Le pistolero de la rivière rouge

Ex-gunhawk meets up and coming young punk intent on proving his worth by knocking off the king of the heap. Been there, done that. Seems like Angie Dickinson played this identical part in several films; wonder if she got as bored doing it as I did watching. What was with Royal Dano doing his impersonation of an injun? The producer couldn't find the genuine article? Let this one be your last choice.

Loved the cast. Loved the non-politically correct nature of the script. Especially in the modern era, this movie plays as refreshing and fun. It doesn't bow to any pressure concerning treatment of women or Indians. Delivering complex three dimensional leads and delivers a conclusion out of the box. Absolutely wonderful.

The western showdown is as ritualistic as a bullfight which, in many respects, it resembles... The end is as quick, clean and emotionless as the dispatch of a brave fighting bull by the matador... The outcome is usually as predictable but the clash is a heightened moment of suspense that is as exciting as anything the cinema has ever produced...

Richard Thorpe, a reliable director of all genre, and one of MGM's most prolific filmmaker since 1935 directed and produced 'The Last Challenge'/'The Pistolero of Red River.'

Wanting a particular personal style, Thorpe never directed a great motion picture, but had a consistently acceptable batting average as a director of fine, unpretentious entertainment ranging from drama and polished adventure to comedy, musicals and westerns...

With a beautiful body and a timeless loveliness of a face, Angie Dickinson looks great in her black gown... She again figures effectively as the young lady, in love, who wants to stop the shootout... The movie has a Marshal (Glenn Ford) with a reputation as a legendary wild gunfighter, heading for a showdown with a dangerous good-looking challenger Chad Everett...

The John Sherry-Robert Emmett Ginna screenplay features Gary Merrill as a bushy-brow 'Five Card Stud' player, and Jack Elam as the hired killer with an evil leer...

Dan Blaine (Glenn Ford) is the Marshal in town and the fastest draw around. Lisa Denton (Angie Dickinson) runs the local brothel. Young gunslinger Lot McGuire (Chad Everett) arrives in town looking to make a name for himself.

This is an old fashion western. It's simple. It's classical. It's standard. It doesn't do anything special. Glenn Ford is the old guard. Everett has his hair. Angie Dickinson could have been special but she isn't given much to do. There may be nothing wrong with this western but it's not one that stands above the crowd.

As a history teacher, I have a lot more knowledge about what the old west REALLY was like...and for the most part it was little like you see in westerns. In the case of this film, there is the famed fast- draw sheriff, young punks wanting to prove they are faster and the famed shootouts on main street...all stuff that really did not happen. Sure, it could have happened once or twice (anything is possible) but the west was a lot safer and civilized than you would imagine if you got your history from films! So, I knew going into "The Last Challenge" that the film was complete fiction...a myth of a west filmmakers WISHED had really been.

When the film begins, yet another stupid punk comes into town to challenge the brave Marshall (Glenn Ford). Marshall Blaine blows the snot out of him and the immediate threat is gone. But of course there is another who is on his way to town to challenge the fast- draw sheriff. But something unusual happens--the pair meet on friendly terms while fishing and seem to like each other. Will that change anything or is one of them still destined to assume room temperature?

This is a moderately enjoyable film with a finale that is, pretty much, a foregone conclusion. Not a bad movie...just not at all like the real west. Although a shootout between two guys is common in films, in reality lawmen were very happy to just shoot guys in the back or shotgun them or attack the thug with a group. The whole manly shootout to prove who is the fastest is just mythical.