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THE LAST WAGON (1956)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Delmer Daves is one of the filmmakers I’ve focused on for my THE MEN WHO MADE WESTERNS book. He might be the most underrated contributor to the genre. THE LAST WAGON is a good, but not great, addition to eight other Westerns he directed.
The movie’s opening is fantastic. We follow a hunted man, played by Richard Widmark, as he runs from the law through the epic landscape of Sedona, Arizona. We don’t know why he’s running, why they’re chasing him, or even if he’s in the right or wrong. This ambiguity gives the film a mysterious quality that sadly soon dissipates (I can only fantasize about the almost dialog-less film that would have Widmark running through the desert for 90 minutes before we find out why!). We learn who is who and George Mathews does a whole lot of over-acting as the Sheriff before Widmark puts an end to that. The movie then moves into a more conventional narrative: Widmark’s “Comanche Todd” takes a bunch of kids and teenagers on a journey of survival after their wagon train is attacked by Apaches. The rest of the picture has its moments but I couldn’t help feeling like it was a slightly more mature Disney adventure. If you took the same script and cast Dean Jones in the lead, you’d have the Western version of SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON.
What does work throughout THE LAST WAGON and make it well-worth watching is the location cinematography. Delmer’s landscape of choice in Arizona and his commitment to filming most (if not all?) of the movie on location makes this movie special. The shots are often breathtaking, especially when Delmer keeps the camera in one place and refuses to cut in for coverage or when his stunt men and women pull off a few incredible feats with the red rocks behind them.
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