Artivels Undescribable Perfection

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Richie-67-485852 Its a Western and honors the theme quite well. It has familiar faces, horses, drinking, fighting, saloon activity, bank robbery, little town, scenery and a woman or two or three to make the connection to the audience. What I liked the best was the story. Realize that there must have been millions of stories having to do with settling in the West during the start-up period. All remain remarkable and unique some succeeding and many failing. Here we are introduced to a town that made it through the rough period and it looks like they have a future or do they? Let the story tell it. Also look forward to what I consider a decent ending if only for this reason. It leaves quite a bit to the viewers imagination as to what happened after the end credits. The questions are obvious and I don't want to spoil it for you. It is interesting to note that a rancher made over 100,000.00 in this movie selling cattle (beef) to the a middleman who sells it to the end users. This was in high demand at the time and a person could get wealthy running cattle if they could get past all the hardships including but no limited to: Rustling, drought, death, weather, illness, and huge logistics problems. If one navigated successfully, you made a fortune and did it again and again giving jobs to many and helping a town grow as well as yourself and your holdings. Much wealth early on was generated this way and handed down. Of course people in the cities had to have beef and they ate tons of it. They still do. Today, the prices are outrageously high for this city boy who lives in CA. I wonder if it is cheaper where they raise them? I bet it is. Enjoy a good sandwich and tasty drink while watching this and a decent snack after that. Oh and special mention to Broderick Crawford who I liked who played in Highway Patrol always speaking in his car microphone 2150 by...LOL

dougdoepke The movie's plot-heavy but interesting. A bedraggled posse rides into town after completing their mission. But their story of what happened is hiding something. Still, they're the town's most respectable men, including the wounded sheriff. So what really happened; we know it's not their official story. Later, we learn the truth by flashback, with some surprises.Producer Harry Joe Brown shows his continuing fascination with the neolithic Alabama Hills by filming the chase and showdown amid the bare rock slabs. It's staging he would later use in his classic Ranown westerns with Randolph Scott. The wobbly sheriff seems like an odd role for an Oscar winner of only a couple years earlier. But then, the tubby, homely Crawford was not exactly movie star material. His role here, however, is a gutsy one for any former Oscar winner. The looks department goes instead to John Derek in a pivotal role that he unfortunately appears bored with. At the same time, the fetching ingénue Hendrix gets a tacked-on role as relief from all the ugly guys. Too bad that great impersonator of ornery young punks, Skip Homeier, doesn't get more screen time.All in all, there's enough plot and interesting characters to merit a longer runtime. Then too, it's well enough produced to also merit Technicolor instead of b&w. Nonetheless, the movie's a non- formula western, more interesting than most, with lots of compelling scenery, pretty good action-- especially around the rock slabs—and a fine cast. So horse opera fans should enjoy it, despite the sometimes clotted storyline.

Michael O'Keefe This dusty western is directed by Alfred L. Werker. After winning the Oscar for Best Actor in 1949's ALL THE KING'S MEN, Broderick Crawford was afforded very little in comparison in the remainder of his contract with Columbia. The fair to middling western THE LAST POSSE is a little noticed sagebrush saga. Sheriff John Frazier(Crawford)collects a posse made up of honest respected citizens of Roswell, New Mexico to track down the desperadoes that robbed a prominent cattle baron. Something in the arid heat causes a few of the posse to plot keeping the stolen loot for themselves. Greed ignites the proverbial shootout and the surviving posse members limp back into town with heads hung low and severely wounded Sheriff Frazier in tow. The cast also includes: John Derek, Charles Bickford, Henry Hull, Will Wright, James Bell and Wanda Hendrix.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) Alfred Werker directed many westerns, I remember "Three Hours To Kill" which was quite a good film. "The Last Posse" went by unnoticed when originally released in 1953. I remember seeing it as a young boy and not really liking it. But somehow it got stuck in my memory. Seeing it recently I have quite a different opinion. This is a remarkable western that departs from the conventional, it uses flashbacks in a very effective way, it makes a strong criticism about people in a small town and never lets you know what to expect. At the beginning a posse returns with one man missing Sampson Drune (Charles Bickford) and the sheriff John Frazier(Broderick Crawford) seriously wounded. All the members of the posse act in a strange way, and the film uses flashbacks to explain what happened. John Derek is Jed Clayton an orphan that was adopted by Drune who totally dominates him. Jed is in love with Deborah (Wanda Hendrix) who resents Drune. Drune also bought cattle from the Romers when there was a drought and now sells it for ten times the price he paid. The Romers want some kind of compensation and when Drune denies, they steal the money and run away. The posse goes after them. Frazier is the sheriff who cleaned the town in the past, but started drinking heavily. He does not care for the town leaders and lost their respect because of his drinking. Even without being invited, he joins the posse. What is curious is that instead of being a fictitious place where the film happens, which is usual, the town mentioned is Roswell, New Mexico.