Last Train from Gun Hill has the star power to help back up a storyline that is, on the surface, seemingly too straightforward: a Marshall (Kirk Douglas) finds that his wife has been killed. When he finds out that it is the son of a cattle baron (Anthony Quinn),despite his old friendship with the baron, he decides to bring the son to justice, holding him by gunpoint in the town hotel until the train comes to take them off to jail- while the baron has his men outside with their guns poised. There's a touchy element to who the son (played as a snidely little kid in Earl Holliman) killed, which was that the Marshall's wife was a Native American. But more impressive in the script, and through John Sturges's steadfast professionalism, is how there's the tension between law and the personal, the immediate draw of a gun draw to solve anything, and the bitterness of real vengeance (watch Douglas's Marshall tell Rick about how he'll be the only one to hear his own brain cry out as he hangs dying, perfectly acted).

Although it's likely that Douglas and Sturges were in or made better westerns, this is the kind of work that doesn't age in much a way that cheapens the questions poised or the invigorating style. It's a fairly violent film too, with a couple of deaths by the train tracks at night all the more effective from the taunting build-up and the pay-off in one shotgun fired off, and always the threat much more tension-filled than the result. Granted, when a big fire ends up happening, it looks very much like it's on a sound-stage and without a whole lot of suspense (save for the typical but strong 'who will get the gun first' moment between the Marshall and Rick in the bedroom),but it's the ambiance of the characters, the dread over this dangerous mix of volatile father and townsman- a better than average Quinn without being too hammy- and a good man driven to vengeance in bad-ass Douglas, and the determined woman (Carolyn Jones) that makes it so compelling. There's even a slight feeling of unpredictability in the situation- in a town where reputation trumps what is good and decent, but also where emotions run high as can be, the stakes are high for chance.

By the very end it feels like it should be more formulaic, and there are bits where the dialog does come off as brawny ol' western genre jargon (look simply at some of the quotes on the IMDb page as example). But if you happen to come across it on TV one Sunday afternoon, as I did, it's worth the time to sit and get absorbed by a well done star vehicle.

Although I don't generally like Westerns, I have reviewed quite a few on IMDb. That's because although this is a tired and unoriginal genre in general, when it is original and offers something worth seeing, I take notice! This is not my favorite Western, but it's in my list of top 10.

However, I would not put Kirk Douglas' and Anthony Quinn's other Western movie Gunfight at the OK Corral on this list, as this famous fight has been beaten like a dead horse! Too many movies glamorizing an insignificant event in US history until the true story is completely lost! No, this movie differs because it somehow takes a familiar formula but makes it seem new and unique. Not the same old stuff, that's for sure! The movie starts with a rape and murder or Marshall Kirk Douglas' wife. He finds out that one of the men responsible is the son of an old friend. The old friend, Quinn, is a big shot in a nearby town and seemingly he is above the law. It's obvious that bringing Junior to account for his sins will not be easy! See the rest of the film to see how this is resolved, and to see brilliant writing and acting.

A few other exceptional Westerns I recommend because of excellent writing and because they have something original to say: The Big Country, The Gunfighter, Yellow Sky, Hondo, The Ox-bow Incident and The Fastest Gun Alive.

Some of the best westerns of the Fifties and Sixties were directed by John Sturges and this one is one of the best. The tension is so thick in this you could slice and dice it with a meat cleaver.

Back in the day Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn were saddle pals and probably no better than they ought to be. Quinn once saved Douglas's life. They separated and married and both had sons.

Flash forward about 20 years. Kirk Douglas has married an Indian wife and has a young pre-pubescent son. Without knowing it Earl Holliman who's Quinn's son and pal Brian Hutton come upon Douglas's wife and son. Both have certain racist beliefs about to do with female Indians and in acting on those beliefs they kill her.

Douglas is now a town marshal and he sets out in pursuit of the two men. They're in Gun Hill which Quinn essentially owns as he owns the local Ponderosa.

Both Douglas and Quinn are deeply conflicted. Quinn has spoiled his son rotten, but he's still a father and has to act on it. Douglas is also a father who will now be bringing up his son without a mother, but he also represents the law. The thing I like best about this western in which not a moment is wasted or boring, is the way John Sturges with minimal dialog shows the conflicts of the two leads.

Because family issues are involved, I think a lot of non-western movie fans can and will appreciate what is happening in Last Train from Gun Hill. Those are universal themes Sturges is dealing with.

In the supporting cast I have to single out Earl Holliman as Quinn's spoiled son and Carolyn Jones, former love interest of Quinn who's got her own agenda working.

The whole town of Gun Hill is against Douglas making the return train with the men he's seeking. Will he get out? See a really good western to find out.