ThiefHott Too much of everything

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Blake Rivera If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

tomsview "The Last Hunt" has a pretty dark story; it isn't a run of the mill western that's for sure. It's surprising that so much actually got past the 1956 censors.After losing his herd of cattle, ex-buffalo hunter Sandy McKenzie (Stewart Granger) reluctantly agrees to team up for one last buffalo hunt with Charlie Gilson (Robert Taylor), a gunfighter and man of few scruples. They are joined by a part Indian youth, Jimmy (Russ Tamblyn), and an old, one-legged skinner named Woodfoot (Lloyd Nolan), who foretells doom for those hunting the buffalo.When Indians steal their horses, Charlie hunts them down, sparing only the life of a woman and a baby. The woman (Debra Paget) is known simply as the Indian Girl throughout the movie. Taylor has only one thing in mind for her; a bit of stress release after a full day's hunting – mind you, this is a mid-fifties MGM movie.The buffalo hunt produces a wealth of hides, but Sandy and Charlie fall out over the treatment of the woman. Sandy tries to protect her, but Charlie does not take kindly to losing his prize of war. The finale produces one of those memorable screen moments as Charlie relentlessly pursues Sandy and the woman.The film's grittiness is down to Richard Brooks. A writer as well as a director, he usually wrote his own screenplays including this one from Milton Lott's novel. He was the complete storyteller, much like John Huston who had actually been a mentor earlier in Brooks' film career. A difficult man, he was also tough – he was reputed to have sat the formidable Burt Lancaster on his backside during a heated dispute.It was Brooks' idea to film an actual cull of one of the few surviving buffalo herds and incorporate it into the movie – a lot of people didn't like it including Stewart Granger, who thought Brooks revelled in the carnage a little too much.Robert Taylor gives the standout performance in the film. Referred to as 'beautiful Robert Taylor' in movies before the war, as he aged, his features hardened, although still handsome, he developed a slightly roguish look, which suited his role in this film perfectly. Charlie believes killing is the only emotion that makes him feel alive. It could have been a one-dimensional performance, but Taylor gives the character bi-polar highs and lows, making Charlie seem even more dangerous."The Last Hunt" was overshadowed by another western released in 1956, which also explored the themes of hatred and relentless pursuit, John Ford's "The Searchers". However, any film of Richard Brooks is worth a look and "The Last Hunt" is anything but a traditional western.

ccbc I saw this movie (at a drive-in with my family) about the time, or not long after, it came out. I was eleven or twelve. I remembered scenes from this flick for fifty years until seeing it again on TCM. These scenes (a frozen buffalo hide, a guy sharpening a skinning knife, the white buffalo and its hide, and the final unforgettable scene) stayed with me for years. The movie still has power, though not as much as the mental rewrite I gave it over a half century ago threading together the scenes I recalled (nothing about the sex in my pre-adolescent memory). I found the editing and cinematography pretty poor when I looked at it a second time but the story was still good. I recall my father saying after the movie, "I thought Robert Taylor said he wasn't going to do that kind of role any more." I don't know what he meant. This is perhaps Taylor's best movie. He plays a very nasty villain. And maybe that's what my father was talking about. Anyway, a curious and interesting western, exploring themes that western writers had opened up long before but were new to Hollywood. It's too bad that the lead native roles were given to Russ Tamblyn and Debra Paget, but that was 50's Hollywood. Worth watching, but mentally re-edit this film and see if you can't come up with a classic must-see.

ragosaal "The Last Hunt" is a western that deals with buffalo hunting. The film is slow and too long -boring at times-, lacks intensity, impact and real interest in the story.Perhaps the unusual ingredient is Robert Taylor's casting as a villain. He plays Charlie Gilson an ambitious and selfish hunter but he clearly overacts in his effort to look mean and ruthless. Stewart Granger, as his sidekick Sandy McKenzie a decent and straight man, renders a better performance. The feminine touch is delivered by pretty Debra Paget as an Indian girl captured by Taylor but more interested in Granger. Russ Tamblyn and the usually correct LLoyd Nolan complete the main cast.No highlights in this movie -just a standard one- and only some good outdoor wide-open photography and a sort of original "finale" for the villain. Not much anyway.

RanchoTuVu The film largely focuses on a bullying Robert Taylor as a ruthless buffalo hunter and the people who have to put up with him. Set amidst a hunt for dwindling numbers of buffalo, it portrays the end of a tragic era of senseless slaughter and is full of drama and remorse for both the buffalo and the Native Americans. Taylor is blinded by his hatred of Indians and his naivete that the buffalo herds will never disappear. In one scene, he shoots animal after animal, while in another he murders Indians and then eats the food they had cooking on their fire. Under this ruthless exterior lies an insecure person who is reduced to begging his comrades (Stewart Granger, Lloyd Nolan, and Russ Tamblyn) not to leave him. It's not the most pleasant of films and is weighed down by the drama it creates, leading to a dismal and very fitting conclusion in a blizzard.