The Last Hunt (1956) User Reviews

A Gritty and Brutal Western

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 6 May 2012]

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")

drama in the west

[RanchoTuVu · 8/10 · 19 January 2006]

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.

Superior to the usual fare.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 27 April 2010]

Robert Taylor began his career at MGM as a handsome young lead with an eager smile in the mid 30s. Somewhere along the time line, during the war years, as he lost his youthful looks, he came to appear stern and not particularly sympathetic. At the same time his acting because routinized, automatic, giving a performance for him became like driving a car is for us. You don't put any thought into it. This didn't keep his studio from casting him in semi-historical costume movies. Whether or not he could act, at least he didn't get in the way of the scenery. Nor did he appear to seek out more dramatic roles that might be more in keeping with his appearance and demeanor. He and MGM were satisfied enough.

Then, here, in 1956, during his mature period, comes this movie, "The Last Hunt," in which Taylor plays probably his most complex character role and gives it everything he's got, mixing meanness and pathos. I give it a bonus point for that alone. It's almost amusing to see the man criticized for overacting. Think about it. Robert TAYLOR? OverACTING? He usually has all the verve of a mechanical man in a circus side show. To accuse him of overacting is like accusing a clam of having moved.

It's a Western about professional buffalo hunters in 1883. The big herds are thinning out. Taylor is still bent on shooting as many buffalo as he can, while his partner, Stewart Granger, has become a reluctant companion. The killing that the two friends have seen in the Civil War has changed them, but in different ways. It's sickened Granger, while Taylor has found that he rather likes it.

On the eponymous final hunt, they pick up a young Indian boy (Russ Tamblyn) and an experienced old buffalo skinner (Lloyd Nolan). A skirmish with some Indians, whom Taylor happily shoots, gets Taylor a beautiful Indian woman to keep him warm at night (Debra Paget).

The movie is sensitive to hunters pretty much having wiped out the buffalo. (It's a little like A. B. Guthrie's novel, "The Big Sky.") And it shows respect for the Sioux and their religion. But except for one or two sentences, it's not preachy, so it would be a mistake to code this as some tender-minded revisionist tract. For what it's worth, the high plains tribes I've lived with still revere the buffalo. They used every single part of every animal they were able to kill. As one Blackfeet man put it, "they were a supermarket." At any rate, Taylor's performance is the key to the movie, and it's quite good. His character follows a trajectory similar to that of Fred C. Dobbs in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", although Taylor is no Bogart, nor does this script have nearly the same quality. But Taylor is friendly enough at the beginning. Oh, a little insensitive to others, but cheerfully optimistic, and loyal to his pal Granger. But then he becomes mercurial. By the end, he's a madman, mistaking the rumble of distant thunder for a hundred thousand buffalo. That final shot of Taylor, wrapped in a frozen buffalo hide, his face a grotesque mask coated with ice, is memorable.

The shooting, alas, is often studio bound. Speech made around the camp fire seems to echo slightly. It's cold but no one's breath steams. It's good to see the manly Stewart Granger as something other than the alpha male. He's not as fast with a gun as Taylor. Nobody is. Granger is given one good scene, as a sad, truculent drunk in a cat house, and he pulls it off well. The fist fight isn't played for laughs. Constance Ford is the whore who administers some superficial comfort to the drunken Granger but he shrugs her off and leaves. Angry, she shouts after him, "What do you think, I have a heart of gold?" (Nice touch.)

Nice job, but sad too. Taylor, and people with his tragic flaws, have left us all a little worse off than we might have been.

Thoughtful and powerful Western drama well played , splendidly photographed and stunningly directed

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 3 August 2015]

Pretty good Western set in the early 1880s , this is the story of one of the last buffalo hunts in the Northwest and Badlands National Park, Interior , South Dakota , by that time stayed survivors 3000 buffalo , only . Sandy McKinzie (Stewart Granger) is an ex-hunting buffalo and nowadays a tired rancher , he has a casual meeting with veteran hunter Charlie (Robert Taylor) , and both of whom join forces to hunt Buffalo . After that , Charley murders an Indian raiding party , and takes an Indian girl (Debra Paget , Anne Bancroft was injured on her horse , then was replaced by Paget) as his own ; then , both hunters fall out over the rescued young squaw . Meanwhile , lots of buffalo get killed one way and another . And Charlie kills a fair few Indians , too . When personalities crash , Charlie seeks vengeance on fellow buffalo hunter Sandy . As tension and subsequent confrontation develops between the two hunters till a surprising and icy ending .

Very good Western starring an excellent Robert Taylor as a revenger as well as seedy Buffalo hunter who gains his his identity killing both , Buffalo and Indians . Spectacular and breathtaking scenes when there happen the buffalo stampedes . It is an exciting Western/drama that holds you interest from start to finish and right through to the intriguing as well as frozen climax . The flick displays a deep denounce about senseless acts of murders as Buffalo as Indians . The buffalo scenes were real-life attempts at keeping the animals controlled . US government marksmen actually shot and killed buffalo during production as part of a scheduled herd-thinning . Interesting and thought-provoking screenplay based on the novel by Milton Lott . The plot is quite grim by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Western standards , though it results to be entertaining . In film premiere failed at box office and it was panned by critics and lukewarm reception by public ; however , nowadays reviewers carried a detailed reappraisal of the movie . The cast is frankly well . Robert Taylor is solid , if a bit stolid . Stewart is acceptable , as usual , and gorgeous Debra Paget as a young Naive squaw . The support cast is fine , as Russ Tamblyn as a young Indian who looks to be throughly enjoying himself and special mention for Lloyd Nolan as an old cripple called Woodfoot , an upright and honorable old man.

Colorful cinematography by Russell Harlan shot in National Parks such as Custer National Park, Badlands National Park, Interior, Sand Sylvan Park South Dakota, among others . Thrilling as well as evocative Original Music by Daniele Amfitheatrof . Directed and screen-played in magnificent style by Richard Brooks (Elmer Gantry, In cold blood, Lord Jim) who subsequently directed other good Westerns titled ¨Bite the bullet¨ with Gene Hackman and Candice Bergen and the ¨Professionals¨ with various tough stars as Burt Lancaster , Lee Marvin , Jack Palance and Robert Ryan . ¨The last hunt¨ is an authentic must see , not to be missed for buffs of the genre . A successful movie because of its awesome acting , dialog , score are world class.

Good, but could have been Great

[ccbc · 7/10 · 21 May 2010]

I saw this movie (at a drive-in with my family) about the time, or not long after, it came out. I was eleven or twelve. I remembered scenes from this flick for fifty years until seeing it again on TCM. These scenes (a frozen buffalo hide, a guy sharpening a skinning knife, the white buffalo and its hide, and the final unforgettable scene) stayed with me for years. The movie still has power, though not as much as the mental rewrite I gave it over a half century ago threading together the scenes I recalled (nothing about the sex in my pre-adolescent memory). I found the editing and cinematography pretty poor when I looked at it a second time but the story was still good. I recall my father saying after the movie, "I thought Robert Taylor said he wasn't going to do that kind of role any more." I don't know what he meant. This is perhaps Taylor's best movie. He plays a very nasty villain. And maybe that's what my father was talking about. Anyway, a curious and interesting western, exploring themes that western writers had opened up long before but were new to Hollywood. It's too bad that the lead native roles were given to Russ Tamblyn and Debra Paget, but that was 50's Hollywood. Worth watching, but mentally re-edit this film and see if you can't come up with a classic must-see.

THE LAST HUNT (Richard Brooks, 1956) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 6 May 2008]

For some reason, this film has never turned up in its original language in my neck of the woods (despite owning the TCM UK Cable channel, which broadcasts scores of MGM titles week in week out). More disappointingly, it's still M. I. A. On DVD - even from Warners' recently-announced "Western Classics Collection" Box Set (which does include 3 other Robert Taylor genre efforts); maybe, they're saving it for an eventual "Signature Collection" devoted to this stalwart of MGM, which may be coming next year in time for the 40th anniversary of his passing

I say this because the film allows him a rare villainous role as a selfish Westerner with a fanatical hatred of Indians and who opts to exploit his expert marksmanship by making some easy money hunting buffaloes; an opening statement offers the alarming statistic that the population of this species was reduced from 60,000,000 to 3,000 in the space of just 30 years! As an associate, Taylor picks on former professional of the trade Stewart Granger - who rallies alcoholic, peg-legged Lloyd Nolan (who continually taunts the irascible and vindictive Taylor) and teenage half-breed Russ Tamblyn to this end. As expected, the company's relationship is a shaky one - reminiscent of that at the centre of Anthony Mann's THE NAKED SPUR (1953), another bleak open-air MGM Western. The film, in fact, ably approximates the flavor and toughness of Mann's work in this field (despite being writer/director Brooks' first of just a handful of such outings but which, cumulatively, exhibited a remarkable diversity); here, too, the narrative throws in a female presence (Debra Paget, also a half-breed) to be contended between the two rugged leads - and Granger, like the James Stewart of THE NAKED SPUR, returns to his job only grudgingly (his remorse at having to kill buffaloes for mere sport and profit is effectively realized).

The latter also suffers in seeing Taylor take Paget for himself - she bravely but coldly endures his approaches, while secretly craving for Granger - and lets out his frustration on the locals at a bar while drunk! Taylor, himself, doesn't come out unscathed from the deal: like the protagonist of THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948), he becomes diffident and jealous of his associates, especially with respect to a rare - and, therefore, precious - hide of a white buffalo they've caught; he even goes buffalo-crazy at one point (as Nolan had predicted), becoming deluded into taking the rumble of thunder for the hooves of an approaching mass of the species! The hunting scenes themselves are impressive - buffaloes stampeding, tumbling to the ground when hit, the endless line-up of the day's catch, and the carcasses which subsequently infest the meadows. The film's atypical but memorable denouement, then, is justly famous: with Winter in full swing, a now-paranoid Taylor out for Granger's blood lies in wait outside a cave (in which the latter and Paget have taken refuge) to shoot him; when Granger emerges the next morning, he discovers Taylor in a hunched position - frozen to death!

Incidentally, my father owns a copy of the hefty source novel of this (by Milton Lott) from the time of the film's original release: actually, he has collected a vast number of such editions - it is, after all, a practice still in vogue - where a book is re-issued to promote its cinematic adaptation. Likewise for the record, Taylor and Granger - who work very well off each other here - had already been teamed (as sibling whale hunters!) in the seafaring adventure ALL THE BROTHERS WERE VALIANT (1953)which, curiously enough, is just as difficult to see (in fact, even more so, considering that it's not even been shown on Italian TV for what seems like ages)!!

A mature, realistic view of the bitter end of the 'Old West.'

[bux · 10/10 · 23 November 1998]

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.

Not for all tastes but courageous.

[dbdumonteil · 22 September 2004]

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.

Oh Give Me a Home....................!

[bsmith5552 · 7/10 · 29 January 2019]

"The Last Hunt" is a grim disturbing tale of the slaughter of the buffalo in the 1880s, a time when the buffalo numbers had dwindled to a mere 3000 head.

The story opens with Sandy McKenzie (Stewart Granger) losing his small herd of cattle to a buffalo stampede. An ex-hunter, Sandy had been planning to set up a small cattle ranch as he was sick of hunting buffalo. Charlie Gibson (Robert Taylor - playing against type) a sadistic hunter, comes along and persuades Sandy to join up with him to go after buffalo. Sandy reluctantly agrees.

To fill out their crew They hire a one-legged skinner named Woodfoot (Lloyd Nolan) and a young red-headed half breed Jimmy O'Brien (Russ Tamblyn). Charlie takes great pleasure in mowing down the helpless buffalo while Sandy shoots the beasts only because he has to. One night a small Indian raiding party steals the group's mules. Charlie goes after them and guns them all down while smiling devilishly as he does it. He wounds a young Indian girl (Debra Paget) and takes her and an orphaned child back to the camp.

Sandy and the girl are attracted to each other but Charlie takes her unto himself, which creates a tension between the two. Among Charlie's kills is a white buffalo whose hide is big medicine to the Indians and a bonus to Charlie as it will fetch a high price. A young brave Spotted Hand (Ed Lonehill) arrives in camp and tries to obtain the white buffalo hide. Charlie claims it as his own and kills the young brave when he challenges Charlie. Unbeknownst to Charlie, Jimmy and the Girl steal the hide to honor Spotted Hand's burial pyre.

Sandy, fed up with the whole mess, decides to go to tow o sell the hides. Sick of the stench of buffalo, he gets all duded up, gets drunk and gets into a saloon brawl with a trio of buffalo hunters (Ainslie Pryor, Dale Van Sickel, Terry Wilson) and the bar tender (Fred Graham). He also gets involved with saloon girl Peg (Constance Ford).

Returning to camp Sandy is at first greeted with open arms by Charlie who quickly becomes angry when he learns that the white buffalo hide was not among the hides sold in town. He quickly suspects that Sandy has stolen the valuable hide. Sandy decides to leave the camp with the girl setting up the inevitable showdown with Charlie.

The scenes of the killing of the buffalo should look realistic as they were actual "thinning out of the herds" shots taken by wildlife sharpshooters.

Others in the cast included Joe DeSantis as the fur dealer Ed Black, Ralph Moody as the Indian Agent and Roy Barcroft as Major Smith the supply officer for the reservation.

Quirky ending.

Gritty Western About Buffalo Hunting

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 1 December 2005]

The Last Hunt is one of the few westerns ever made to deal with Buffalo hunting, both as a sport and business and as a method of winning the plains Indian wars. Before the white man set foot on the other side of the Mississippi, the plains used to have herds of American Bison as large as some of our largest cities. By the time of the period The Last Hunt is set in, the buffalo had been all but wiped out. The 20th century, due to the efforts of conservationists, saw a revival in population of the species, but not hardly like it once was.

Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger are co-starring in a second film together and this one is far superior to All the Brothers Were Valiant. Here Stewart Granger is the good guy, a world weary buffalo hunter, who has to go back to a job he hates because of financial considerations.

The partner he's chosen to throw in with is Robert Taylor. Forgetting Taylor for the moment, I doubt if there's ever been a meaner, nastier soul than Charlie Gilsen who Taylor portrays. In Devil's Doorway he was an American Indian fighting against the prejudice stirred up by a racist played by Louis Calhern. In The Last Hunt, he's the racist here. He kills both buffalo and Indians for pure pleasure. He kills one Indian family when they steal his mules and takes the widow of one captive. Like some barbarian conqueror he expects the pleasure of Debra Paget's sexual favors. He's actually mad when Paget doesn't see it that way.

No matter how often they refer to Russ Tamblyn as a halfbreed, I was never really convinced he was any part Indian. It's the only weakness I found in The Last Hunt.

However Lloyd Nolan, the grizzled old buffalo skinner Taylor and Granger bring along is just great. Nolan steals every scene he's in with the cast.

For those who like their westerns real, who want to see a side of Robert Taylor never seen on screen, and who don't like cheap heroics, The Last Hunt is the ideal hunt.

Far from perfect, but still quite interesting

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 30 December 2007]

This movie is a real mixed bag. In some ways, it's quite intelligent and moving but in other ways the film really misses the mark and could have used a re-write.

First, I admire that the film deals with the senseless slaughter of millions of buffalo in the 19th century. This was such a waste and was a topic worthy of making a film about--but the filmmakers also gave a very mixed message. While the impact on the Indians (mass starvation) and waste of life was portrayed, the prologue also said that the massacre was the result of Whites AND Indians!! This is ridiculous, as the Indians killed buffalo as needed and their impact on the buffalo population was limited--playing moral equivalence was ludicrous! I am certainly no politically correct zombie, but this assertion was stupid. Additionally, many of the buffalo that were killed in the film really were being killed! As a Department of the Interior management decision to thin the remaining herds, this thinning was filmed and the animals that died in the film really did die--something that may make PETA-types cringe or become sick--so be forewarned!! Second, I liked the counter-point of having a man who is sick of the slaughter (Stewart Granger) and the blood-lust of of his partner (Robert Taylor). However, while this juxtaposition is interesting and brought the point home well, it didn't make sense when you think about it. After all, if Granger had enough of the killing, then why did he spend so much time in the film killing?! Plus, Robert Taylor's character was so over-the-top and ludicrously unbelievable that the whole partnership seemed impossible and dumb.

Now there were also several things I did like about the movie. First, I was surprised how effective Stewart Granger was as a Buffalo Bill-type man. He had no trace of his native British accent and was amazingly good. Second, the very end of the film was handled deftly--how the final showdown went down was really great. Third, it was nice to once see that a typical Western cliché is absent. In this film, there is no "hooker with a heart of gold"! Instead, she's kind of ugly and mean and is purely in it for the money! Fourth, When Granger is involved in a bar fight, the song "Yellow Rose of Texas" plays during this battle and is very, very similar to the final climax in GIANT--and I think this was intentional, as both films came out in 1956.

So overall, this is a mixed bag--full of great ideas but poorly executed as well. As a result, it's interesting but quite skip-able.

A terse, brutish outdoor Western!

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 8/10 · 17 July 2000]

The arrival of vast waves of white settlers in the 1800s and their conflict with the Native American residents of the prairies spelled the end for the buffalo...

The commercial killers, however, weren't the only ones shooting bison... Train companies offered tourist the chance to shoot buffalo from the windows of their coaches... There were even buffalo killing contests... "Buffalo" Bill Cody killed thousands of buffalo... Some U. S. government officers even promoted the destruction of the bison herds... The buffalo nation was destroyed by greed and uncontrolled hunting... Few visionaries are working today to rebuild the once-great bison herds...

"The Last Hunt" holds one of Robert Taylor's most interesting and complex performances and for once succeeded in disregarding the theory that no audience would accept Taylor as a heavy guy...

His characterization of a sadistic buffalo hunter, who kills only for pleasure, had its potential: The will to do harm to another...

When he is joined by his fellow buffalo stalker (Stewart Granger) it is evident that these two contrasted characters, with opposite ideas, will clash violently very soon...

Taylor's shooting spree was not limited to wild beasts... He also enjoy killing Indians who steal his horses... He even tries to romance a beautiful squaw (Debra Paget) who shows less than generous to his needs and comfort...

Among others buffalo hunters are Lloyd Nolan, outstanding as a drunken buffalo skinner; Russ Tamblyn as a half-breed; and Constance Ford as the dance-hall girl... But Taylor steals the show... Richard Brooks captures (in CinemaScope and Technicolor) distant view of Buffalos grazing upon the prairie as the slaughter of these noble animals...

The film is a terse, brutish outdoor Western with something to say about old Western myths and a famous climax in which the bad guy freezes to death while waiting all night to gun down the hero...

The Last Hunt

[henry8-3 · 7/10 · 18 October 2022]

Unbalanced and obsessive buffalo hunter, Robert Taylor, teams up with reluctant, but famous hunter Stewart Granger to make a financial killing on buffalo skins as their numbers are decreasing. They are joined by seasoned skinner Lloyd Nolan and young Indian Russ Tamblyn. When their horses are stolen, Taylor hunts and kills the Indians and abducts a young woman and her young son - Granger isn't happy and the divide between them slowly grows.

Intelligent, well written 'western' assisted immeasurably by a superb and atypical turn by Taylor as a really unpleasant piece of work. Granger is also good in a less showy role, tired of the west and the killing - there's a wonderful section where he goes to town and loses it just to get it out of his system. Nolan is fun in the Walter Brennan role, whilst Debra Paget is fine, but with little to do. A brutal film, featuring many uncomfortable scenes of buffalo being shot for real - not for the film - and a number of rather sadistic, crazed scenes from the excellent Taylor, all leading to a neat, rather satisfying, but different climax.

Clearly there are strong messages here around the destruction of the buffalo herds and the treatment of Indians in the US, which may be, in part at least, for its poor box office performance.

This one is not for the squeamish

[AlsExGal · 5/10 · 31 December 2022]

Western drama with Stewart Granger as a would-be rancher who loses his herd in a buffalo stampede. He's convinced by blood-crazed Robert Taylor to join him in buffalo hunting. Along with part native Russ Tamblyn and one-legged coot Lloyd Nolan, they set out for the hunt. They eventually run into some natives, and after Taylor kills the men, he takes native gal Debra Paget to be his in every sense of that word. Eventually Taylor's cohorts grow just as tired of his nonsense as the viewers do. Also featuring Constance Ford as a temperamental "easy woman", Joe De Santis, and Roy Barcroft.

Taylor is usually a wooden plank, but here he's a slightly more animated despicable person. Is his performance good? Well, I really thought he was a despicable person, so I guess so. The filmmakers coordinated with the Wildlife department to allow the annual buffalo herd culling to be done in conjunction with the filming, so the buffalo killings on screen are real. In the end, this was a movie starring two actors I don't really care for, one of them playing a loathsome person, with a story centered around reprehensible aspects of the Old West (cruelty and over-hunting of buffalo, mistreatment of the natives), featuring actual animal deaths. Not exactly a fun afternoon at the Bijou.

Above and beyond

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 28 February 2014]

This MGM western goes above and beyond what most frontier films from the studio were doing, or attempting to do, at this time. And as such, it proves to be not only highly entertaining, but a tribute to what sort of range Robert Taylor has as an actor. He is quite good as an on-screen cad.

Often, Mr. Taylor is put into underwritten romantic leads where the female costar gets all the glory. (The main female in The Last Hunt is the very unassuming Debra Paget.) But this time, the actor has been served a meaty role and he does a convincing job playing against type.

Costar Stewart Granger also gets to dig a little deeper, thanks to Richard Brooks' expert screenplay and direction. The British westerner gets off a few good jabs in a well-staged barroom scene with some redneck Yanks.

A Family Affair

[bobc-5 · 7/10 · 23 November 2002]

Some time in the late 19th century, somewhere in the American West, several cowboys in need of money go on a buffalo hunt. The group's leader believes that buffaloes are too numerous for the hunting to have any impact, but the more experienced hunter has seen how quickly the population can collapse, and he isn't so sure. Featuring buffalo herds living in South Dakota and showing film of actual hunting (the movie's introduction explains it as necessary thinning of the herd), the movie does an excellent job of presenting us with the plight of the buffalo and its effect on Native Americans without ever getting preachy about it.

The real story, however, is about the dysfunctional family which is created by the small group formed to do the hunting. The father figure is Charlie, a violent man with a short fuse. Sandy, his "brother", is the experienced hunter who is tired of killing but needs the job after losing his cattle. A half-Indian boy, who hates the fact that he looks entirely Caucasian, takes the role of adopted son. The grandfather (and moral compass) is an alcoholic buffalo skinner; Charlie's "wife" is an Indian woman whose companions he killed after they stole his horses.

Charlie is clearly the most interesting figure. He is mean and insulting towards everyone around him, yet at the same time he knows that they are the only family and friends that he has. He expects the abducted Indian women to hate him, then accept him, but he doesn't know how to react when she refuses to do either. He's the one who put the family together in the first place, but he's also the one who is fated to ultimately destroy it.

This is all very similar to the classic "Red River", which also features a family of sorts being torn apart by the increasingly violent and alienated father figure. As one might expect, this movie suffers by comparison. The plot is not as focused on developing the characters and family dynamics, and the direction fails to keep all of the scenes working towards this common goal. Charlie is so thoroughly unlikable from the very beginning that we never have any reason to care about what happens to him or his family. On the positive side, however, the message surrounding the buffalo slaughter adds an extra dimension to the film and its conclusion is far superior to the Hollywood ending which was tacked on to the end of "Red River". As a result, "The Last Hunt" is an interesting and entertaining film, very well made, but falling short of what would be needed to consider it a classic.

A depiction of the passing of an era in the old west-the great buffalo hunts

[Mickey-2 · 6/10 · 21 January 2002]

This film, released in 1956, was a character study of two men that had lived by the code of the buffalo hunts. One man, Charlie Gilson, played by Robert Taylor, has never given up on the idea that the buffalo are just a means to make him some easy money by slaughtering the herds and selling the hides to the highest bidder. The other, Sandy McKenzie, played by Stewart Granger, has quit that idea and tried to start over. However, the two antagonists form an uneasy partnership and go out on one last hunt. They are joined by an old hideskinner, Woodfoot, played by Lloyd Nolan, and a half-breed, played by Russ Tamblyn.

It is a study in how a person's desire for an easy kill can drive one into eventual madness, or decay of the senses. Pacing of the film is a bit slow, but the cast does make the film watchable.

A retired buffalo hunter is persuaded to take up the profession again in order to re-stock his ranch.

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 19 May 2017]

NOTES: Locations in Custer State Park in South Dakota and the United States National Monument at Badlands. The producers express their deep appreciation to the officials and to Governor Joe Foss of South Dakota.

COMMENT: A grim and unsavory tale which, though well acted, is often horrifying to watch. Taylor gives his best performance ever as the sadistic bad guy. Lloyd Nolan makes the most of his dramatic opportunities too, but the unusually colorless Stewart Granger is poorly treated by Richard Brooks in both his capacities as writer and director, aside from one good scene in which he stymies Constance Ford's saloon girl, manhandles Fred Graham's barman and generally takes on all comers at the Golden Ace saloon (or whatever it is).

Debra Paget makes a rather subdued Indian widow, while Russ Tamblyn does what he can with the somewhat unrewarding role of the conventional juvenile. But it's Taylor's film and he doesn't let anyone — not even the scenery or the buffaloes — forget it!

Robert Taylor in his best role & Steward Granger superb, too

[wmjahn · 10/10 · 26 January 2007]

Like most other reviewers I have first seen this movie (on TV, never on the big screen), when I was a teenager. My Dad has always regarded this film highly and recommended it to me then, and I must say he was not only right, but this movie has stayed with me forever in the more than 2 decades since I saw it first time. I have seen it two or three more times since then (just a few days ago I gave it another watch) and it has not lost anything of its impact with time. It still a great and well worth to be seen movie! Manr regard Peckinpah's RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY as one of the first and best later western, which had a realistic look at life in the old west, but the hardly known LAST HUNT is definitely the better movie and was even half a dozen years earlier. Actually it was probably 3 decades ahead of its time, or maybe it still is ...

Although thinking hard and having certainly seen 100s of western (I like this genre) I can not remember any western as bleak and depressive as this one. Two men bound together, partly by hate, partly by not seeming to have other choices, surrounded by beautiful Ms. Padget, a crippled old man and a young Inian, leading the life of buffalo-killers until fate reaches out for one of them.

Nobody who has ever seen this movie will be able to forget its ending and the last frames of this gem. When the camera moves on and away from Mr. Taylor a white buffalo skin comes into sight (on a tree)and echos from the past, when all the hatred began, are present again. Mr. Taylor has got his buffalo, but in the end the buffalo got him.

Aside from the top performances of everybody involved, the intelligent script and the great dialogue, it should also be mentioned, that THE LAST HUNT is superbly photograped, I have seldomely seen a western that well shot (aside from the ones directed by Anthony Mann, which are also all superbly photographed), that all the locations are cleverly chosen and that even the soundtrack fits the picture very well.

And director BROOKS is really a superb storyteller. Master craftsmanship!He has made quite a couple of really great movies and was successful in nearly every imaginable genre, but even in an as prolific career as this one, THE LAST HUNT still shines as one of his best, if not his best.

Definitely would deserve a higher rating, compared to the 7-something RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY enjoys.

A revisionist western treating Native Indians with respect and criticizing the killing bravado of gunslingers

[JuguAbraham · 7/10 · 2 October 2018]

Director/scriptwriter Richard Brooks made me sit up with his 1965 film "Lord Jim," which was a fine adaptation of the Joseph Conrad's novel. Brooks has adapted the story of Milton Lott and written the script of this earlier 1956 film "The Last Hunt" that he directed. This western is unusual on several counts.

It is humanistic. It respects the Native Indian community. It is pro-conservation of the wild buffalo that once roamed USA. It is against the "bang bang" killings that made westerns so popular. It gives importance to tiny tots.

What is commendable is to have the handsome Robert Taylor play the anti-hero after getting the top billing. Taylor as a dumb good looking gunslinger who sleeps with women using ability to kill as a threat.

Director Stanley Kubrick evidently copied a critical end sequence for his own film "The Shining," made decades later.

If the film belongs to anyone, it belongs to Brooks and to the majestic wild buffalo.

the last hunt 1955/56

[bastrop-1 · 8/10 · 11 October 2006]

I had watched several days film shooting of this movie that summer,the end result was just two scenes in the movie. The location was Sylvan Lake in the Black Hills. Bring the wagon,stop the wagon etc . So this Dakota youth looked forward to seeing the movie and was not disappointed. The local buffalo herd was being culled so the shooting scenes were for real. (yes Doris, animals were hurt during filming) I think the ending was copied by Jack Nicholson in the Shining? A great western/social comment from the 50's. This should be in the same class as High Noon for real western drama or used as a social statement like Blackboard Jungle or Rebel Without A Cause was for 50's youth.

Killing's like...err, like the only real proof you are alive.

[hitchcockthelegend · 9/10 · 20 November 2012]

The Last Hunt is directed by Richard Brooks who also adapts the screenplay from the novel of the same name written by Milton Lott. It stars Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger, Debra Paget, Lloyd Nolan and Russ Tamblyn. Out of MGM it's a CinemaScope/Eastman Color production with music by Daniele Amfitheatrof and cinematography by Russell Harlan.

Buffalo hunter Sandy McKenzie (Granger) is tired of the hunt, but after a quirk of fate leaves him financially struggling, he accepts an invitation from Charles Gilson (Taylor) to go out on another profitable hunt. But when out on the range, Charlie starts to show a sadistic streak, and after his capture of an Indian girl (Paget), the two men are driven even further apart. Something will have to give.

It's quite often forgotten that one of the key weapons of war is food. The buffalo was an integral animal to the Native American way of life for a number of reasons, be it food, shelter, clothes or religious worth, it was an animal of great substance. So killing them off was a viable tactic for the white man during the Indian wars. The start of Richard Brooks' film tells us that in 1853 there were 60 million buffalo in the West, but within 30 years their number would be only 30 thousand...

What unfolds in this bleak but most potent of pictures, is a tale of men emotionally battered, albeit differently, by the war, a tale tinted (tainted) by racism and ecological concerns. Essentially it's Granger's tired of it all Sandy McKenzie against Taylor's blood lust racist Charles Gilson. In the middle is Paget's Indian girl, who is courted by McKenzie but owned unwillingly by Gilson, while on the outskirts observing are the skinners, half-breed Jimmy (Tamblyn) and Woodfoot (Nolan). McKenzie can barely pull the trigger to shoot the buffalo, his inner torment etched all over his face, but Gilson can fire rapidly, a maniacal glee surfaces with each buffalo death he administers. To Gilson, one less buffalo is one less Indian, his hatred of the Indian born out when he gets chance to kill those Indians that come to be in his way.

Is it the same kind of feeling you get around a woman?

The screenplay positively pings with intelligence and thought for its subjects, crucial given that it is essentially an intimate five character piece. Brooks is aware that the themes dwelling in his movie need to be handled with care, to take a sledgehammer to make a point would be wrong. With the exception of Paget (not her fault as she plays it as written) he garners great performances from his cast, with Taylor and Granger excellent and proving to be good foil for each other. Taylor has Gilson as outright scary and nasty, but there is a shade of sympathy asked of us viewers for he is a troubled mind. When a rumble of thunder pierces the sky above the group's camp, Gilson thinks it's a buffalo herd in flight, off he goes frantically in search of more kills, practically frothing at the mouth. This man clearly needs help, but out there on the frontier there is no help for battle scarred minds.

With actual footage of buffalo killings cut into the film (part of the government thinning of the herd programme), there's plenty to feel sombre about. However, there is great beauty to be found by way of Russell Harlan's photography out of Badlands National Park and Custer State Park. These lands were once home to much pain and misery, but forever beautiful they be and in Harlan's hands they offer up another reason why The Last Hunt is essential viewing for the Western fan. It's brilliant, one of the unsung classics of 50s Westerns and proof positive that Robert Taylor, when challenged to do so, could indeed act very well. 9/10

Mediocre "Civil Rights" Western with added animal rights theme

[doug-balch · 4/10 · 22 May 2010]

A mediocre "Civil Rights" Western that uses the historical setting to negatively portray racism. Added into the mix here is an animal rights message. It's quaint to see how politically incorrect liberals were in the mid-50's. Not only is a white woman used to play the squaw lead, but many live buffalo are killed on screen during the movie. Even though it is revealed during the initial credits that it was filmed during a federally mandated herd thinning, it would be very controversial to portray this images today.

This movie's probably a little overrated because it was written and directed by Richard Brooks, who made a bunch of movies that were much better than this (The Blackboard Jungle, Elmer Gantry, In Cold Blood among others).

Here's what was good about the movie:

• This is a really nice performance by Robert Taylor as an unrepentant racist and killer driven mad by his sins.

• The main theme of the relationship between killing, hate and insanity is interesting and sophisticated.

• Nice scenes with buffalo, even if it is a little disturbing to see them shot down for real.

• Kind of "cool" ending.

Here's some of things that brought it down:

• Overall the plot and script were ragged. The movie does not flow well and has awkward transitions.

• I didn't buy Stuart Granger as a frontiersman. Looked like he was hanging out in a gay Manhattan piano bar to me.

• Much of the film takes place in very phony looking sound stage/campsites.

• The movie just beats you over the head with it racism and animal rights themes. There is no attempt to obfuscate or embed the themes in the plot or characterizations.

• A little too maudlin in its depiction of the Indians.

Robert Taylor is magnificent in an Oscar worthy performance!

[mamalv · 10/10 · 1 March 2005]

This is the most compelling and excellent performance that Robert Taylor ever gave. It even surpasses his wonderful performance as "Johnny Eager" coming a full 14 years after that film. His looks are still a wonder to see, but he has a maturity now that gives him the edge in this gritty, violent role. Charlie Gilson (Taylor) is the last of his breed, a buffalo hunter who kills not for the money but for the pleasure. His wild eyed killing of not only buffalo but human beings, is stunning to watch. He is basically a lonely man, needing the people around him, but they dislike him because of his sociopath behavior. His partner is Sandy McKenzie (Stewart Granger) who is sick of the hunt, and only goes along, because he is a failure at anything else. Along the way Charlie kills a family of Indians and captures the beautiful Debra Pagent. Charlie tries to seduce her to no avail, but sees that Sandy is interested in her also. Granger is kind of sad to watch, so fed up with the hunt, longing to go away with the girl and her baby. Lloyd Nolan as the drunken skinner is wonderful with his wise cracks and accordian playing. Russ Tamblyn plays the half breed trying to fit in a white world. The group is an odd mix of good and evil, young and old. In the end Taylor gets spooked by the buffalo, as many hunters before him had, and runs off leaving Sandy with the girl. Upon his return, that night Sandy leaves with the woman, setting Charlie off on a rampage of killing in a quest to get Sandy and have the girl for himself. The final confrontation comes in a snow storm and the last scene is so shocking that you will never forget it. It is Taylor's film all the way and he was truly a much underrated actor of the era.

Taylor's best performance

[ajb60-1 · 8/10 · 7 July 2006]

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.