The Harder They Fall introduces Rufus Buck’s two gold guns with a shot of them flanking his gold belt buckle. The script describes the guns and their “solid gold finish” in detail, neglecting to mention any belt accessories. This implies that the guns and their coloring are the priority of this shot; the belt buckle draws attention to their color.
Later in the film, Buck uses his gun to beat an old friend into the ground. As he criticizes Mayor Wiley for spending money on “gold teeth” instead of the town, Buck’s gold gun swings in and out of the frame. The film offers a close up of the knocked-out teeth yet not of the gun.
RUFUS BUCK
You wanna sell this town. While I rot in prison…
(…)
RUFUS BUCK
You know, a man like you will have us all subservient till the end of our days… so long as you can buy yourself a house, a badge… and them goddamn gold teeth.
p.38 of script
With his criticism of Wiley, Buck constructs their conflict as an issue of broader power structures. He relates their fight to slavery, incarceration and capitalist greed.
The film’s script emphasizes that Trudy’s saloon should be “stunning”. On screen, this seems to translate to “a lot of gold”.
The gold in the décor leads us to Buck “sitting inside a golden arc”. These words of the script recall McDonald’s, a most happy symbol of capitalism. In addition, the film’s characters have explicitly established gold as a symbol of wealth. Buck himself calls this wealth exploitative. During his fight with Wiley, Buck constructs a scenario in which Wiley is a capitalist tool for more powerful, capitalist colonizers. In this scenario, Buck is oppressed and exploited by Wiley’s actions. Buck is a man of the people (“keep us subservient”) and a victim of government power (“while I rot in prison”). Overall, he sees himself throughout the movie as a kind of anti-colonialist messiah. The presentation of Buck’s guns and saloon seat suggests that he is mistaken. By presenting and exposing Buck’s ideas, the film develops a critique of social-justice oriented narcissism.