slinking after him is of course Cunningham, who doesn't just have murder on his mind, but pure sadism.

This is a fantastic response to someone that tailgates you on the road!


Now Cunningham is a gifted duellist, but only fights fair when he has to. In this case he has already disarmed his quarry's pistol, so he can afford to taunt him by saying in no uncertain terms that he knows of the money.
McDonald tries to keep calm once he knows he is about to be robbed, but when his pistol misfires it all becomes too much and he kicks his horse into an ill-advised gallop down the dim path.
Even now though, the sly Englishman has left nothing about this ambush to chance, and McDonald's chest strikes a rope slung between two trees, slamming him to the ground, hard.

Archie could rob him here with ease, but he far prefers the entertainment of a night hunt, and allows his terrified prey to stagger wildly into the deep forest. From his ragged breathing we can surmise he has several broken ribs already, and by the time he collapses with his back against a tree he must be in mortal agony. With his last remaining gasps he hides the sack of money in a hole above his head, and waits for his killer.


Stop persecution of Gingers now! It's not their fault they have an offensive hair colour!


Cunningham slams a dagger into his chest without too many theatrics and then takes a moment to practise his impossibly smug grin. This is fair enough, as he will be using it a lot in this film.
After this, all that is left to do is mockingly act surprised when he sees the poorly secreted sack of money.
McDonald therefore dies a hopeless death, knowing that the McGregor clan is bankrupted and they will inevitably think he has betrayed them. He's also been killed by someone south of the border, which probably means he won't be able to go drinking in Scottish Valhalla.

Not everything is gloomy though. Archibald can now pay his tailor for some even more outrageous silks, so he is rather pleased with his evening's work.

I've rated this death quite highly, as the purpose of it is quite well thought out, and we really feel the desperation of Stoltz and the sheer evil of Roth.
Also, whilst McDonald is being hunted, the imagery is cut with scenes from the McGregor clan's celebratory gathering. The rousing fiddle music makes for a surprisingly appropriate score as he runs for his life, and the scene then climaxes with an extremely poignant Celtic lament at the point of his death.
In summary, the entire scene is artfully done.