The Last Wagon (1956)

Wagon train survivors of an Apache attack entrust the sheriff's prisoner, scout Comanche Todd, with their lives despite his wanted-for-murder status.

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers:

James Edward Grant (screenplay), Delmer Daves (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Widmark, Felicia Farr, Susan Kohner

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Widmark	...	Comanche Todd
Felicia Farr	...	Jenny
Susan Kohner	...	Jolie Normand
Tommy Rettig	...	Billy
Stephanie Griffin	...	Valinda Normand
Ray Stricklyn	...	Clint
Nick Adams	...	Ridge
Carl Benton Reid	...	Gen. Howard
Douglas Kennedy	...	Col. Normand
George Mathews	...	Sheriff Bull Harper
James Drury	...	Lt. Kelly
Ken Clark	...	Sergeant

Storyline

Accused of murdering three of Sheriff Bull Harper's brothers, the Comanche-reared white man, "Comanche" Todd, is captured and dragged to trial. Cautiously, as the two men ride across hostile Apache territory, they will join Colonel Normand's wagon train of women and children, only to be ambushed and massacred by the Indians whose families were slaughtered by the whites. Now, the few survivors have no other choice but to trust their dubious protector, Todd, as hundreds of vengeful Apaches track them down, thirsting for blood. Can they make it out alive?

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Plot Keywords:

apache territory | arizona territory | war party | tucson arizona | territory | 

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Taglines:

ROMANTIC WESTERN ADVENTURE! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the second of two films that Tommy Rettig made with Richard Widmark: he played Widmark's son in Elia Kazan's "Panic in the Streets" (1950).

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Goofs

During the last third of the film, Tommy Rettig's hair goes from being long and fair, with a fringe, to being short and dark and brushed back and then back again on two occasions.

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Quotes

[after capturing Todd, Sheriff Harper offers to join Colonel Normand's wagon train]
Col. Normand: He's safe in your custody, I suppose. It's just that we got women and children with us.
Sheriff Bull Harper: He'll be safe. The first time he don't look safe, he'll get dead.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: 1873 Arizona Territory

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 2 (1999)

User Reviews

The film that made a movie fan out of me

"The Last Wagon" is the very first movie I ever went nuts over; and I've been a movie fan ever since. I was nine and I didn't even want to go to the movies that Saturday night. But my parents wanted to see "Bus Stop" and they didn't want to get a baby sitter for me and my three year old brother, so they dragged us along. But they had made a mistake when reading the starting times of the films and when we got to the theater, "The Last Wagon", not "Bus Stop" was starting. From the moment Richard Widmark shot the first bad guy even before the opening credits and the enveloping overture, I was hooked on him, the western scenery, the action, the anthropological dramatization of Comanche vs. Apache tribal hostilities at the same time that all Native American cultures were being wiped out by encroaching white "civilization", and the enthralling background music. When the co-feature of "Bus Stop" concluded, I wanted to stay to see "The Last Wagon" again. My parents had to drag me out.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 September 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last Wagon

Filming Locations:

Bell Rock, Sedona, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,670,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

3 Channel Stereo (Westrex Recording System) (5.0) (L-R)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1