Last Train from Gun Hill (1959)

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

It was one early western DVD release around 2003 and l got my copy right way,this movie l'd watched in 1981 on TV and the possibility to have it eternally amazed me,this solid and tense western have all elements to make a good picture,a strong reason to make justice even against his best friend...a fine supporting casting and a pretty woman who decided to do a right choice...suspenseful and remarkable western compatible the High Noon! Goof: When the boy was running back home,sometimes he is up river and sometimes down the river...pay attention..Resume: First watch: 1981 / How many: 4 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 8.25

Watching this was a tour to the land of nostalgia and an enjoyable one at that. This movie is really one of the god old classical Westerns telling the story of two brave men confronting each other. No special effects, no aliens, no choleric outbursts and no foul-mouthed brats.It was really enjoyable to watch Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn in this movie. Both were well suited for their roles and I have always liked them as actors. Maybe this is just some nostalgic connection I have though since I am sure that their performance would not wind them any Oscars today.The story is as classical as the movie. The young brat of a wealthy cattle owner gets himself in big trouble and said cattle owner tries to prevent him, being the only son, getting what he deserves. Unfortunately the other side is not only as tough as the cattle owner but also happens to be the law. The story is well executed by John Sturges. It has the usual elements that you would expect from this kind of movie, two men posturing against each other, a bad guy who also ends up being a prisoner, a girlie torn between the two men, a few gun and fist fights and of course a grand finale.I was enjoying every minute of this old classic.

In the Wild West, Kirk Douglas is a man whose wife is raped and killed by the son of a local big man. He vows to bring the young man to justice. His father is an old friend. Holed up in a hotel, Douglas asks the girlfriend of the widower for a shotgun, although he has no need for it as he has a handgun already. This plot device is used purely to create dramatic tension between the three. A goon of the big man sets fire to his hotel, even though Douglas has to leave anyway to catch the only train out that day.This is largely a run of the mill Western except for the early scenes, which don't really add any more than the nuanced plot in earlier Westerns would have done. It's all surface and uncomplicated, which won't bother the typical Western fan, or the lack of plot sense.

Sometimes, in the crucial moments of our lives we have no choice whatsoever, it is as destiny has already established our course. That is what happens to Morgan (Douglas) and Belden (Quinn), when Belden's son (Holliman) commits a barbaric act of murder and rape, the victim being Morgan's wife. Morgan and Belden were friends,and nobody would think they would ever fight each other, but now everything changes. John Sturges directed famous westerns (Magnificent Seven, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Bad Day at Black Rock), and this one is good, but not quite on the same level. The colors in the film are very sharp, with what seems to be a predominance of green and this is in contrast with the intense drama, a more sombre color would be more appropriate, except at the sequence of the rape where it is excellent.