Review: The Last Sunset

Kirk Douglas plays an arrogant fugitive gunman who finds work driving cattle to Texas for well-meaning alcoholic rancher Joseph Cotten. Dorothy Malone is Cotten’s wife, who just so happens to be the embittered former flame of Douglas…and her wants her back. Things are further complicated by the arrival of sheriff Rock Hudson, who is looking to bring Douglas in for his crimes. Carol Lynley plays Malone’s daughter who develops feelings for Douglas. Regis Toomey plays an aging cattle hand, whilst Neville Brand and Jack Elam play a couple of unfriendly types.

 

Director Robert Aldrich (“Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte”, “The Dirty Dozen”), screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (“A Guy Named Joe”, “Spartacus”) and an excellent cast turn out a seriously underrated 1961 western. Top-billed Rock Hudson is perfectly fine, but Kirk Douglas is on another level here as basically a charismatic rogue. In fact, as is often the case the more amoral character is far more interesting than the ‘hero’ here. Douglas could play anything on the spectrum, but characters with a dark edge were particularly a specialty of his (“The Vikings”, “The Bad and the Beautiful”, his Doc Holliday in “Gunfight at the OK Corral” etc), and he adds another one to the list here. You won’t 100% hate the character Douglas plays here, but he does spend a fair portion of the film being kind of a prick. I think it’s to Douglas’ credit that you might have even the slightest touch of sympathy or attraction to him. The character Douglas plays is not an admirable man in the slightest, he’s the kind of jerk who thinks he’s actually the good guy in the story. Hudson’s lawman character has a legit gripe against this guy, but there’s a part of you that wants Douglas to escape. By contrast, Hudson is an upstanding, unbending sheriff but he’s glum and serious, and far less interesting company. This is through no fault of Hudson in one of his better acting gigs, though I think Burt Lancaster tends to play these kinds of roles better.

 

As the women caught between these two characters, Carol Lynley and especially Dorothy Malone hold up their end. Malone brings a weary quality that really works for the character. Also worth a mention is a terrific performance by long-serving character actor Joseph Cotten as Lynley’s well-meaning, naïve drunk husband. His is a very sad, somewhat silly character whom you can’t help but feel sorry for. Look out for a brief appearance by Neville Brand and Jack Elam in the exact roles you expect them to play. There’s a big twist so good that it somehow managed to fool me on both occasions I’ve watched the film (Being middle-aged and forgetful may have played a part though), and the novelty of a gunman whose weapon of choice is actually a Derringer. If you know your guns, you’ll know the Derringer is not a six-shooter, is for short-range gunplay, and more frequently associated with women, not men. I’m not sure how plausible it is for Douglas to be using one here, but it certainly makes for an interesting little deviation from the norm I think. If the film has any flaw it may be that Hudson’s character is supposed to soften his attitude towards Douglas at some point but based on their interactions on screen I don’t think we get enough of a reason for this conversion. Otherwise this one’s a winner.

 

A wholly underrated western with terrific performances and a good story. This one deserves more eyes on it.

 

Rating: B