The Last of the Fast Guns (1958) Jock Mahoney, Gilbert Roland, Linda Cristal, Eduard Franz Movie Review

The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Jock Mahoney in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Finding Forbes

After gunfighter Brad Ellison (Jock Mahoney) kills another man thanks to his lightning fast quick draw he is hired by John Forbes (Carl Benton Reid) who wants Brad to head down to Mexico to find his brother Edward who 30 years earlier disappeared, as John is confined to a wheelchair and is dying and wants his brother to inherit all that is his. Reluctantly Brad agrees to go and the long journey gives the gunfighter time to contemplate his calling and how he is one of a dying breed. Brad ends up at the ranch of Michael O'Reilly (Lorne Greene) who along with gold prospector Miles Lang (Gilbert Roland) both know of the man Brad is searching for but don't know where he is.

"The Last of the Fast Guns" starts with a scene of some graves with the hole dug ready for the next one before we hear a gun shot after Ellison rides in to town. It is an opening which suggests that whilst this is mainly just another generic 1950s western it has some depth to it as we follow Ellison on his journey and the consequences of what he does rests heavily on him as other gunfighters are dead and buried whilst where ever he goes he faces the constant shadow of death as he rides alone. It isn't a new side to a western but it is one which gives this a bit of a contemplative side.

Lorne Greene in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

But as I said "The Last of the Fast Guns" is mostly a typical 1950s western with some nice scenic cinematography as well as editing to give us what appears to be an incredibly fast quick draw. As such whilst we have Linda Cristal in the cast she is really only there as eye candy and the storyline of Brad trying to find this brother who everyone says is dead ends up quickly drifting into the background as little events such as two Mexican bandits and a wild horse end up becoming the focus. Having said that there is a twist of an ending which to be honest you can semi guess at earlier on.

What this all boils down to is that for those who like 1950s westerns "The Last of the Fast Guns" will be entertaining enough but it isn't a hugely memorable western which is partly down to Jock Mahoney who for some reason makes gunfighter Brad Ellison quite a bland character lacking in charisma to make him likeable.


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