A rich, dying Easterner hires gunfighter Brad Ellison to find his brother and heir in Mexico. En route, it becomes clear to Ellison that his is a dying profession. At a remote rancho, Ellison enlists ranch foreman Miles Lang to help him search the hills where the missing man is rumored to have lived. They find nothing ...except that someone wants to kill them; and Ellison becomes wrapped in a maze of double crosses.
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*** This review may contain spoilers ***The Last of the Fast Guns (1958) isn't a bad Western and the location is gorgeous, I think that's what pulls it through. At the start, two gunfighters shoot it out in town and the winner is invited to speak with an old man. He offers the winning gunfighter a job, to go look for his lost brother, who disappeared in Mexico. Jock Mahoney plays the gunfighter, he isn't very magnetic or interesting, but nonetheless he possesses the gunfighter creed.Mexican actor Gilbert Roland is here as well, the same as usual, being suave and smoking a lot. He works for Lorne Greene, who is gone for most of the picture. the gunfighter looks for the supposed-dead brother and finds a bit of a mystery. The ending was rather contrived, but it isn't a horrible picture.
The Last of the Fast Guns is directed by George Sherman and written by David P. Harman. It stars Jock Mahoney, Gilbert Roland, Linda Cristal, Eduard Franz and Lorne Greene. Music is by Joseph Gershenson and cinematography by Alex Phillips.Gunslinger Brad Ellison (Mahoney) is hired by a rich tycoon to find his long lost brother. The trail leads to Mexico where hostility and intrigue ensue.There's nothing overtly fresh about this as per plotting, but it delivers good qualities via some interesting twists and turns. From the sombre beginning it's evident that the makers have contemplation in mind for the narrative drive. Ellison is the last of a dying breed, and he knows it, so should he achieve the task to hand, the $25,000 he will earn could shape his future. As he sets about his detective work, tests come and go, while he is befriended by Miles Lang (Roland) and finds himself flirting with Maria O'Reilly (Cristal). But is everything as it seems? Cast are made of stoic stock, though Cristal is purely eye candy token. Pic is very airy and the Mexican vistas, filmed in CinemaScope/Eastman Color, are gorgeous. A good meaty Oater that's well mounted, so recommended for genre fans. 7/10
After viewing the fast draw at the waterhole many times in freeze-frame, I think it was faked. Looks like Mahoney started his draw with his gun out of his holster, and the sound of the gun clearing the holster was added post-production. Just my take on it.Superior-to-great script, charged dialog. Hate to say it, but the ending was a disappointment. The anticipated gunfight was short and the fight was resolved by other means. Better if Mahoney had just shot him dead. No film is perfect.When I was in Japan, this film was shown a number of times on their TV. The Japanese were big on things like friendship/betrayal.Give it a 9 because of the way it ended. Highly recommended.
Classic, archetypal hero. Plot twist at the end, which some anticipate and some don't. One of the fastest draws shown in any film. Ending a bit disappointing, as final confrontation is short and not settled with firearms. For fans of the genre, a must-see.
