Last Train from Gun Hill - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Last Train from Gun Hill



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras: :
Final Score:


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Movie
The 1950s was the heyday of the Western, with John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Kirk Douglas reining supreme. It was also a day when “dark” westerns were really not a big thing. Sure, we had death, we had hard drinking, and even some serious storylines, but they were much more escapist fare than what would come up in the 80s and 90s in that genre. John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape) dark western Last Train from Gun Hill was a kick in the teeth back then. A western that was hard hitting and dark to the core, with all of the trademarks of a classic western.

Those of you who have watched the film before already know that Last Train from Gun Hill shares a lot of similarities to 3:10 to Yuma, which came out a scant 2 years prior. It stars a lone Marshall going to pick up a criminal in a town that doesn’t want to help him. A villain who will stop at nothing to get the prisoner back, and goodly amount of gunfighting. While I don’t personally know if Last Train from Gun Hill took elements of 3:10 to Yuma into effect when they crafted the story, but the similarities are hard to miss. The only thing is, Last Train from Gun Hill is decidedly darker and mean. Marshall Matt Morgan (Kirk Douglass) has less of a sense of “honor” in returning the criminal to justice. He’s there to serve as an avenging angle, using the law as his means of punishment (and rightfully so from some point of views). It’s dark, harsh edged, but a decidedly great western.

Matt Morgan (Douglass) is a having a really good day as Marshall of his territory when his son Petey comes running in to town to tell him that his wife (Ziva Rodann) has been assaulted and murdered just outside of town (a scene that is tastefully done, but holy cow does it get its point across for a 50s film). Petey has not only escaped with his life, but he’s brought the perpetrators horse home, which carries the brand CB on the saddle. This tells Matt all he needs to know, as that CB brand is the home brand of his long time friend and cattle baron, Craig Belden (Anthony Quinn).

When Matt confronts Craig with the fact that someone in his camp had murdered his wife it’s not hard for the lawman to ascertain that it was Craig’s own son Rick (Earl Holliman) who carries the scars left by his wife’s dying hands on his face. The thing is, Craig is not willing to let his son pay for his crimes, forcing Matt to do the only thing he can do. Take his oath as a lawman to the brink of death and pull Rick in for trial by a jury of his peers. The whole town is in Belden’s pocket though, so it’s not just a matter of Matt vs. Craig. The lone lawman is now up to his ears in Belden’s hired hands and the rest of the town (outside of a vengeful ex of Craig’s) are just going to sit on their hands and watch the cattle Baron attempt to save his son from the hands of the law.


The dynamic character interactions are really between Craig and Matt for most of the movie. Matt is filled with vengeance, hate, and righteous retribution for what is a heinous crime. Not only is he a lawman tasked with taking in his best friend’s son, but it was HIS wife that was assaulted and murdered too. A fact that pits friend against friend as Craig chooses his own desperate love for his son over doing the right thing. Last Train from Gun Hill is incredibly taught and tense, and while fans of 3:10 to Yuma can see some of the plot beats coming, the character motivations and interactions are really what make this film special. Douglass and Quinn are firing on all four cylinders here, with Kirk a smoldering fiery pit of anger and Quinn’s brutishness tempered with what was obviously a sense of morality and kindness from another life time ago.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Using the VistaVision original print, Paramount has gone back and faithfully remastered the 1959 film to a state I have never seen before. I had my VERY old DVD and this isn’t even in the same ball park. The disc is lovingly restored and you can see every fiber and detail on wood cabinetry with perfection. Sometimes it’s a bit TOO revealing as you can see the very obvious make up jobs used on the actors to give them that tanned look (especially on Anthony Quinn and Kirk Douglass, the thick foundation is pretty caked on there ala 1960s Star Trek on Spock). There’s a few minor speckles and print damage that shows up, but they are extremely fleeting. Colors are rather ruddy filled with heavy browns and dusky reds, but still show off amazing color detail in the other colors. Blue jeans are sharp and vivid, and the red of Linda’s dress is dazzling. There’s some minor black crush going on in the shadows, but overall Paramount has knocked this thing straight out of the park.






Audio:

The 2.0 Mono track in lossless TrueHD is quite a solid track, though it naturally has some of the limitations and source issues of a mono track recorded in the 50s. It lacks the finesse and immersiveness of a 5.1 or higher track, but the soundstage is more than ample to handle the talky western. Dialog is clear for the most part, but yelling brings out the harshness on the higher end of the treble (very typical of older recorded films like this. I hear it in many old mono tracks), especially when Craig Belden screams Matt’s name just before he’s about to step on the train. Essential sounds are handled well with the neighing of horses, bang of a gunshot, or just the simple rumbling of voices in a saloon. All around good track.






Extras:

• Filmmaker Focus - Leonard Maltin on Last Train from Gun Hill
• Original Theatrical trailers

Final Score: ​

I’m ecstatic to see Paramount pulling deep into their archives and releasing movies that WEREN’T out on Blu-ray already under their Paramount Presents lineup. So many releases recently from most of the studios are re-releases of films that have done well on Blu-ray, and it’s a breathe of fresh air to see a classic title pulled from the vaults that hasn’t had the Blu-ray treatment at all, let alone a nice new 4K master to boot. The disc is fantastic for the most part, with great video, good audio (source seems a little harsh) but very few extras to enjoy. A bit of a blow, but still a fantastic release and well worth checking out for a fan of classic westerns.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Anthony Quinn, Kirk Douglas, Carolyn Jones, Earl Holliman
Directed by: John Sturges
Written by: Les Crutchield (Story "Showdown"), James Poe (Screenplay)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 2.0 Mono, German, French DD 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German
Studio: Paramount
Rated: NR
Runtime: 94 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 15th 2021

Recommendation: Good Watch