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

Rock Hudson drew unstinting praise from Robert Aldrich who was enormously impressed with his lack of ego and sheer professionalism.

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Goofs

This film takes place from Mexico to Texas. There are Joshua trees in the film and Joshua trees are indigenous to the Mohave Desert region of California, Arizona and Nevada only. There are none in Texas.

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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

Referenced in Max, der Taschendieb (1962)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

O'Malley, the alley cat.

An unpretentious Western told in an honest, straightforward manner.

Robert Aldrich does a very controlled job directing a story straddling the Texas Mexico border, a story told at a steady pace but rarely reaching memorable highs. The film has many elements of the classic Western including a chase, cattle drive and gunfight but it also tries to add some melodramatic, pure story based elements - though one major plot point was so well signposted, it might as well have been included in the opening credits.

Kirk Douglas, as Brendan O'Malley, provides the barely controlled dynamism at the centre of the film. Unfortunately, not all parts of the film are to this standard. Rock Hudson has difficulties with the role of the upstanding sheriff. A strong supporting cast, from Joseph Cotton to Jack Elam, provides a wide, interesting range of characters.

Overall, a solid if unspectacular film, recommended for Western and Kirk Douglas fans. 6.75.