The Last Posse

Yes folks, this superb little western - posse western, a genre within the genre - is produced by the same man who will work several years later with Budd Boetticher and Randolph Scott on the same kind of stuff. Short, small budgets but so great ideas, with nothing really expected, nothing predictable and pulled by strong performances, and the whole without any f...heroes; only terrific characterd=s study. Look for instance Broderick Crawford in one of his best roles, an aging sheriff, his most poignant, terrific ones. And with this western, director Alfred Werker, proves once more - before DEVIL'S CANYON, THREE HOURS TO KILL, CANYON CROSSROADS, AT GUNPOINT, REBEL IN TOWN - that he was nearly at the level of a Budd Boetticher in terms of budget-quality ratio.

Add me to the list of those wondering why this was made in black and white. Crawford and bickford were pretty big names, back in the day. Maybe because its a period piece in the old west, to give it authenticity? When a rancher pays dirt low prices for cattle, the family takes the money back and makes a run for it. Out in the brutally hot desert, with not much food... (where did they plan on going??) When the posse returns without the wanted men, the town is anxious to find out what happened. As the film goes along, the facts come out in small bits and pieces. It's not bad. Stars broderick crawford, charles bickford, and a twenty seven year old john derek. Directed by al werker. Story by seymour and connie bennett. Filmed in the fun alabama hills and in yuma. Showing on the roku channel.

For those of you who like discovering unknown sleeper westerns than The Last Posse is for you. No cowboy heroes in this one just an honest sheriff doing his job and a young man who let's his better side take over rather than live with a lie.

A posse comes in from the hunt with the bodies of the men they were hunting, the man whom these people robbed and a badly wounded Broderick Crawford who is the town sheriff. Some of the town's leading citizens like Will Wright, Warner Anderson, Raymond Greenleaf and Tom Powers are with the posse along with the adopted son of the robbery victim Charles Bickford. It's the son played by John Derek on whom the responsibility for the truth lies.

We hear some of the truth in flashback from the posse members. Bickford owns the local Ponderosa and he's not a benevolent type like Ben Cartwright. In fact he's pushed another rancher James Bell far enough. Bell and sons Guy Wilkerson and Skip Homeier rob him as he's making a deposit of six figures. It's Bickford who pulls a posse together and doesn't want the sheriff along, but Crawford goes anyway.

The desert trip brings out the truth about a lot of things and Derek has to face up to a different version about his past than he's been told. It's not a pretty picture.

The film is in stark black and white and plays for much of the time like a noir thriller. But this B film from Columbia is a real sleeper and not to be missed by either noir or western fans.

If you love Westerns, you'll love The Last Posse. I had never heard of it before TCM tossed it into their Broderick Crawford Day of movies. Great cast too! Not only Crawford but Henry Hull, Charles Bickford as well as Harry Hayden, an always uncredited character actor who I've come to notice. Much of the film takes place in the desert among some absolutely remarkable rock formations as the backdrop. Anyway, all Western Lovers should have this one on their list. I thought I'd seen just about every Western at least once so this really came as a wonderful surprise. Watch for it and enjoy! At less than 90 minutes long, it doesn't wear out its welcome like this overlong review! Unfortunately the IMDb insists on ten lines whether or not you have something to say. OK, it finally says I wrote enough lines!

This film is not just your ordinary Western mainly because the film starts out with flashbacks from the very beginning to the end. Broderick Crawford, (Sheriff John Frazer) is a burned out sheriff who was well respected and decided to hit the bottle and drift off to retirement. Charles Pickford, (Sampson Drune) plays the role of a cattle baron who is ruthless and cruel and treats other cattlemen poorly and cheats them out of their money when they are facing hard luck and about to lose their ranches. John Derek, (Jed Clayton) is a son to Sampson and thinks the world of his father, however, Sheriff Frazer knows some very dark secrets about Sampson and the two have no use for each other. Wanda Hendrix, (Deborah) is a young gal who is very interested in Jed Clayton and has hopes to settling down with him someday. Sampson Drune is robbed of a Hundred and Five Thousand dollars and a posse is organized and even Sheriff Frazer manages to ride along with them. Charles Pickford gave a great supporting role along with John Derek.