The Last Gun (1964) User Reviews

Watchable, Middle-Of-The-Road Italian Western

[FightingWesterner · 6/10 · 18 May 2011]

Ultra-cautious storekeeper Cameron Mitchell uses his reputation as an unarmed near-pacifist to cover up his activities as an infamous, leather-clad, masked gunman, taking on a nasty bunch of outlaws who've taken over the local saloon and targeted the family of his favorite girl.

This earlier-than-most spaghetti western is fairly colorful (both figuratively and literally), with some interesting villains. Carl Möhner is a standout as the gang's morally ambiguous, guitar-strumming newest member. A few more familiar European faces and the perverse (for 1964), sexually threatening atmosphere also help keep things mildly interesting.

Though nowhere near the bottom of the barrel, a few complaints are that the masked superhero aspect of the film is woefully underused and that his identity is as plain as the nose on your face. Mitchell fared much better the following year in Sergio Corbucci's Minnesota Clay.

Still, it's pleasant enough viewing for hardcore spaghetti fans.

Who was that masked man? The Italian ranger!

[spider89119 · 5/10 · 11 March 2006]

This is a fairly decent example of one of the early Italian westerns. It was made before the Leone influence began to dominate, but it still has an unmistakably Euro-western feel to it.

The music score is actually pretty good. It has enough cool sounding guitar and organ notes to set it apart from the boring music found in most American westerns. The cheesy dubbing is also here in full force. The movie made me chuckle a few times, which is always a plus, whether the humor is intentional or not.

This is a standard good guys vs. bad guys story with a lone ranger-like lead character named Jim Hart, played adequately by Cameron Mitchell. Hart's friend, the man called Guitar, is actually more like the typical spaghetti western protagonist. Neither good nor bad, Guitar is simply out for his own good time. Kitty Carver is stunning as Dolores, the feisty barmaid who becomes Guitar's girlfriend. She has that incredible exotic beauty that so many female spaghetti western characters possess. Livio Lorenzon is entertaining as Jess, the cheesy, over the top villain who keeps laughing through the whole movie, even while he is dying in the finale!

It is possible that this film may have been trying to be an American western, but, thankfully, it did not succeed. It's much more entertaining just the way it is. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but if you're a die-hard spaghetti western fan who doesn't take things too seriously, this one's worth a watch.

Okay Pre-Spaghetti Western

[zardoz-13 · 6/10 · 24 March 2011]

Nothing about "Stranger in Sacramento" director Sergio Bergonzelli's largely predictable horse opera "The Last Gun" qualifies as original, but this derivative Spaghetti western is more than palatable with solid production values. Cameron Mitchell, who appeared in his share of westerns in Tinseltown, stars as a notorious gunslinger who hangs up his hardware so he can settle down as a respectable storekeeper in a frontier town. Meanwhile, a trigger-happy outlaw, Jess (the ubiquitous Livio Lorenzon), who looks like the Europe's answer to Telly Savalas, plots with a corrupt, local banker to hijack a shipment of gold. Not surprisingly, things don't go as planned for Jess and his army of gunfighters. It seems that a mysterious pistolero turns up when they least expect him and thwarts our villain's every move. "The Last Gun" is an appropriately loquacious sagebrusher when one of the villains isn't being gunned down by an enigmatic figure in black leather with a bandanna covering his face. The townspeople quarrel among themselves about these intruders, but they are powerless to evict them. Clearly, "The Last Gun" draws inspiration from those traditional Hollywood oaters where an unsympathetic gunslinger struggles to blend into the scenery and not call attention to himself. Eventually, our reluctant hero must decide whether to maintain his anonymity or behave like a vigilante to preserve law and order. This movie pays homage to 1950's westerns with its opening ballad. Actually, "The Last Gun" recalls John Wayne's first singing western "Riders of Destiny" (1933)because one of the key characters rides through the rugged terrain warbling a tune to the accompaniment of his own guitar strumming. After the opening theme ballad, things settle down as Jess's gang terrorizes the town of Sanderson. Moreover, "The Last Gun" hero is a reformed gunman instead of a swift-shooting bounty hunter. Bergonzelli and scenarists Ambrogio Molteni and James Wilde Jr., unveil the film's the best-kept secret during the final moments of the action. Livio Lorenzon makes a thoroughly slimy villain. His men and he run roughshod over everybody in town and the dutiful sheriff has to tolerate their presence because he is only one man.

Hysterically (in more ways than one) terrible Euro-western

[frankfob · 1/10 · 10 September 2006]

I've seen a lot of westerns, but I've seen few like this one. At first I thought it was a comedy or a parody. It starts off with what has to be the most mind-numbingly awful "theme" song in motion picture history by an off-key singer who stumbles over his words, actually loses his place once--why they didn't just re-record it is beyond me--and not a single line of this opus rhymes. Then a short, chubby, beer-bellied "gunslinger" standing on top of a large boulder calls out some guy walking his horse (!), gets shot for his trouble, slides down the boulder, and in the next shot his body is lying at least 25 feet from it--and it's on flat land! Then, although I didn't think it was possible, the film goes downhill from there. Everybody laughs hysterically all through the movie: the bad guys, the saloon girls, and especially the leader of the bad guys, who has apparently ingested a year's supply of laughing gas because he can't stop roaring with laughter, even as he's shooting everybody within eyesight--civilians, cowboys he meets on the trail, women he's just raped, his own men . . . you name 'em, this guy shoots 'em. And, of course, he does so without reloading his pistol; at one point he fires at least 12 rounds in a row from a six-shot revolver. What's even more hysterical is that he's wearing a hat that is at least two sizes too small for him. It was only after about 15 minutes of watching this atrocity that it finally sunk in that this was NOT a parody or a comedy. The people who made this stinkeroo actually thought they were making a "serious" western. Amazing.

Another curious thing about this movie is the dubbing. We all know that the English dubbing of Italian movies of the time, whether westerns or Hercules-type epics, was atrocious beyond belief, and this one carries on that noble tradition. But even star Cameron Mitchell's voice is dubbed, and not by Mitchell, which is very odd. What's even odder is that Mitchell is obviously speaking English but the English lines the dubber speaks don't match Mitchell's lip movements, which makes no sense at all. But neither does anything else in this relentlessly stupid, senseless idiocy (wait until you get a load of the "masked avenger" who shows up about a quarter of the way through this thing). The "action" scenes are laughable, the cinematography is terrible--it looks like it was shot on an 8mm home movie camera--the "script" is something even Ed Wood would have been too embarrassed to put his name on, the "acting" wouldn't pass muster in a one-day-wonder porn flick. In other words, this movie is not only worthless, it's BEYOND worthless. Shoving your head into a drill press wouldn't be as painful as having to sit through this thing. Don't waste your time.

I keep hearing gunshots but where's the blood

[juicesone · 5/10 · 10 August 2016]

Well what can I say this really is more of a comedy than anything else from the voice overs and just comments that are made are simply hysterical. If you're having a bad day or hungover or something this film sure will help cause it helped my hangover, felt way better after watching this movie which I picked up from Fry's electronic for a couple bucks well worth it. One comment which i found amusing was when he tells this cowboy "he looks like he sorry" and this other guy says "more like sorry looking", sure didn't see that one coming. But I must say the best part has got to definitely be all those gunshots but no blood, I mean none at all whatsoever, I guess it wasn't in their budget, this one guy says "you're gonna shoot me in cold blood", kinda funny when there was absolutely any.

Ordinary and middling Spagheti Western in which a masked gunslinger distributes justice.

[ma-cortes · 5/10 · 4 May 2021]

Run-of-the-mill Spaghetti Western with no much interest concerning a retired gunfighter named Jim Hart : Cameron Mitchell settled at a little town . Along the way, Jim Hart befriends Guitar : Carl Mohner , a card player and drunk who often is drinking and playing the guitar . Then the town is terrorized by a nasty band led Livio Lorenzon , but Jim Hart set out to make justice by donning a scarf and Zorro-alike takes down cutthroats . As he takes on a stagecoach assailant , fights against the ordinary villain Livio Lorenzon and helps a weak sheriff against enemies.

It is a medium budget and boring , at times, Spaghetti Western dealing with customary confrontation between good guys and bad guys , displaying thrills , intrigue , go riding , crossfire, but being really a simple fodder . It is a so-so and plain Pasta Western with a few moments genuinely entertaining , but mostly dull . Stars Cameron Mitchell as a retired pistolero that due to a killer gang is back to gunslinging , Cameron was a tarnished American actor who emigrated to Italy to get fame and fortune playing some Spaghetti Westerns , Peplum , historical and Giallo movies . Co-stars the usually wooden Carl Mohner , though here he gives a passable and sympathetic acting as an alcoholic guitarist , this Austrian character actor played several British and Continental productions from the 50s , such as Peplum , Thrillers , Film Noir , Sword and Sandals and Spaghetti and was also a noted abstract painter , whose works have been exhibited internationally from 1962 . They are accompanied by some familiar faces as the usually baddie Livio Lorenzon, Ugo Fangareggi and brief appearance by Mariangela Giordano as Mary Gordon to be continued a long career in Italian B-films .

It displays an atmospheric cinematography shot on location in Rome , Lazio and Elios Studios , Rome Italy . And attractive musical score by Marcello Gigante , including some catching songs as Young Jim Hart performed by Peter Travis and Amor Mexicano performed by Rena Pilippini . The motion picture was regularly directed by Sergio Bergonzelli, packing some shortcomings , gaps , failures and flaws . This Italian artisan wrote and directed a series of films in all kinds of genres from the Sixties to end Eighties . As he made Giallo : In the Folds of the Flesh . Adventures : Surcouf , Sea Pirate , Seven in the Sun , Diamond Connection . Terror : Blood Delirium . Erotic or Softcore : Tentazione, Malicia, School of Erotic Enjoyment , Joy , Dirty World , Taxi Love . And Spaghetti or Pasta Western : A stranger in Sacramento , Colt in the Hand of the Devil, Cisco , and The Last Gun . Rating : 4.5/10 . Very average and routine Western , only for hardcore Spaghetti fans .

Bad, even for western addicts

[Wizard-8 · 30 October 2010]

The fact that Cameron Mitchell is in this movie should give you a warning as to what is to come. If not, let me put it bluntly - this is a TERRIBLE western! Though made in the same year as "A Fistful Of Dollars", this probably came first - if the makers of this movie had seen that movie, they probably would have given their plans a major overhaul. As it is, this movie seems to be trying to capture the feel and style of American westerns made in the '50s, but totally botches it. It has a sterile feeling to it, with scenes playing like loose dress rehearsals instead of having any kind of strong feeling. Most of the movie is just boring talk, and while the few action scenes have a few unintended chuckles (like a woman being molested protesting blandly due to the rotten dubbing), they are at best dull and mechanical. Even the music score, which it typically great in a Euro western like this, is unmemorable!

American Spaghetti

[cengelm · 4/10 · 28 January 2005]

It's the old story of a gunfighter who wants to retire from eternal killing but fortune won't let him to do so. He lives in a small western town which is threatened by an invading gang of bandits. Lead villain Jeff is characterized by his omnipresent maniac laughter which is a bit molesting after a while. Another thing noticeable are the many scenes where women get molested by the bandits. Good luck that the mysterious Jim is always in place. We know who he is but all characters in the film don't - with the exception of the guitar playing "Guitar". There is some tension and some action but not very much for an Italian western. All characters are either good or bad.

Score and cinematography are mediocre at best.

4 /10

It's even good.

[afonsobritofalves · 12 October 2018]

Although many people do not like this movie very much, I even liked it; This movie had everything a Western should have: action, adventure, fighting scenes and a great scene. Although not one of the best Westerns ever, I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.