Blu ray review: The Last Sunset (1961)

The Last Sunset is yet another Universal studios western released on blu ray by Kino Lorber. And, despite reported problems and conflicts during production, it is a good solid western of its time, and is recommended.

Kirk Douglas plays O’Malley, who crosses into Mexico as he’s being pursued by lawman Dana Stribling (Rock Hudson) for a murder. He finds his way to the home of former lover Belle Breckinridge (Dorothy Malone), who is now married to a kindly drunk (Joseph Cotton) who takes in passing strangers as boarders. O’Malley is honest, revealing his intentions to take back Breckinridge’s wife upon completing a cattle drive, but Breckinridge laughs it off. Stribling arrives in Mexico, but has no jurisdiction so he vows to take O’Malley in as soon as he crosses the Texas border. Further conflict arises when Belle falls for Stribling, much to O’Malley’s chagrin.

The screenplay, based on a novel, was written by Dalton Trumbo, who had been blacklisted for years before Kirk Douglas hired him to write Spartacus (1960). Robert Aldrich contacted Douglas and asked for the director’s job, but when he showed up on location, he had other writers with him for other projects. Douglas was angry, wanting Aldrich to fully concentrate on this project. Also, Trumbo was distracted by working on Otto Preminger’s Exodus (1960), giving less attention to script revisions on this project. Aldrich recalled this to be a negative experience in his career.

And yet, with all that, The Last Sunset is a strong, compelling western, with well-developed characters, fine acting, effectively staged action sequences, and sharp Eastmancolor. The rest of the cast includes Carol Lynley as the Breckinridge’s daughter, and such western movie stalwarts as Neville Brand and Jack Elam.

Kino Lorber’s blu ray is a brand new 2k restoration, and includes an interesting, informative commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton.

The movie is available at this link: LAST SUNSET