La dernière caravane

The Last Wagon is not in the Premier League of great westerns; but it should be. Delmer Davis has fashioned an exciting, pacey film, which has all the finest ingredients of the American West.The story is never less than interesting and absorbing,and sometimes superlative. Richard Widmark plays Commanche Todd perfectly, displaying ruthlessness, kindness, charm and craggy reliability, in equal measure.The Widmark easy grin trademark is evident, which only he can switch on, lending light relief to a grim story.

But for me the film is notable for a love scene that compares easily with that of the famous train meeting between Cary Grant and Eve Marie Saint in North by Northwest. Felicia Farr as Jenny, and Todd, fetch up in the rocks of the wild prairie, and Todd makes his move. Then follows a curiously compelling verbal exchange that is achingly romantic,full of blossoming love and yearning, and charged with heady excitement.You can almost hear Farr's rapid heart beating. For one brief moment Felica Farr makes herself the most desirable women on the planet.When the kiss comes it makes your heart sigh. Then it's back to the action, and the film pulses along to a satisfying conclusion. But it will be Farr's breathlessness, sensuality and desirability that lingers in the mind.There have been countless Screen Goddess's;but only a few like Felicia Farr and Eve Marie Saint, have been able to effortlessly radiate true sex appeal

to me this was the best western I have ever seen. Richard Widmark is a suberb actor and carried this movie so well. the scenery was beautiful also.All the young actors gave wonderful performances.please do yourself a favor and enjoy one of the great stories of all time.

Richard Widmark stars as Comanche Todd, a white man raised by Comanches and under arrest for murder. Deep in hostile Apache territory in 1873 he soon finds himself the leader of a small group of youths from a wagon train. Will they make it out alive? And, even if they do, can Todd escape the sentence of death-by-hanging?

Shot on location in Sedona, Arizona, at the mouth of Oak Creek Canyon, this is a gorgeous-looking Western. Not only is the plot engaging, the characters, cast and practically everything else are well done. The film successfully takes you back to the late 1800s and gives a good glimpse of what it must have been like to travel out West during that time.

Felicia Farr and Susan Kohner stand out in the supporting cast; both beautiful in different ways. Each youth has his/her issues and grows much as a result of their experiences with Comanche Todd in the dire situation. For instance, Susan (Jolie) is ashamed that she's half-Indian but Todd teaches her to be proud of who and what she is. Others hate Todd for being an "injun lover" but later see the error of their ways. Todd himself is lost in in a fog of bitterness & revenge but a new prospect is thrown in his lap. Can he get over his disillusionment to see the blessing in his current situation? This is just a taste of the character arcs in the story.

Christianity and Christians are actually portrayed in a positive light. Yet so are the beliefs/practices of the AmerIndians. The film does a good job of taking the middle road with the settlers and the Indians. Not to mention, the Indians are portrayed realistically, unlike some 50's Westerns where you just roll your eyes at their silly depiction.

Aside from the dated score (which isn't bad, just dated), the negative I can cite would be some quaintness. But the film makes up for it with a quality end-commentary on the nature of universal justice.

The film runs 1 hour, 39 minutes.

GRADE: A-

This story chronicles the trials of a fugitive half-breed and the survivors of an Indian attack on a wagon train. Richard Widmark is the tough, steely hero who aims to guide the survivors to safety through the desert and clear his name in a murder case. The plot is basically one of survival and redemption and the picture fleshes out Widmark's character in dramatic fashion, first as an abused prisoner, then as a trail savvy outsider who must bring to safety folks who dislike him because of his reputation. The film has fine action scenes but tends to dwell on the attitudes of the young whites who resent being dependent on Widmark, yet realize they need him to pull them out of harm's way. Felicia Farr is good as the woman who falls for Widmark in spite of his troubled past, as are Susan Kohner and Stephanie Griffin, the latter as a high-strung lass with a quick temper. Nick Adams and Tommy Rettig do fine in their roles and round out the survival party. The cinematography and music are top notch.

Widmark plays the anti-hero who comes to the aid of teenagers who survived an Indian attack. As usual widmark is great and i esp loved the hateful sheriff played by george matthews who is gonna turn criminal widmark in for the reward . He treats widdy just awful and eventually widmark cleaves him open with a hatchet!!! You don't get to see the hatchet land, but it's still a great scene cause the slimeball had it comin'. Three teenage girls in the film are very attractive and the scenery is spectacular. I won't tell the ending of course, but lets just say it's pretty sappy and didn't jibe with the rest of the movie which was quite cynical. All in all, surprisingly good for a 50 year old western. I'll give it a B+.