The Last Sunset (1961)

Brendan O'Malley arrives at the Mexican home of old flame Belle Breckenridge to find her married to a drunkard getting ready for a cattle drive to Texas. Hot on O'Malley's heels is lawman ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Howard Rigsby (novel), Dalton Trumbo

Stars:

Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, Dorothy Malone

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rock Hudson	...	Dana Stribling
Kirk Douglas	...	Brendan 'Bren' O'Malley
Dorothy Malone	...	Belle Breckenridge
Joseph Cotten	...	John Breckenridge
Carol Lynley	...	Melissa 'Missy' Breckenridge
Neville Brand	...	Frank Hobbs
Regis Toomey	...	Milton Wing
James Westmoreland	...	Julesburg Kid (as Rad Fulton)
Adam Williams	...	Calverton
Jack Elam	...	Ed Hobbs
John Shay	...	Bowman

Storyline

Brendan O'Malley arrives at the Mexican home of old flame Belle Breckenridge to find her married to a drunkard getting ready for a cattle drive to Texas. Hot on O'Malley's heels is lawman Dana Stribling who has a personal reason for getting him back into his jurisdiction. Both men join Breckenridge and his wife on the drive. As they near Texas tensions mount, not least because Stribling is starting to court Belle and O'Malley is increasingly drawn by her daughter Missy.

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Plot Keywords:

cattle drive | mexico | sheriff | civil war veteran | self sacrifice | 

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Taglines:

When giants clash, a woman trembles!

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

7 June 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sundown at Crazy Horse

Filming Locations:

Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brynaprod S.A., Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although Joseph Cotten brought all his own food and water from the States to the shoot in Mexico, it was to no avail. He was the first of the film crew to get sick.

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Goofs

The final gunfight is supposed to take place near sunset, but the shadows indicate an actual time of near noon.

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Quotes

Dana Stribling: I'm gonna see that you hang, O'Malley
Brendan 'Bren' O'Malley: Oh, hanging is a long time proposition.

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Connections

Featured in Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1992)

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Soundtracks

"Pretty Little Girl In The Yellow Dress"
Music by Dimitri Tiomkin
Lyric by Ned Washington

User Reviews

Ostensibly a western soap opera--though much more provocative

Terrific western-drama from director Robert Aldrich has sheriff Rock Hudson tracking lawless Kirk Douglas to a rancher's homestead; they soon find themselves agreeing to take part in a grueling cattle-drive, and to work out their differences along the way. Breathtakingly photographed adventure has three-dimensional characters, good writing by Dalton Trumbo and solid acting (particularly by Douglas and fresh-faced Carol Lynley, well-cast as a youngster with a crush on Kirk). The melodrama gets a little thick at times, though odd flickers of humor quickly intercede whenever things start to get too mawkish. *** from ****