The Last Challenge

Glenn ford, chad everett in a very late western. Angie dickinson, a couple years before police woman. Blaine was a bad boy gone straight, now he's the marshall. Young buck mcguire wants to challenge him, but doesn't want to kill the town marshall. They will meet again. Angie's hairdo's get bigger and sillier as the tale goes on. Some beautiful scenery of arizona. More secrets come out. Final showdown. It's okay. Directed by richard thorpe. His very last film. Based on the novel by john sherry. This seems to be his only work made into film.

As a history teacher, I have a lot more knowledge about what the old west REALLY was like...and for the most part it was little like you see in westerns. In the case of this film, there is the famed fast- draw sheriff, young punks wanting to prove they are faster and the famed shootouts on main street...all stuff that really did not happen. Sure, it could have happened once or twice (anything is possible) but the west was a lot safer and civilized than you would imagine if you got your history from films! So, I knew going into "The Last Challenge" that the film was complete fiction...a myth of a west filmmakers WISHED had really been.

When the film begins, yet another stupid punk comes into town to challenge the brave Marshall (Glenn Ford). Marshall Blaine blows the snot out of him and the immediate threat is gone. But of course there is another who is on his way to town to challenge the fast- draw sheriff. But something unusual happens--the pair meet on friendly terms while fishing and seem to like each other. Will that change anything or is one of them still destined to assume room temperature?

This is a moderately enjoyable film with a finale that is, pretty much, a foregone conclusion. Not a bad movie...just not at all like the real west. Although a shootout between two guys is common in films, in reality lawmen were very happy to just shoot guys in the back or shotgun them or attack the thug with a group. The whole manly shootout to prove who is the fastest is just mythical.

This Western deals with an aging ex-gunslinger (Glenn Ford) become marshal and challenged to a duel by a rough young (Chad Everett). He is searching for peace and quiet but unable to avoid his reputation and the showdown-challenges it invites .

This is a mature , humourless Hollywood Western with Ford as the gunman turned sheriff attempting and inevitably failing to runaway from his past . It carries a surprising feeling of authenticity for a Western of this twilight period . The filmmaker is good at staging some action sequences , however is slow-moving and developed with dry sense of entertainment . The picture is produced in medium budget by Metro Goldwyn Mayer where the director Richard Thorpe spent 33 years in the same studio and he was to become the longest-servicing filmmaker in their story . In time he became known as the studio's ¨one take¨ because of his rapid shooting schedules . The flick relies heavily on tiring relationship between Glenn Ford and Angie Dickinson who plays a Saloon owner , formerly call-girl . There are good supporting portrayals from Gary Merrill as tough cardsharp , Royal Dano as drunk Indian chief and Jack Elam in his usual role as outlaw .

The picture is professionally directed by Richard Thorpe , though with no originality . Richard liked making escapist movies and many of them have rousing action scenes , handled with great confidence . He directed lesser Western and thrillers when he moved into features in 1924 and did little of note before joining MGM in 1935 . Thorpe made routine studio fare until 1950s when he was given more major assignment . He then made various big-budget productions financed by Pando S Bergman among his best known films are all the MGM Tarzans following his arrival at the studio in 1935 and a series of swashbuckling adventures in the early 1950s featuring Robert Taylor , the most successful of these were three swashbucklers made in England as ¨Knights of Round Table , Ivanhoe and Quentin Durward¨ . Thorpe was an expert on all kind of genres as Western as ¨Vengeance valley , Wild horse , Under Montana skies and Last challenge¨ but his specialty resulted to be adventures as ¨Prisoner of Zenda , The prodigal , Challenge to Lassie , Malaya , Tarzan's secret treasure ,Tarzan escapes , Tarzan finds a son¨ and Musicals as ¨Fun in Acapulco , Rainbow over Broadway , The prince student¨ and his biggest money-maker to date was ¨The great Caruso¨ and his last big box-office hit was ¨Presley' Jailhouse Rock¨ . He also worked briefly in television before retiring in 1968 , his last film was ¨The last challenge', also titled ¨The Pistolero of Red River ¨.

Dan Blaine (Glenn Ford) is the Marshal in town and the fastest draw around. Lisa Denton (Angie Dickinson) runs the local brothel. Young gunslinger Lot McGuire (Chad Everett) arrives in town looking to make a name for himself.

This is an old fashion western. It's simple. It's classical. It's standard. It doesn't do anything special. Glenn Ford is the old guard. Everett has his hair. Angie Dickinson could have been special but she isn't given much to do. There may be nothing wrong with this western but it's not one that stands above the crowd.

Ex-gunhawk meets up and coming young punk intent on proving his worth by knocking off the king of the heap. Been there, done that. Seems like Angie Dickinson played this identical part in several films; wonder if she got as bored doing it as I did watching. What was with Royal Dano doing his impersonation of an injun? The producer couldn't find the genuine article? Let this one be your last choice.