The fifties Anthony Mann western no one bothers
much about, firstly as there aren't stars major enough, secondly because
it's admittedly punk beside dynamos with Jim Stewart. For my coming to The Last
Frontier late, and watching mainly for HD and scope on the Sony Movie
Channel, what emerged was diamonds in the rough; at no point could I outguess a
quirky and nice-paced script. Victor Mature is a trapper unschooled in
civilized ways, James Whitmore his fur-gather sidekick. They're both excellent,
as is Robert Preston as a martinet colonel. Old saw of redskins ringing the
fort is helped by Mexican locations and offbeat situations not common even to
higher profile Mann westerns where stronger producers and big gorilla stars
left palm prints on finished product. The Last Frontier works well because it
had less to lose than these, domestic rentals of $1.1 million reflecting
comparative modesty of the enterprise. This one comes a closest to
unpredictable spirit of "B" pics Mann directed before he was lured
into bigger studios.
2 Comments:
This film is the subject of a nice appraisal in Douglas Bode's book FORGOTTEN FILMS OF THE FIFTIES. I'm glad you see the value in it, too.👍👍
John and William: thank you for revealing to me yet another film that sounds like something I'd enjoy watching. I'll keep an eye out for it.
The robot
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