L'ultima caccia

Have no illusions, this IS a morality story. Granger is the troubled ex-buffalo hunter, tempted back to the plains one more time by kill-crazed Taylor. Granger can see the end is near, and feels deeply for the cost of the hunt-on the herds, the Indians and the land itself. Taylor, on the other hand admittedly equates killing buffalo, or Indians to 'being with a woman.' While Granger's role of the tortured hunter is superb, it's Taylor who steals the show, as the demented, immoral 'everyman' out for the fast buck and the goodtimes. There's not a lot of bang-bang here, but the story moves along quickly, and we are treated to a fine character performance by Nolan. The theme of this story is just as poignant today, as in the 1800s-man's relationship to the land and what's on it, and racism. Considering when this was made, the Censors must have been wringing their hankies during the scenes in the 'bawdy house', Taylor's relationship with the squaw, and much of the dialogue. Although downbeat, this is truly a great western picture.

An intellectual western,focusing on the characters's psychology and well played by Granger and Taylor,with good support from Paget and Tamblyn. It denounces the buffalos slaughter which starved the Indians and lead to their defeat.Taylor's character is a racist,and one of his mates says that it's because he looks like the Indians he hates:he kills the buffalos,he beats women,and he blows his nose with his hands .Another one points out that when you begin to kill,you find pleasure and you are not able to stop anymore.

Not only Richard Brooks denounces the genocide,but he also shows how the White men killed the Indian culture and religion:the white buffalo is a good example.And the ending,with a last picture that packs a real wallop -it could be the picture of a horror movie- ,looks like a divine intervention.

The film largely focuses on a bullying Robert Taylor as a ruthless buffalo hunter and the people who have to put up with him. Set amidst a hunt for dwindling numbers of buffalo, it portrays the end of a tragic era of senseless slaughter and is full of drama and remorse for both the buffalo and the Native Americans. Taylor is blinded by his hatred of Indians and his naivete that the buffalo herds will never disappear. In one scene, he shoots animal after animal, while in another he murders Indians and then eats the food they had cooking on their fire. Under this ruthless exterior lies an insecure person who is reduced to begging his comrades (Stewart Granger, Lloyd Nolan, and Russ Tamblyn) not to leave him. It's not the most pleasant of films and is weighed down by the drama it creates, leading to a dismal and very fitting conclusion in a blizzard.

In 1883, in South Dakota, the former buffalo hunter Sandy McKenzie (Stewart Granger) is tired of hunting the animals. He is approached by Charlie Gilson (Robert Taylor), a man that feels pleasure in killing buffalo and Indians, who proposes a high salary to him to hunt buffalo for him. They associate to each other and hire the skilled skinner Woodfoot (Lloyd Nolan) and the half-breed Jimmy O'Brien (Russ Tamblyn) to help them.

When a group of Indians steal their horses, Charlie hunts them down and kills them in their camp. Charlie finds a gorgeous Indian girl (Debra Paget) with a baby boy and he brings her to his camp to be his woman. However, Sandy and she are attracted to each other but they fear Charlie. Along the days, the tension between them increases until the day Charlie kills a white buffalo that is sacred for the Indians.

"The Last Hunt" is a gritty and brutal western in a period when the Old West is ending. Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger have great performances and Debra Paget is in top of her beauty and responsible for an increasing tension between the two lead characters.

The cruel scenes where the buffalo are killed by marksmen are for real and part of the reduction of the herd planned by the government of USA. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Última Caçada" ("The Last Hunt")

I saw this film about twenty years ago on the late show. I still vividly remember the film, especially the performance of Robert Taylor. I always thought Taylor was underrated as an actor as most critics saw him as solid, almost dull leading man type, and women simply loved to watch his films because of his looks. This film, however, proved what an interesting actor he could be. He did not get enough roles like this during his long career. This is his best performance. He is totally believable in a truly villainous role. From what I have read, he was a very hardworking and easy going guy in real life and never fought enough for these kind of roles. He basically would just do what MGM gave him. This film proves that he could have handled more diverse and difficult roles. The other thing I remember about this film is how annoying Lloyd Nolan's character was. Nolan was a great actor, but this character really aggravated me. The last scene of the film has stuck with me for all of these years. This film is definitely worth a look.