Early exposition rides a fine line between light comedy and rueful drama as protagonist Jim Hadley struggles with newfound retirement; writer Al Martin could have taken it either direction if he so wished. In that story thread 'The last alarm' is perhaps a tad common; it's a little less so for the way a senior citizen is more or less centered as a lead character (relatively uncommon even in 2023), and also for the fact that this crime film that focuses on arson and pyromania rather seems to do so before the notions really began to otherwise take hold in popular culture. Moreover, given subtle but definite differences in the staged photography from Harry Neumann versus footage of blazes and firefighting, it becomes clear that the picture employs video of real-life blazes and firefighting. None of this is to say that William Beaudine's movie immediately leaps out as a unique must-see, but one can't help but ponder the particulars and think, "Huh. How about that."
In keeping with the common film-making sensibilities of the time, this isn't necessarily characterized with especial nuance. That's not to say that everything is as painfully plain as day, but there's a distinctly blunt edge to no small amount of Beaudine's direction, in instances of extra curt editing, or in performances including that of George Pembroke. The plot also generally progresses with a flat, matter-of-fact conciseness that doesn't exactly help to instill a sense of tension or suspense, and while I don't necessarily blame editor Russell F. Schoengarth himself, there are times when the proceedings cut back and forth between concurrent scenes with such casual repetition that the result is mildly off-putting. None of these are flaws so terrible as to wholly extinguish the entertainment value of the feature, yet the peculiarities do stack up and - well, they give one minor pause to reflect, "Huh. How about that."
Despite such matters, still 'The last alarm' is fairly well made overall. Where applicable the effects are well done; there are some nice little details in the scene writing that help to offset some of the duller heavy-handedness. In fact, I rather believe Martin's screenplay is probably the single best element of the production; everything is swell on paper, and some of it is just mildly deficient in execution. As far as the cast goes, some acting comes off stronger than others, and star J. Farrell MacDonald manages to fight through some of the tonal issues to give a welcome, earnest portrayal. And so on, and so on. All this is to say that this movie might not be anything majorly special - a mix of comparative novelties, comparative weaknesses, a few discrete strengths. It might not really stand out in the grand scheme of things. If you do have a chance to watch, though, it's suitably well crafted, duly entertaining and compelling, and a decent way to spend a mere one hour.
