''The Last Hunt'' is a 1956 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Richard Brooks Richard Brooks (May 18, 1912 – March 11, 1992) was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and film producer. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, Oscars in his career, he was best known for ''Blackboard Jungle'' (1955), ''Cat on a ...

and produced by Dore Schary. The screenplay was by Richard Brooks from the novel '' The Last Hunt'', by Milton Lott. The music score was by Daniele Amfitheatrof and the cinematography by

Russell Harlan Russell B. Harlan, A.S.C. (September 16, 1903 – February 28, 1974) was an American cinematographer. Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, Russell Harlan witnessed the city's development from the construction of its first film studi ...

. The film stars Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger, with

Lloyd Nolan Lloyd Benedict Nolan (August 11, 1902 – September 27, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Among his many roles, Nolan is remembered for originating the role of private investigator Michael Shayne in a series of 1940s B movies. B ...

, Debra Paget and

Russ Tamblyn Russell Irving Tamblyn, also known as Rusty Tamblyn (born December 30, 1934) is an American film and television actor and dancer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tamblyn trained as a gymnast in his youth. He began his career as a child actor f ...

Plot

Sandy McKenzie ( Stewart Granger) sets out on his last hunt with his new partner, the obsessive Charles Gilson ( Robert Taylor). While McKenzie has grown tired of buffalo hunting, Gilson derives a pleasure from his "stands" – killing an entire herd of buffalo at one time. When Gilson chases down and kills an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

raiding party, he takes an Indian woman and her child captive. The presence of the native woman causes tension and Gilson becomes increasingly paranoid and deranged, leading to a stand-off between the two former partners. In the final scene, McKenzie and the woman emerge from shelter to find that Gilson, though wearing a buffalo hide as protection from the cold, has frozen to death during the night, while waiting to ambush them.

Cast

* Robert Taylor as Charles Gilson * Stewart Granger as Sandy McKenzie *

as Woodfoot * Debra Paget as Indian Girl *

as Jimmy O'Brien *

Constance Ford Constance Ford (born Cornelia M. Ford; July 1, 1923 – February 26, 1993) was an American actress and model. She is best known for her long-running role as Ada Lucas Hobson on the daytime soap opera '' Another World'', which she played from 1 ...

as Peg * Joe DeSantis as Ed Black *

Ainslie Pryor James Ainslie Pryor (February 21, 1921 – May 27, 1958) was an American actor. Early years Pryor was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of William E. Prior. He graduated from Christian Brothers College and attended Southwestern and VPI. D ...

as First Buffalo Hunter * Ralph Moddy as Indian Agent * Fred Graham as Bartender * Ed Lonehill as Spotted Hand *

Roy Barcroft Roy Barcroft (born Howard Harold Ravenscroft; September 7, 1902 – November 28, 1969) was an American character actor famous for playing villains in B-Westerns and other genres. From 1937 to 1957, he appeared in more than 300 films for Re ...

as Major Smith (uncredited)

Original novel

''The New York Times'' said "except for A.B. Guthrie's "The Big Sky" and "The Way West" I can think of no novel about the Old West published within the last fifteen years as good as "The Last Hunt", by Milton Lott. This is the real thing, a gritty, tough, exciting story reeking with the pungent smells of dead buffalo and of dirty men." W.R. Burnett called it an "undeniably able and interesting book."

Development

MGM bought the film rights and announced it as a vehicle for Stewart Granger in February 1955. "It's real Americana", said the star. Richard Brooks was assigned the job of adapting and directing. The film was the first of only three westerns directed by Brooks, and was his first film following the critically acclaimed ''

Blackboard Jungle ''Blackboard Jungle'' is a 1955 American social drama film about an English teacher in an interracial inner-city school, based on the 1954 novel ''The Blackboard Jungle'' by Evan Hunter and adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Brooks. I ...

'' (1955). In March Robert Taylor was announced as co-star. Russ Tamblyn was then given the lead support part as a half Indian. Lloyd Nolan was also cast – his first film role in over a year and a half, during which time he had played ''

The Caine Mutiny Court Martial ''The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial'' is a two-act play, of the courtroom drama type, that was dramatized for the stage by Herman Wouk, which he adapted from his own 1951 novel, ''The Caine Mutiny''. Wouk's novel covered a long stretch of time a ...

'' on stage.

Anne Bancroft Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two ...

was cast as the Indian girl.

Production

Eighty percent of the movie was shot on location over a seven-week period. This took place at the

Badlands National Park Badlands National Park ( lkt, Makȟóšiča) is an American national park located in southwestern South Dakota. The park protects of sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles, along with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United Sta ...

and

Custer State Park Custer State Park is a South Dakota State Park and wildlife reserve in the Black Hills, United States. The park is South Dakota's largest and first state park, named after Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer. The park covers an area of over of v ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

during the then-annual "thinning" of the buffalo herd. Actual footage of buffalo being shot and killed (by government marksmen) was used for the film. Harvey Lancaster of Custer was the main marksman for the filming. The story takes place during the winter but was actually filmed during the scorching summer months in

. When temperatures reached triple digits, Stewart Granger, whose costume consisted of full winter clothing, passed out from heat exhaustion and the crew had to cut away his clothes to revive him. Granger and director Brooks were reportedly not fond of one another, especially after Brooks married Granger's ex-wife, Jean Simmons. After three weeks of filming, Anne Bancroft was injured during filming after falling from a horse. She was replaced by Debra Paget. During filming

Dore Schary Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bio ...

announced Taylor and Granger would be reteamed in another western, ''The Return of Johnny Burro'' with Granger playing a villain and Taylor a hero. However the film was not made.

Reception

Box office

The film earned $1,750,000 in North American rental during its first year of release. It recorded admissions of 1,201,326 in France.Box office information for Stewart Granger films in France
at Box Office Story According to MGM records, the film earned $1,604,000 in the US and Canada and $1,379,000 overseas, resulting in a loss of $323,000. "The public couldn't stand it", said Brooks. "In England most of the scenes with the buffalo were cut out. In the States they couldn't stand it because of their own guilt... I learnt something very valuable: when you deal with a subject that is traditional, don't deny it to the public... If you want to do the real thing, the way the West really was, do it on a small budget and don't expect any miracles."

Comic book adaptation

* Dell

Four Color ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', was an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...

#678 (February 1956)

References

External links

*
Review
at Variety * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Hunt, The 1956 films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films CinemaScope films Films based on American novels Films based on Western (genre) novels Films directed by Richard Brooks 1950s English-language films 1956 Western (genre) films Films about hunters Films adapted into comics Films scored by Daniele Amfitheatrof American Western (genre) films Revisionist Western (genre) films 1950s American films