Last Train From Gun Hill (1959)

Recognizing that wealthy cattle rancher Craig Belden's son, Rick, is one of his wife's killers, Morgan travels to Gun Hill to arrest him. Belden refuses to hand his son over, and Morgan is determined to capture Rick and take him away by the 9:00 train but he is trapped in the town alone, with Belden and all his men now looking to kill him.

Excellent western

One of the best old westerns I have had the pleasure to view. Kirk Douglas is on a mission to avenge the death of his wife and finds the killer is the son of a good old friend, who is a powerful man with everyone in the town in his pocket. Douglas is terrific as a man determined to bring his wife's killer to justice against all odds.
An excellent script and fine acting by all makes this a highly recommended movie for those who enjoy classic westerns. December 13, 2007

Quintessential Western Drama!

This is a perfect example of an era when Hollywood made classic movies in the highest standard with top talent and great cinematography. This film should be ranked right up there in the category of great western drama. Hal Wallis was one of filmdom's great directors and exhibits the apex of his craft with the performances of both Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn in this epic western classic.Carolyn Jones and Earl Holliman also turn in great performances as well. This film is every bit as good as the classic Gunfight At The OK Corral and deserves a lofty place in your western dvd collection! September 7, 2007

Enjoyable but Unmemorable

"Last Train from Gun Hill" is a solid Western released in 1959. Kirk Douglas stars as Matt Morgan, a Marshal in a small western town (the movie was filmed in Arizona). He's married to a beautiful Native American woman (the movie uses the terms of the time and calls her a "squaw"), who is raped and murdered. He determines to find out who killed her, with only one clue - a saddle inscribed with initials. He turns to one of his best friends, Anthony Quinn (Craig Belden), for help. He eventually discovers who the guilty parties are, which leads to a number of complications for the main characters.

You get about what you'd expect from a Western from this era - a few gun fights, somewhat wooden dialogue, and a general lack of realism. Fortunately, the movie is buoyed considerably by the presence of Douglas and Quinn; Carolyn Jones is also quite good as Quinn's confused, rebellious girlfriend. Director John Sturges had done better work before this movie (Bad Day at Black Rock, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral) and would go on to do better work in the future (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape). In fact, he was nominated for an Academy Award in 1955 for Best Director for "Bad Day at Black Rock." However, overall, I enjoyed "Last Train from Gun Hill," even if I'm unlikely to remember it for more than a week.
April 30, 2007

Last Train from Gun Hill...

I've always like this movie, and it finally came out on disk. Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn are at top form in this Western Drama. Who will win? You've got to find out for yourself...Five stars!! February 3, 2007

Two strong leads: Douglas and Quinn!

Craig Belden (Anthony Quinn) is a powerful cattle-rancher, the richest of Gunhill, simply the Boss...

His son Rick (Earl Holliman) is weak, coward, a punk kid who just raped and killed Catherine Morgan (Ziva Rodann), a beautiful Indian woman ignoring that she is the wife of Matt Morgan (Kirk Douglas) the Marshall of the town...

From a costly elegant saddle, Matt recognized that the rapist-killer of his wife is close to reach... He decides to take the train to Gun Hill to see an old friend, Craig Belden, asking for help...

The tragic moment of the film is when Craig (Quinn) realized that the murderer is his own son Rick... He can't deliver his son to Matt... He knows the Marshall will hang him...

Quinn is the tragic figure... He is torn between his loyalty and fidelity to his best friend and his deep affection and devotion to the only son he raised alone...

Two superb actors were caught in the tragedy... The denouement was evident!

Directed beautifully by the maker of major fine westerns John Sturges, the film walks slowly toward a showdown, an inevitable clash from which only one will take the last train from Gun Hill...

November 10, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...