Last Train From Gun Hill
Picture: B+
Sound: B- Extras: D Film: B+
To be honest I didn’t expect what I ended up with from Last Train from Gun Hill (1959). It turned out to be much better than
expected, which I suppose my skepticism came from the fact that it was a lesser
known title, and almost seemed like one of those films that Kirk Douglas just
squeezed in between more important films, which in this case would probably be
right around his amazing portrayal in Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus
(1960).
Director John Sturges had just come off from Old Man and the Sea and was on his way
to big success with The Magnificent
Seven in 1960 and, of course, The
Great Escape (1963, see that review elsewhere on this site). Here is craft with working in the western
genre is coming to near perfection as each scene properly motivates the next
with more energy and ambition. Also the
acting power is matched as Anthony Quinn goes round to round with Douglas
adding more fuel to the fire. Douglas
plays a sheriff in a rather peaceful town, whose wife has just been
murdered/raped and he seeks out revenge.
The scene of the crime indicates through a horse left behind with a
saddle that it belongs to the mogul a few towns away played by Quinn. Of course it’s hard to get people to talk
when they are afraid, but the truth will come out. Further evidence leads that to one of the moguls son, which now
he must stand between family loyalty and justice.
This is one of those fast paced films that just works
wonderfully and if you have not had the chance to see this film pick it up as
soon as you can say “Best Buy” and not necessarily the store, but Paramount has
issued this film very inexpensively and while it does not boast extras the
quality of the picture and audio are pleasing enough to make it a nice
own.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 VistaVision image
looks great in Technicolor and boast excellent color fidelity and clarity
rarely seen on DVD. While there are
still some scenes with softness, the overall presentation looks good with deep
solid blacks and well-rendered whites.
The saturation level is kept to a nice balance as well, and with the
exception of a bit of grain here and there, this presentation is superb. Paramount has been making some real progress
lately with their catalog by going for quality over the quantity (in reference
to the extras). Quality of picture and
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono sound are far more important when trying to appreciate a
film.
Sadly there are no extras, but the price and the level of
excellency for this DVD make it a nice purchase, plus it’s a solid film that
can be enjoyed by anyone, even after all these years.
- Nate Goss
