As always an incredible performance by Kirk Douglas as an outlaw/ drifter on a quest to meet his great love. He's being chased by a Texas lawman played by Rock Hudson. Despite the venue, horses, cattle drive and Mexicans this isn't really a western IMHO. It's a love story draped with western gear. Jack Elam & Neville Brand are essentially wasted. Joseph Cotten as the husband of Douglas' lost love is a sympathetic drunk who gets the kind of back draw justice you might in a Mexican bar. Carol Lynley is beautiful as Dorothy Malone's daughter and Kirk's replacement love interest. The tale feels like it has Biblical elements to it on it's most important level. Ultimately it's worth watching for Kirk's performance whether angry, charming or in love. The crime of which he is accused is clearly just a plot device to get everybody together. I just kept wondering how hot it must be dressed in black in Mexico on a cattle drive?
Review of The Last Sunset
