The Last wagon (1956) Davis - Movie No. 344

Stars: Richard Widmark, Nick Adams, Felicia Farr,

Plot: After surviving an Apache attack, settlers must put their lives in the hands of  "Commanche Todd", who's wanted for murder.

Pros: Location scenery, Widmark, brisk pace, good action scenes

Cons: Underdeveloped supporting characters, perfunctory romance, mediocre script

The Last Wagon is a fairly predictable Western that boasts an excellent performance by Richard Widmark as a hard-bitten, somewhat nasty White man raised by Indians. Widmark was always at his best playing "edgy"characters - and Comanche Todd is about as cuddly as a Bowie Knife. Widmark dominates the movie -and its a good thing too - because none of the supporting characters add much.

 The 3 female characters are pretty look at, but aren't given much to do. Poor Stephanie Griffin (very good-looking but absurdly made-up for someone in a wagon train) gets the whining ninny/racist part, while Susan Kohner plays an Indian maiden who's long on suffering and short on talk. Even Felicia Farr (a sorta love interest) is treated in a perfunctory manner. As for the men, they're forgettable except for Nick Adams who seems very Un-western.

Also, notable are the location shots of Northern Arizona and some well-directed action.

Hollywood Western Cliches

As can be expected in a Delmar Davis film (Broken Arrow), there's a lot of discussion of the Indian way (good) vs. the White man way (bad). The movie also includes three cliches popular in Hollywood after 1950.

•  First, the "half-breed" or white man "raised by Indians" who typifies the best of both groups. Examples: John Wayne in Hondo, Newman in Hombre, McQueen in Nevada Smith and lastly - and most absurdly - Stallone in Rambo. 
•  Second, the Indian wife/girlfriend/mother being killed by white racists (usually in a vile manner) or the US Calvary. Examples: Nevada Smith, Last Train to Gun Hill, Duel at Diablo, Little Big Man, and The Searchers. 
• Lastly, the "Injun Hating" ninny. Normally a secondary character he/she is usually stupid/obnoxious/vapid/crooked and mouths some racist rhetoric without any justification thereby sending us the message that racism is only for stupid/evil people.  Examples: too many movies to list.

Summary: A mediocre script and story made above average by Widmark and some great location shots. Rating ***