Another one of the film editors at RKO Radio Pictures in the 1930’s and 1940’s who made the leap from the cutting room to the director’s chair – alongside Robert Wise and Mark Robson – John Sturges soon made himself one of the most reliable directors in Hollywood during the 1950’s. After earning his only Best Director Oscar nomination for MGM’s Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), he was brought to Paramount Pictures by producer Hal Wallis for the smash hit Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957); a couple of years later, much of the crew behind that movie reunited for Last Train from Gun Hill. Paramount has given this movie its Blu-ray debut as part of their Paramount Presents line.
The Production: 4/5
When the Indian wife of Marshal Matt Morgan (Kirk Douglas) is raped and murdered by two cowboys, he notices that the horse his son Petey rode back into town on has a saddle owned by cattle baron and de facto Gun Hill town boss Craig Belden (Anthony Quinn). Thinking that the one of murderers is a horse thief, Morgan arrives in Gun Hill to return the saddle to Belden, only to soon learn that the murderers are a ranch hand and Belden’s son Rick (Earl Holliman). Despite being friends with Belden, Morgan is determined to bring Rick – and the ranch hand Lee (Brian G. Hutton) – to justice, pitting him against the entire town, waiting for the 9:00 train to arrive and hopefully leave town on it still alive.
Despite being a Western, Last Train from Gun Hill plays a little more like a suspense thriller, yet both elements are played out very well. Having already directed Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (which came shortly before this movie), director John Sturges is clearly at ease with the genre but also wrings out every last drop of suspense from the plot; he also has the contributions of legendary cinematographer Charles Lang, composer Dimitri Tiomkin, film editor Warren Low and longtime Paramount production designer Hal Pereira to assist him in bringing the story to life. If there’s only one complaint here, it’s that the script itself – based upon the story “Showdown” by Les Crutchfield – feels a bit long in the tooth just because some of the elements are already familiar; however, most of this is glossed over due to the strength of the performances and Sturges’ assured direction keeping things moving along in the brief running time. In short, Last Train from Gun Hill truly benefits from the top notch cast and crew working in their prime, making this one of the most notable – if somewhat underrated – gems of the Western genre of the 1950’s.
The one main cast holdovers from Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Kirk Douglas brings his inimitable dynamic energy to the role of the Matt Morgan; while his performance here is a little more subdued compared to his portrayal of Doc Holliday, it still is one of his more impressive (in a career filled with impressive film roles). Anthony Quinn, relatively fresh off of his second Oscar winning role in Lust for Life (1956; also alongside Douglas), gives a solid three-dimensional performance as Belden, the rancher torn between his friendship with Matt and the love and devotion to his accused son; despite the tensions between him and Douglas on set – as Leonard Maltin highlights in the Filmmaker Focus featurette on this release – the film works largely due to their dynamics in their respective performances. Two other holdovers from Gunfight, Earl Holliman and Brian G. Hutton (the latter a future director achieving a major hit with the spectacular 1968 WWII thriller Where Eagles Dare) are notable as the killers of Morgan’s wife while Carolyn Jones – the future Morticia Addams – acquits herself well as Linda, the kept woman of Belden who soon assists Morgan in his pursuit of justice. Rounding out the cast here are Brad Dexter as the Belden ranch foreman, Walter Sande as the Gun Hill sheriff who rebuffs Matt, Bing Russell as a fellow Belden ranch hand, Ziva Rodann as Morgan’s Native American wife, Val Avery as the Horseshoe bartender, an uncredited Lars Henderson as little Petey Morgan and an uncredited John Anderson (better known as the Bakersfield car salesman California Charlie in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho) as a salesman in the Horseshoe bar who tries – and fails – to attract the attention and affection of Linda.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
The film is presented in its original 1:85:1 aspect ratio for this release, taken from a 6K transfer derived from the original VistaVision camera negative. Fine details, color palette and film grain are all given faithful representations with little to no instances of issues like scratches, dirt or tears present. This is by far the best the movie will ever look on home video and easily surpasses the previous Paramount DVD in terms of visual presentation.
Audio: 5/5
There are two audio options for this release: a Dolby TrueHD mono track in English and a French Dolby Digital mono track. Dialogue is both strong and clear, with the sound effects and Dimitri Tiomkin’s score also given faithful representation; there’s little to no problems like distortion, crackling or hissing present. Overall, this is likely the best the movie will ever sound on home video and an improvement over the previous DVD release.
Special Features: 2.5/5
Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin on Last Train from Gun Hill (7:22) – For this latest entry in the home video interview line, Maltin talks about the background of the movie and its cast and crew; interesting note: I didn’t know that Douglas and Quinn had competing projects on Spartacus.
Theatrical Trailer (2:36)
Bonus Trailers – Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Furies & The Black Orchid
Overall: 4/5
While not quite as successful at the box office like Gunfight at the O.K. Corral – despite attracting some solid critical notices – Last Train from Gun Hill is still a well made western. Paramount has delivered a knockout Blu-ray of this little gem with a terrific HD transfer as well as a solid featurette highlighting some previously unknown details about the film’s production. Very highly recommended and easily worth upgrading from the previous DVD.
Mychal has been on the Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2018, with reviews numbering close to 300. During this time, he has also been working as an assistant manager at The Cotton Patch – his family’s fabric and quilting supplies business in Keizer, Oregon. When not working at reviewing movies or working at the family business, he enjoys exploring the Oregon Coast, playing video games and watching baseball in addition to his expansive collection of movies on DVD, Blu-ray and UHD, totalling over 3,000 movies.
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