User Reviews

The Last Sunset is directed by Robert Aldrich and adapted by Dalton Trumbo from Howard Rigsby's novel Sundown at Crazy Horse. It stars Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, Dorothy Malone, Joseph Cotton and Carol Lynley. In support are Jack Elam, Neville Brand & James Westmoreland. The music score is by Ernest Gold, with contributions from Dimitri Tiomkin & Tomás Méndez, and Ernest Laszlo is the cinematographer. It's shot in Eastman Color by Pathe, with the locations for the shoot being Aguascalientes & Distrito Federal in Mexico.

Brendan O'Malley (Douglas) is on the run and drifts into Mexico where he arrives at the home of old flame Belle Breckenridge (Malone). She resides with her drunkard husband John (Cotton) and her daughter Melissa, they are in preparation for a cattle drive to Texas. Hot on O'Malley's heels is lawman Dana Stribling (Hudson) who has a very personal reason for getting him back for justice to be served. Making an uneasy agreement, both men join the Breckenridge's on the drive. As they near Texas the tensions start to mount, not least because Stribling is starting to court Belle and O'Malley is increasingly drawn by her daughter Missy.

Lyrical, contemplative and evocative, three words you wouldn't readily associate with the director of Ulzana's Raid, The Longest Yard and The Dirty Dozen. Yet all three words are very fitting for this underseen Robert Aldrich movie. Although containing many of the basic elements that made up the American Western film's of the 50s, The Last Sunset has a very intriguing screenplay by Trumbo from which to flourish. The story is crammed full of sexual neurosis, yearnings, regret, hate, revenge and forbidden love. If that all sounds very "Greek Tragedy" then that's probably about right, as is the film being likened to a Western done by Douglas Sirk. It is melodramatic, but it does have moments of levity and up tempo action sequences, too. It's a very rounded picture, with very well formed characters, characters very well brought to life by the mostly on form cast. All played out amongst some gorgeous scenic panorama's that Aldrich and Laszlo have managed to make seem as poetic observers to the unfolding drama.

Some of it's odd, and the film is far from flawless (Cotten is poor, Elam & Brand underused), but the little irks are easily forgiven when judging the film as a whole. Lyrical, contemplative and evocative: indeed. 8/10

You might know by now that I'm not the biggest western fan. I picked up The Last Sunset for the cast, expecting to groan at the end and complain about my wasted time. What I mistakenly judged to be a boring western turned out to be a very touching, well-acted drama! It just happened to take place in the land of cowboys and horses.

Kirk Douglas comes back into the life of old-flame Dorothy Malone, but it's been nearly twenty years since they've seen each other and she's moved on. She's married to Joseph Cotton and has a daughter, Carol Lynley, but the sparks still fly between her and her old beau. Rock Hudson shows up and lines up for Dorothy's attention-and that's just the beginning!

So often in love triangles, there are clear good and bad guys, and the characters are one-dimensional, so the audience can mentally check out and blindly root for the man in the white hat. Dalton Trumbo's script, based off of Howard Rigsby's novel, features wonderfully three-dimensional characters, each with strengths and weaknesses so the audience understands why Dorothy Malone can't make up her mind. It's a truly riveting story, sure to capture even more of your emotions when Carol Lynley enters the romantic arena. She and Kirk Douglas share a very different romance from Dorothy and Kirk; it's sweet, pure, and truly lovely, but is it sustainable? He's seen so much more of the world, and their scenes together are very moving. While everyone in the film gives great performances, Carol and Kirk steal the show. She's so incredibly sweet, and his unspoken emotions radiate off the screen. You might not find yourself reaching for your Kleenexes, but I certainly did! I won't spoil anything, but the last few scenes have stayed with me long after I watched them. I wish I could elaborate on how wonderful Kirk Douglas's performance is, but that would involve major spoilers. Just rent it; you'll be in for a real treat.

If you like your romances heavy with drama, or you like the idea of having to choose between Kirk Douglas and Rock Hudson, or if you've ever seen beyond forever in someone's eyes, rent The Last Sunset! And if you invite me over for a movie night, I'll bring the tissues.

A weird Western by the maestro Robert Aldrich , it deals with Brendan O'Malley,(Kirk Douglas) a previous gunslinger, arrives in Mexico to meet her old lover Belle Breckenridge ( Dorothy Malone) ,married to alcoholic rancher, John Breckenridge (Joseph Cotten), as he is hired and prepares to lead a flock to Texas. In the footsteps of O'Malley goes Dana Stribling,(Rod Hudson), a vindictive sheriff who seeks revenge because O'Malley killed his brother-in-law. Both of them are joined on a cattle drive to Breckenridge , his wife Belle and daughter Missy. The tension will enhance when Stribling starts to woo Belle and O'Malley his daughter Missy (Carol Linley).

This is a typical but amazing Western with romantic touches, it's well written by the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo and led by Aldrich with an impressive agility , harmony and strength . This interesting film keeps afloat by the skills of their all star cast , but driven along by powerful direction which compels and sustains interest by careful concentration of the interpretations themselves. The relationship between Kirk Douglas and the adolescent girl marvelously played by Carol Linley is wonderful , with some moments that result to be deeply sensible and the chemical between Hudson and Douglas is also evident, and Kirk Douglas comes out in its action. Douglas makes the best interpretation of the film , laughing, dancing and singing Mexican songs , but his role is really impulsive and tragic. Rock Hudson as Stribling also makes a nice character , he plays an exciting cat-and mouse game with O'Malley. Both females , Dorothy Malone and his daughter Carol Lynley show an amazing beauty, they play pretty well their characters. And of course, phenomenal Joseph Cotten who steals the show as a veteran confederate drunk. Filmed in colorful cinematography by Ernest Laszlo , perfectly remasterized, it is shot on locations in Aguascalients and Mexico City Distrito Federal. It contains an atmospheric and appropriate musical score by Ernest Gold .The motion picture is well directed by Robert Aldrich , an expert on violent Western such as he proved in ¨ Veracruz ¨, ¨Apache¨and ¨Ulzana's raid ¨, but also on humorous Western as ¨Four for Texas¨ and ¨the Frisko kid¨ . The talent for vigorous Western/tragedy that Aldrich shows was never as evident again. Rating : very good, better than average and wholesome watching.

Enemies Bren O'Malley and Dana Stribling confront each other in Mexico, and are then hired by the Breckenridge family to help drive a herd of cattle north to Texas. The two men observe a truce which will last until they have crossed the Rio Grande, but at sunset on the first day back in Texas, there will be a reckoning. For one of them, it will be the last sunset.

Made in 1961, this film is a fine example of an art form that was dying - the 1950's western. John Wayne carried on making them for a few years more (and arguably up to "The Shootist"), but by 1964, three years after this picture, the Spaghetti Western had arrived, and the genre was transformed for ever. The 1950's in Europe and America was an era of social stability - some would say stagnation - and the western reflected the values of the rigid, disciplined society which produced it. Plots did not vary much, innovation not being something that audiences craved, and storylines turned on predictable devices like cattle stampedes, indians on the skyline, fast draws and a man doing what a man's got to do. This film happens to contain all of these stock ingredients.

Man's desire for woman is a theme running through the story in deftly-worked permutations. Dalton Trumbo's better than average script has older men lusting after younger women, men harbouring fantasies of lost love, bad guys leering at decent matrons, and much more. Belle is made a chattle in her husband's droving contract, and receives a new proposal of marriage under the flying buttresses of a Mexican church. In keeping with the film's symbolic structure, she reserves her response until the Rio Grande has been crossed (Mexico seems to preserve the Americans in aspic, preventing them from advancing their plans, just as the church architecture encloses Belle and her lover).

"The Last Sunset" is several cuts above the average western. Its plot situation, the pursuit of one man by another and the involvement of a ranching family, is neatly established at the outset with minimal dialogue. The immediate sexual electricity between O'Malley and Belle engages the viewer, and O'Malley's little comic touches convey his charm and 'open him up' for the viewer. Belle's inner conflict is quickly made plain for us, and O'Malley's behaviour (graciously allowing her to leave the barn) is psychologically interesting, suggesting that he is certain of her. We want to know more about these characters. Much is achieved with the merest of glances, as when Breckenridge tells O'Malley "everything that's mine is yours", and O'Malley darts a look at Belle, or the glance thrown by Stribling when he realises why O'Malley is taking the appalling risk of returning to Texas.

Expert editing by Michael Luciano enhances the effectiveness of the movie considerably. When O'Malley teaches the Julesburg Kid a lesson on horseback, elliptical cutting skilfully evokes the Kid's sense of dizziness and confusion. At the final shoot-out, the accelerating rapidity of the cuts increases the tension brilliantly. There is one small lapse at the start of the cattle drive - the pick-up shot of O'Malley fording the river (overcast sky) does not match the master shot (bright sunshine).

O'Malley's song, "Pretty Girl In The Yellow Dress", runs through the film as a motif. It is a central symbol, because O'Malley's idealistic and doomed vision of Belle is transferred to Missy when she dons the dress - "a new smell to follow".

Admirable though it is, the film does have some weak points. Would Breckenridge REALLY accept O'Malley's second precondition? Would the wily O'Malley REALLY shoot the indian so rashly? The grassy bank on which O'Malley and Missy recline is patently a studio fabrication, bearing no resemblance to the parched earth of the location shots. Stribling's final comment on the derringer is clumsy overkill. We all got the point.

Good use is made of locations, especially old Spanish architecture like the crumbling aqueduct. The brick arches seem to be enveloping the Americans, just as their lives are stalled by being here in Mexico. Attractively-shot silhouettes adorn the dust-storm sequence, particularly during the quicksand episode. Once back in Texas, O'Malley is emblematically shut in by corral fences, a man left with nowhere to go. The film's great punchline, delivered by Belle on the verandah, is truly shocking.

Kirk Douglas and Rock Hudson, O'Malley and Stribling respectively, appear above the title (Douglas's own production company, named after his mother, financed the picture). Douglas is appealing and charismatic in one of his many 'generous-hearted bad guy' roles. Hudson is perfectly adequate in the straight-down-the-line part of Stribling, and looks terrific. The character of Belle, with her internal contradictions and the aura of having been buffeted by life, calls for an actress with both beauty and intelligence. Dorothy Malone is ideal in the role. Carol Lynley does very well as Missy, making a great transition from gawky kid to radiant woman. If Joseph Cotten fails to shine, it must be said that the part of Breckenridge is a dreary one. Neville Brand and Jack Elam turn in stock performances: as jobbing bad guys throughout the 1950's and early 60's, they must hardly ever have needed to shave.

Verdict - Interesting western with powerful denouement.

Terrific western-drama from director Robert Aldrich has sheriff Rock Hudson tracking lawless Kirk Douglas to a rancher's homestead; they soon find themselves agreeing to take part in a grueling cattle-drive, and to work out their differences along the way. Breathtakingly photographed adventure has three-dimensional characters, good writing by Dalton Trumbo and solid acting (particularly by Douglas and fresh-faced Carol Lynley, well-cast as a youngster with a crush on Kirk). The melodrama gets a little thick at times, though odd flickers of humor quickly intercede whenever things start to get too mawkish. *** from ****

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?

The Last Sunset is an interesting western that is more story driven than many earlier westerns. A fugitive and a lawman chasing him join a cattle drive and take an interest in a woman and her daughter.

Although a bit too plodding in places, there are enough surprises throughout the film to make this a less predictable film than many of it's contemporaries. It all builds towards a surprising and welcome ending.

Kirk Douglas is at his captivating best as the anti-hero. He easily outshines Rock Hudson but to be fair his character is far more interesting. Good support is provided by Dorothy Malone and I thought Carol Lynley did a good job as the daughter.

With a more energetic script this really could have been a great western and it's a shame that despite the great final scenes, it is merely above average. Saying that it's still worth watching for fans of the western genre.

An unpretentious Western told in an honest, straightforward manner.

Robert Aldrich does a very controlled job directing a story straddling the Texas Mexico border, a story told at a steady pace but rarely reaching memorable highs. The film has many elements of the classic Western including a chase, cattle drive and gunfight but it also tries to add some melodramatic, pure story based elements - though one major plot point was so well signposted, it might as well have been included in the opening credits.

Kirk Douglas, as Brendan O'Malley, provides the barely controlled dynamism at the centre of the film. Unfortunately, not all parts of the film are to this standard. Rock Hudson has difficulties with the role of the upstanding sheriff. A strong supporting cast, from Joseph Cotton to Jack Elam, provides a wide, interesting range of characters.

Overall, a solid if unspectacular film, recommended for Western and Kirk Douglas fans. 6.75.

Director Aldrich must have known what he was doing... he produced AND directed Bette Davis in two pictures after making The Last Sunset! Kirk Douglas, Joseph Cotton, and Rock Hudson were all seasoned actors by the time this film was made. To a certain extent, this is a typical western, with the usual cattle drive, the fist-fights and gunfights, run-ins with the Indians, even Mariachi music, which was quite good. Through-out the film, you can feel the tension between Stribling (Hudson) and O'Malley (Douglas). Also along are a woman and her daughter (Dorothy Malone, Carol Lynley), adding more excitement to the mix. When three more suspicious characters join up to help on the drive, there is even more tension and mystery. We are told right off that Stribling has a warrant to bring in O'Malley, so we know to expect a showdown at some point. and when it DOES come, there are some surprises. I think its the strong talent that sets this western above the many others. This is part of the 2006 Rock Hudson DVD Collection from Universal, which also contains Has Anybody Seen my Gal, A Very Special Favor, Golden Blade, Spiral Road.

The one and only teaming of Kirk Douglas and Rock Hudson in The Last Sunset was a fortunate one. Kirk's production company Bryna put this film together and the wise Kirk knew what he was doing when he took the flashier and meatier part of the villain.

In that regard The Last Sunset is similar to Gunfight at the OK Corral where the straight arrow hero of Wyatt Earp played by Burt Lancaster took a definite second place to Douglas's Doc Holiday. As Brendan O'Malley, Douglas is one devilishly charming one with the ladies and fast on the draw as all get out.

In fact Douglas's libido seems to get him in a whole lot of trouble. It's the reason that sheriff Dana Stribling played by Rock Hudson is down and out of his jurisdiction in Mexico chasing O'Malley. It's more than a job with Stribling as you'll see in the film.

While in Mexico Douglas meets an old flame of his, Dorothy Malone there with her husband Joseph Cotten and daughter Carol Lynley. Both he and Hudson strike an unusual bargain with the family. They'll aid them in their cattle drive to the American side of the Rio Grande, but then Douglas and Hudson will have it out.

Sounds crazy, but all will be revealed to the viewer before the film is over, although I'm sure some will guess.

Hudson got the far less glamorous part of a straight law and order sheriff. He has his moments, but the film really turns on the personality and charm and considerable talent of Kirk Douglas. This is definitely one of his top ten performances on film. Sad it isn't shown more often.

Dorothy Malone was doing very well around this time as a portrayer of western women. Her career really took off after that Oscar in Written on the Wind. She's the epitome of a strong willed pioneer woman who had to bend a few conventions to survive.

The Last Sunset is a great western, the usual amount of traditional western activity with some very adult themes in this which I just can't reveal lest it ruin one's viewing.

Major portions of this movie were filmed on my grandfather's ranch "La Presa" in Aguascalientes, Mexico. My family and the locals still remember the excitement of hosting Hollywood stars and a film crew in such an unlikely place. Throughout the film the actors make factually correct references to the local villages and towns. And although most of these people only viewed the movie once (during its initial run in 1961) they remember the plot and the excitement of hearing the names of their villages uttered by stars on the big screen. And while Aguascalientes cannot claim to be a cult destination a la "Giant" (Rock Hudson again), they remain proud of their footnote in film history.

I personally recall the loud arguments my father (living in the USA at the time) would have with his cousin Salvador, who swore that Rock Hudson had been seen in town with the local (and few) homosexuals. In 1961, my father believed that it was impossible for Rock to be anything but the All-American (straight) male image he projected on the screen. My dad laughs about it now.

THE LAST SUNSET grips you from the start with Rock Hudson hunting down Kirk Douglas for killing his brother in law and then causing his sister to commit suicide.

Kirk is a nasty character who packs a Derringer, a small pistol normally used by women or for the purpose of shooting someone at very close range, unexpectedly, and often in the back. In the end, though, he turns out to be more decent than initially imaginable.

The acting is solid, Aldrich's direction typically competent, photography is passable color, stunts and action sequences OK -- Dorothy Malone and Kirk's daughter are beautiful pluses.

The minus comes from the choice of weapons in the final duel: Kirk looks positively ridiculous trying to draw his Derringer against Hudson's Colt .45.

Oh, well, it's watchable fare if you have about 90' to spare.

Two men turn up at a Mexican ranch and join a cattle drive north to Texas. One is a refugee from justice, who also loved the ranch-owner's wife long ago. The other is the lawman that is hunting the first, bearing a grudge as well as the law. Things can change on the long drive north but the truce between them is bound to be broken; when and how is the question.

This melodrama-set-in-cowboy-style has all the ingredients to make it a great film; a good scriptwriter, a great director, and a fine cast. However the end result is at best good in parts, and at worst pretty hopeless.

The main protagonists in making this film variously either were distracted or just phoned it in, and it shows. Aldrich said of it that making this film was an unpleasant experience but did also comment that the end result would have been a lot better if everyone concerned had approached it with the same professionalism as Hudson did.

Really this is a melodrama with a rather unrealistic plot (and very many sub-plots, some a bit risqué for 1961) in a western setting. As a drama maybe it still works but as a 'straight' (i.e.1950s style) western it lacks credibility and realism in nearly every respect.

For example Hudson appears at the end of a long ride and he looks like he had just stepped out of a dressing room (which he probably had). Not a mark on him. And Kirk Douglas wears the kind of outfit that no cowboy ever did, remaining elegantly coiffed more or less throughout.

One thing I found quite distracting was the time of day it was meant to be; they talk of mornings, evenings and night time, but there seemed to be little action shooting that didn't occur (randomly) around midday. Thus shadows appear, disappear, and vary in length nonsensically considering the time of day it is meant to be. one moment we are looking at a sunset and the next they are standing on their shadows. Likewise clouds appear, change, disappear equally randomly.

So there are things that not really good enough and that distract from the main plot for sure, but what remains is still a reasonable film. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either; there are much worse films in this genre and this has an interesting plot, reminiscent of greek tragedy, even if it is unrealistic.

So a bit flawed but still enjoyable; 6/10 from me.

"The Last Sunset" (1961) rates in the top 30-40% among Hollywood's Westerns. The No.1 reason is Kirk Douglas' altogether credible, nuanced acting as the villain you both love to hate and almost love. Douglas' Brendan 'Bren' O'Malley is a man who practically makes black grey. This is all the more surprising when one catches the ongoing, disturbing incestuous subtext between the O'Malley character and his daughter/lover. The No.2 reason that makes "The Last Sunset" a good film is the sulfurous Dorothy Malone. Her powerful, on screen sexuality is thoroughly charismatic and satisfying – without the need to show off feminine flesh or unduly flirt. The film's directing is surprisingly mundane. Joseph Cotten's character of John Breckinbridge shows that Cotten at this stage in his career couldn't act his way out of the paper bag his bad booze comes in. While Rock Hudson is his usual big, lumpy self. He's a statue that talks and "no rock" -- to paraphrase both James Dean & Doris Day on this embarrassingly awful actor. In spite of the film's standard cattle drive story, ordinary setting, and almost ordinary story line – it rises above its limitations, carried there on the artful shoulders of two fine actors (K. Douglas and D. Malone); and, not forgetting, a use of photography that lingers just a satisfying moment too long on their disturbing, penetrating features.

Everything is quite alright in the acting department here.

But the plot leaves to be desired. Why 1:52 or so, when the plot contains so much lengthy dribble?

The usual bandits, the usual Indians, plenty of cows and horses move along some path to their destination.

While actually everything is about some love stories, lost love, new found love, a tad of hatred because of one guy having killed some people for somewhat unclear reasons.

Actually, I am under the impression that the person who drafted the plot was mostly in for the developments in the love department. And, yet again, with some potentially interesting angles here. Mother and daughter, same-same.

Sorry for the irony, but in comparison to really good westerns, this one is on the lousy side.

The gunman Brendan O'Malley (Kirk Douglas) crosses the border riding to Mexico and arrives at the ranch of Belle Breckenridge (Dorothy Malone). He asks to spend the night in the place and meets her daughter Melissa (Carol Lynley). Belle was his sweetheart and now is married with the drunkard and coward John Breckenridge (Joseph Cotton), but O'Malley still has a crush on her. John hires O'Malley to lead his herd to Texas; however, Sheriff Dana Stribling (Rock Hudson) is hunting O'Malley to serve a warrant for the death of his brother-in-law and also arrives in the farm, where he does not have jurisdiction to arrest O'Malley. Stribling also accepts to work for John, bringing the cattle to Texas, and promises to deliver O'Malley to the law in the arrival. Along their journey, John dies and the travelers face Indians and outlaws; Stribling woos and is flirted by Belle, increasing the tension between the two men. Nevertheless, Missy falls in love for O'Malley and seduces him, but Belle discloses a secret that leads O'Malley to an ultimate decision in the last sunset in the borderland.

"The Last Sunset" is an unforgettable western with a mature romance and a plot point with a subtle incestuous relationship that leads to a tragic conclusion. The cinematography and the camera work are impressive with amazing sequences in the desert with actors, actresses and stunts riding horses and conducting cattle in the sandy soil. Kirk Douglas, Rock Hudson, Dorothy Malone and Carol Lynley have remarkable performances, and the beauty of Carol Lynley is something awesome with her doll face. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Último Pôr-do-Sol" ("The Last Sunset")

The 1950s and early 60s psychological western at its best, in films like "Naked Spur", "Liberty Valance" and "Seven Men From Now", skillfully melded character with action to achieve a mood of uneasy, exciting ambiguity. At its worst, as in "High Noon" or "Shane", this sub genre devolved into pure good guy versus bad guy morality play or high school civics lesson. Or, as here, it soft peddled the western part and went way overboard on the psychology piece to the point where it feels like Kirk Douglas' character, gunman Brendan O'Malley, has spent six months in a desert mental wellness facility, under the twin care of Dr. Trumbo and Dr. Aldrich, being treated for acute schizophrenia, sadism, repressed rage, delusion and sexual perversion. It is a credit to Douglas' acting ability that he manages not only to survive this two hour therapy session without embarrassing himself but is actually fun to watch. As for the other cast members they range from decent (Dorothy Malone, Carol Lynley) to hambone (Joseph Cotten, deciding that Irish equals scenery chewing) to stolidly dull (Rock Hudson, who is tasked with the unenviable role of the anti Douglas). And the complete wastage of two of the great western character actors, Jack Elam and Neville Brand, makes you want to shake both Trumbo and Aldrich in hopes that they'll come to their senses. C plus, mostly for Kirk.