The Last Outpost

The Last Outpost (1935)

*** (out of 4)

Entertaining mix of action and romance set during WWI. The film has British soldiers Michael Andrews (Cary Grant) having his life saved by John Stevenson (Claude Rains). While Michael is sent to a hospital after being wounded, John goes back and continues the war efforts. While in the hospital Michael falls in love with his nurse Rosemary (Gertrude Michael) but he doesn't realize she's John's wife.

THE LAST OUTPOST is a film that should probably be better known than it is. This Paramount film is certainly what you'd call a "B" picture but it's certainly highly entertaining and it serves its purpose, which was probably a second feature on a double bill. The film was co-directed by Charles Barton and Louis J. Gasnier, which is quite a strange mix. I'm not sure what the history of the film was and if one was fired and the other hired or what but Barton is best remembered for ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN while Gasnier will always be remembered for REEFER MADNESS.

Back to this film, the main reason to watch it is for the two lead performances. Grant really delivers a strong performance here as he has to play that "good looking hero," which was something he was quite good at doing by this time. He was yet to become a star but all of the ingredients were starting to come together as he handled the romance, the action and the drama quite well. Michael is also good in her role of the love interest, although there's no question that the screenplay didn't do her character any justice. As for Rains, he easily steals the film as the stronger character and of course the second man. I really thought Rains was very believable as this war hero but the scene where he breaks down knowing the love he was coming home to is no longer there shows what a great actor he was.

There are some good action scenes scattered throughout the picture but the non-stop use of stock footage really makes you feel the "B" quality of the picture. This here really could have been an "A" picture but it's obvious Paramount wasn't ready to throw that type of money into a Grant picture. It's really too bad because this could have been an even better movie. As it is, THE LAST OUTPOST is a good "B" picture that remains entertaining throughout its running time.

This is a pretty bog-standard tale, and you've almost certainly seen it done before. Two men who fall in love with the same woman during wartime. Claude Rains plays the stodgy but noble-minded husband while Cary Grant is the suave outsider. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

What is absolutely WONDERFUL about this movie is that the studio tried to save money by recycling scenes from an earlier, silent version of the same (?) film. On paper it made a sort of sense, the earlier film had enjoyed a bigger budget with lots of extras and so on. Unfortunately no-one took into account the film stock and frames per second differences between the two films.

So there you are, watching what seems like a low-budget pot boiler. Suddenly you're thrust into a blurry, gritty shot of hundreds of natives moving VERY quickly and jerkily for a couple of seconds. And then we're back to normal tempos and film stock.

OK, it's not much to write home about but it's quite a fun effect.

An underrated little film about the efforts of the British Army to protect the British Empire in Kurdistan, THE LAST OUTPOST depicts the friendship that is formed between two soldiers (Cary Grant and Claude Rains) as they help native refugees to safety. Their bond soon comes under the ultimate test as they vie for the love of the same woman (Gertrude Michael). This film is extremely predictable, but Grant and Rains develop a unique and genuine on-screen chemistry that infuses much of the picture with a invaluable sense urgency and interest. The film is marred somewhat by the sloppy incorporation of woefully inconsistent stock footage (which looks to be of a completely different stock and shot at a different speed) into various moments, which is often distracting, but fortunately does not undermine the picture as a whole.

War movies were not really the long suit of Cary Grant. He was much more comfortable in lighter roles which displayed his formidable wit and humor. He is featured in this rather common triangle formula with Claude Rains, who occasionally goes over the top, ala Vincent Price and others, but still gives a believable performance. I know if I were a woman, Rains would not have a chance against Grant in a triangle. For soap lovers only.

Paramount studios was a specialist for such adventure movies, and this from even the twenties. This one is a good example, though not on the same level as THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER or BEAU GESTE. And it is not that well known, despite Cary Grant and Claude Rains presence. I guess one othe earliest films to denounce Armenian people living conditions under the Turkish despotic rule. Maybe the only American film to evoke this too, and I repeat, so early. I am not sure there were so many later. I don't know actually. I don't mind the footage reels, unlike some audiences. If you dig enough to find this gem, I advise you to watch it.