Watch Last Train from Gun Hill For Free

A lot of fun.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn do well in this rather over looked Western from acclaimed director John Sturges. While it doesn't really aspire to greatness, it's an appealing, compelling, nicely acted story of two old friends reunited under unfortunate circumstances. Kirk is Marshal Matt Morgan, whose Indian wife Catherine (Israeli actress Ziva Rodann) is raped and murdered by two men. One of them is Rick Belden (Earl Holliman), weakling son of Quinns' small town boss Craig Belden. When Matt figures out whodunit, he becomes determined to bring Rick to justice, no matter if it means going up against a former comrade.Even though suspense is limited (there was never any doubt in this viewers' mind as to how things would develop), it's a pleasure to watch Kirk and Quinn square off. Appreciably, Quinn isn't portrayed as a purely one dimensional villain. At times he is likable, and he does appear to genuinely care for his son, even if he does think he is foolish. The supporting cast is equally strong, with Carolyn Jones of 'The Addams Family' fame in one of her better big screen roles, as the local gal who sympathizes with Matt. Holliman is fun as the weaselly Rick. Also appearing are Brad Dexter and Val Avery, whom Sturges directed in "The Magnificent Seven" '60, future director Brian G. Hutton ("Kelly's Heroes") as the sleazy Lee Smithers, Bing Russell (the deputy on 'Bonanza' and the father of Kurt R.) as Skag, and Walter Sande ("Bad Day at Black Rock") as an ineffectual sheriff. Among those in uncredited bits are William 'Billy' Benedict, Dabbs Greer, John Anderson, Ty Hardin, and Glenn Strange.In addition to having an antagonist rather than a true villain as Matts' opponent, we get a hero whose dedication and sense of purpose are admirable, although he could also be seen as being just plain stubborn.Pleasing VistaVision photography and a rousing Dimitri Tiomkin score make this entertaining to watch, and there's a mildly exciting set piece involving a burning building.Seven out of 10.

Despite the big names—Quinn, Douglas, director Sturgis—the western's nothing special. The story starts off powerfully with the assault and murder of Matt's wife; at the same time, the suspense is built into the soured friendship between Craig and Matt since it's Craig's son Rick (Holliman) who's perpetrated the assault. Now Matt wants to bring him to justice despite dad's opposition. On the other hand, Carolyn Jones' shady lady fits in somewhere. Trouble is that like too many A-oaters of the time, this one suffers from bloat as producers load up with stars and extended runtime, likely to compete with TV. Then too, the plot's clearly derivative from the preceding year's 3:10 To Yuma, as other reviewers point out. And that's even down to the extended hotel scene, which unfortunately sags the middle part. All in all, it looks like the production may have been a hurry-up since the action is mainly confined to Paramount's backlot.That's not to say the movie is devoid of positives. Douglas brings his usual intensity, while Quinn makes a persuasive adversary. But I especially like the underrated Earl Holliman who was so good at callow youth. Then too, it's the most glamorous I've seen Carolyn Jones who usually got supporting roles. Anyhow, the suspense is dragged out not too effectively right down to the clichéd showdown. Frankly, it's oaters like this that make me appreciate the small-budget Ranown series of tight, taut, Randolph Scott westerns, e.g. The Tall T (1957). Perhaps that's why-- unlike the Ranowns-- this A-List effort has since drifted into obscurity, despite the big names.

Last Train from Gun Hill is about a man whose wife is raped and murdered by two men. He, of course, has to find and bring back the two men. The movie is extremely similar to 3:10 to Yuma, but it isn't very compelling. 3:10 to Yuma is extremely suspenseful: one is almost always on the edge of his seat. This movie isn't really suspenseful at all, though. When John Sturges could build up intense scenes, he switches the scene to Carolyn Jones' part of the story. The story is not original at all: it was simple and seems to be almost directly taken from 3:10 to Yuma. The score was somewhat distracting at times, but the acting was pretty good. Kirk Douglas was pretty good as the marshal, and Anthony Quinn played his role excellently, especially when his character was supposed to be nervous and hiding something. Carolyn Jones also played her role well. The dialog was decent, but Rick Belden's lines to the marshal were somewhat unrealistic. There were some bright spots, such as when Kirk Douglas says "I am the law!"Overall, this movie is very mediocre: it doesn't shine, but it isn't really poor either. Basically, I advise you to watch 3:10 to Yuma or Shane instead.

OK, if you just want to waste your time on a movie that makes NO sense at all, this is it. Oh it has great actors, and they play their part very well, but I know they must have been laughing all the way to the bank. OK, so you have this town Marshal (Kirk Douglas) who's wife is raped and killed, so he goes after the bad guy's who it turns out that one of them is the son of he best friend (Anthony Quinn) from year gone by that he hasn't seen in a long time. So far so good. Should be a great story right, well, you haven't heard the punch line yet.I will just cut to the chase and tell you, it's all about Douglas getting Quinn's son on a train back to the marshals town to stand trial. The problem is they go through all this crazy stuff to stop Douglas from getting to the train and taking off, WHEN ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS STOP THE TRAIN FROM LEAVING!!!!! If the train doesn't leave, guess what, Douglas and Quinn's son doesn't leave, end of story. How stupid could this ending be.Your watching this movie and about half way through it you realize what a waste of time you have spent on a movie that no one in it has the brains to just say, hey, let's just stop the train.So, if you like a western movie that makes no sense, then this movie and 3:10 to Yuma are for you, in both films all they have to do is stop the train.