The Last Sunset (film)
Encyclopedia
The Last Sunset is a 1961 western movie starring Rock Hudson
, Kirk Douglas
, Dorothy Malone
and directed by Robert Aldrich
.
The film was released by Universal
studios, shot in Eastman color. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo
was adapted from Howard Rigsby's novel "Sundown at Crazy Horse" .
).
O'Malley meets her daughter Melissa (Carol Lynley
). He is immediately attracted to Missy, who reminds him of Belle when they were lovers years ago. Breckenridge, meanwhile, hires O'Malley to drive his herd to Texas.
Sheriff Dana Stribling (Hudson) is pursuing O'Malley. He arrives at the ranchero to serve a warrant for the murder of his brother-in-law.
Stribling does not have jurisdiction to arrest O'Malley in Mexico so he also agrees to join the cattle drive to Texas. He promises to deliver O'Malley to the law upon their arrival.
Along the journey, Stribling and Belle become attracted to each other and plan to marry, and O'Malley and Missy fall in love, increasing the tension between the sheriff and the outlaw.
On the eve of the showdown between the two men, Belle discloses the secret that Missy is the daughter of O'Malley and their incestuous love cannot continue. At the gunfight, O'Malley faces the sheriff with an unloaded gun, effectively committing suicide.
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
, Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
, Dorothy Malone
Dorothy Malone
Dorothy Malone is an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years she played small roles, mainly in B-movies. After a decade in films, she began to acquire a more glamorous image, particularly after her performance in Written on the Wind , for which she won the Academy...
and directed by Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich was an American film director, writer and producer, notable for such films as Kiss Me Deadly , The Big Knife , What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? , Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte , The Flight of the Phoenix , The Dirty Dozen , and The Longest Yard .-Biography:Robert...
.
The film was released by Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
studios, shot in Eastman color. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo
James Dalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter and novelist, and one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of film professionals who refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry...
was adapted from Howard Rigsby's novel "Sundown at Crazy Horse" .
Plot summary
Brendan O'Malley (Douglas) crosses the border into Mexico to escape justice for a murder. He arrives at the ranch of a former lover, Belle Breckenridge (Malone) and her husband, the drunkard and coward John Breckenridge (Joseph CottenJoseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
).
O'Malley meets her daughter Melissa (Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley is an American actress and former child model.-Life and career:Lynley was born Carole Ann Jones in New York City, the daughter of Frances , a waitress, and Cyril Jones. Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Native...
). He is immediately attracted to Missy, who reminds him of Belle when they were lovers years ago. Breckenridge, meanwhile, hires O'Malley to drive his herd to Texas.
Sheriff Dana Stribling (Hudson) is pursuing O'Malley. He arrives at the ranchero to serve a warrant for the murder of his brother-in-law.
Stribling does not have jurisdiction to arrest O'Malley in Mexico so he also agrees to join the cattle drive to Texas. He promises to deliver O'Malley to the law upon their arrival.
Along the journey, Stribling and Belle become attracted to each other and plan to marry, and O'Malley and Missy fall in love, increasing the tension between the sheriff and the outlaw.
On the eve of the showdown between the two men, Belle discloses the secret that Missy is the daughter of O'Malley and their incestuous love cannot continue. At the gunfight, O'Malley faces the sheriff with an unloaded gun, effectively committing suicide.
Cast
- Rock HudsonRock HudsonRoy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
as Dana Stribling - Kirk DouglasKirk DouglasKirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
as Brendan 'Bren' O'Malley - Dorothy MaloneDorothy MaloneDorothy Malone is an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years she played small roles, mainly in B-movies. After a decade in films, she began to acquire a more glamorous image, particularly after her performance in Written on the Wind , for which she won the Academy...
as Belle Breckenridge - Joseph CottenJoseph CottenJoseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
as John Breckenridge - Carol LynleyCarol LynleyCarol Lynley is an American actress and former child model.-Life and career:Lynley was born Carole Ann Jones in New York City, the daughter of Frances , a waitress, and Cyril Jones. Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Native...
as Melissa 'Missy' Breckenridge - Neville BrandNeville BrandNeville Brand was an American television and movie actor.-Early life:Neville Brand was born in Illinois. He was born to Leo and Helen Brand as one of seven children. Leo, was an electrician and bridge building steel worker in Detroit, where Neville was raised...
as Frank Hobbs - Regis ToomeyRegis ToomeyJohn Regis Toomey was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey and attended Peabody High School...
as Milton Wing - James Westmoreland as Julesburg Kid (as Rad Fulton)
- Adam Williams as Calverton
- Jack ElamJack ElamWilliam Scott "Jack" Elam was an American film actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies .-Early life:...
as Ed Hobbs - John Shay as Bowman
External links
- Strange on the Range – The Last Sunset (TCM's Movie Morlocks)