Review: Last Train From Gun Hill
Kirk
Douglas plays a Marshal whose 9 year-old son comes crying home to tell him that
Douglas’ Native American wife has been raped and murdered, by two cowardly
thugs played by Earl Holliman and Brian G. Hutton. Going back to the scene of
the crime and finding a misplaced saddle, Douglas looks at the saddle and
recognises it as belonging to Anthony Quinn, his best friend during their
misspent youth way back when. Holliman, it turns out, is Quinn’s idiot no-good
son. Filled with a barely concealed rage (and with justice on his mind),
Douglas takes a train to the town of Gun Hill to pay his old buddy a visit and
get him to turn over his son and moron friend to him. When he gets there, he
finds Quinn (now a respected but ruthless cattle rancher) unwilling to present
his son to Douglas. It’s his flesh-and-blood, after all, and no matter how much
of a dickweed Holliman is, he’s still Quinn’s son. Quinn does, however, fire
Hutton from his employ when he works out the two men are guilty. Douglas is
nonetheless ruthlessly undeterred in his quest. He will be taking the two
guilty men back home with him on the 9 o’clock train no matter what, with Quinn
and henchman Brad Dexter (and anyone else on Quinn’s payroll) aiming to stop
him. Caught in the middle is saloon girl Carolyn Jones who met Douglas on the
train to Gun Hill and knows how dangerous it is to go up against Quinn, a very
powerful man in Gun Hill. How does she know? She’s from Gun Hill and is the
mistress Quinn’s been violently mistreating.
An
underrated minor classic from the equally underrated director John Sturges (“The
Great Escape”, “Gunfight at the OK Corral”, “The Magnificent
Seven”), this 1959 western boasts terrific performances, a grim tone, and
superlative colour cinematography by Charles B. Lang (“The Big Heat”, “The
Magnificent Seven”, “Wait Until Dark”) as well as wonderful set
design. It’s easily Sturges’ best-looking film, and although at times bold with
its use of colour (take a look at that purple hotel sofa!), for the most part
it’s actually a harsh, grim and even mournful-looking film, especially at the
outset. The sense of framing is excellent, just look at the placement of the
wagon wheel in the frame of the shot during the opening sequence. It’s a real
showpiece of a scene from a purely visual standpoint, but you could choose any
scene in the film as evidence that Sturges and Lang really know how to fill a
frame interestingly.
As
I said, the performances are terrific here, especially the two leads. Kirk
Douglas is perfectly cast as the loving family man turned grim-faced bringer of
violent justice. Early on we see him as a likeable and good man, which is very
important as it makes his transformation into justice-seeker with a singular
focus all the more powerful. We like this guy, sympathise with him, but also
worry about him as he’s a man who has lost his most beloved thing and now all
he knows is anger. It also helps us sympathise with Douglas that Earl Holliman
plays a slimy, cowardly sack of shit, mind you. Douglas has one truly incredible
speech where he tells Holliman exactly what
awaits him. Anthony Quinn was an uneven actor, but here he is perfect as the
proud, uber-masculine family patriarch for whom family is everything. Yes, even
when his son is clearly a frigging douchebag. It’s amazing how you don’t end up
hating Quinn’s ruthless and abusive character as much as you really feel you
ought to. It’s because his sense of macho family pride is so well-conveyed,
that you understand him a little bit. Speaking of uber-masculine, take a look
at the set decoration inside Quinn’s house in the film. It’s uber-macho man
cave stuff that speaks to something about his character, no doubt. Earl
Holliman, for his part, probably gives his best-ever performance as the dipshit
son whom even the biggest detractor of violence can’t deny needs the piss
slapped out of him (Basically, it’s the standard Dan Duryea role). Solid work
by Morticia Addams herself, Carolyn Jones playing a sassy, cynical saloon girl
known to Quinn. There’s something rather sombre about her performance that is
not only right for this kind of film, but makes her somewhat clichéd role not
seem quite so ancient. Look out for “Magnificent Seven” cast member Brad
Dexter as Quinn’s chief muscle. He doesn’t get much to do, but has an intimidating
physical presence used rather effectively here.
If
the film has one flaw, it’s the seriously loud, corny Dimitri Tiomkin (“Strangers
on a Train”, “High Noon”, “Gunfight at the OK Corral”, “The
Fall of the Roman Empire”) score. It sounds like it belongs more to a
B-movie, and something far more rousing and jovial than what really is an
especially grim, brooding film. It doesn’t belong and it gets on one’s nerves.
Even when the score tries to get more serious, it’s just too loud and
distracting.
John
Sturges in my view is the most underrated director of all-time, and although
not his best film (It’s hard to top “The Great Escape” if you ask me),
this one definitely deserves much more attention than it has received.
Well-acted, sensationally-shot, and with an engrossing and grim story that has
Greek tragedy (or possibly Shakespearean) vibes. It’s a winner. Best of all?
It’s over in about 90 minutes. Echoing “High Noon” and “Bad Day at
Black Rock”, the screenplay is by James Poe (“Attack!”, “Cat on a
Hot Tin Roof”, “The Bedford Incident”) from a story by Les
Crutchfield (“Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure”).
Rating:
B+
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