Really Surprised!

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

THE LAST POSSE 1953This rather under-rated, and under seen western film from Columbia Pictures is a diamond in the rough. The film stars Broderick Crawford, Charles Bickford, Henry Hull, John Derek, Skip Homeier, Warner Anderson and Wanda Hendrix.The film starts with a group of men riding out of the New Mexico desert into the town of Roswell. The men were all part of a posse out chasing three men who had stolen 105,000 in cash. Among the group is aging, has-been Sheriff, John Frazier. (Broderick Crawford) Crawford is gravely wounded and is not expected to live. The film now goes in to a series of flashbacks to explain what happened to the posse, and the reasons for its forming.This one is full of double dealing, revenge, murder and good old fashioned greed. The whole thing is connected by the town Sheriff, Broderick Crawford, a drunk to some, a hero to others. The film is played out against the stark backdrop of the desert. Normally I would go into detail on the story, but not this time, the viewer really needs to see it unfold for himself.The cast and crew are all excellent here delivering a top bit of western entertainment. The director, the always reliable Albert Werker lets the cast of old pros (Crawford, Hull, Bickford)do their stuff. The young actors (Derek, Homeier, Hendrix) seem to feed off the others and all deliver good performances. Cinematographer Burnett Guffey gives the whole production a nice sharp look.Amazing how a film like this seems to have slipped through the cracks. Well worth a look.

The Last Posse is directed by Alfred L. Werker and co-written by Seymour Bennett, Connie Bennett and Kenneth Gamet. It stars Broderick Crawford, Charles Bickford, John Derek and Wanda Hendrix. Primary location used for the shoot is Lone Pine, Alabama Hills, California, with Burnett Guffey on photography duties. Out of Columbia Pictures, story tells of how a returning posse on the trail of outlaw robbers, return to Roswell, New Mexico, minus their leader and with their accompanying sheriff critically wounded.Much better than its B movie origins, The Last Posse is strong in characterisations, visually smart and being structured as it is, primarily in flashback, also getting a bit of unusual intrigue tossed into the Oatmeal. It's also very well acted, with Crawford and Bickford making for a nice gruff opposing pair, and the support cast is filled with solid performers like Henry Hull, Warner Anderson and Skip Homeier. Director Werker (He Walked By Night) does a good job of keeping the story nicely paced, dotting the plot with some well staged action along the way, and the finale, thankfully not telegraphed, doesn't disappoint at all. But in the main it's the writing and Guffey's photography that lifts it above average. The various members of the posse are either troubled or driven by motive, making for a good psychological mix, and this in turn is well realised by Guffey's crisp black and white photography of the Lone Pine, Alabama Hills landscapes. The numerous boulders and odd shaped rocks impose on the characters and the desert flats make a grim stage for the unfolding story. Easily recommended to the Western movie fan. 7/10

This dusty western is directed by Alfred L. Werker. After winning the Oscar for Best Actor in 1949's ALL THE KING'S MEN, Broderick Crawford was afforded very little in comparison in the remainder of his contract with Columbia. The fair to middling western THE LAST POSSE is a little noticed sagebrush saga. Sheriff John Frazier(Crawford)collects a posse made up of honest respected citizens of Roswell, New Mexico to track down the desperadoes that robbed a prominent cattle baron. Something in the arid heat causes a few of the posse to plot keeping the stolen loot for themselves. Greed ignites the proverbial shootout and the surviving posse members limp back into town with heads hung low and severely wounded Sheriff Frazier in tow. The cast also includes: John Derek, Charles Bickford, Henry Hull, Will Wright, James Bell and Wanda Hendrix.

If you love Westerns, you'll love The Last Posse. I had never heard of it before TCM tossed it into their Broderick Crawford Day of movies. Great cast too! Not only Crawford but Henry Hull, Charles Bickford as well as Harry Hayden, an always uncredited character actor who I've come to notice. Much of the film takes place in the desert among some absolutely remarkable rock formations as the backdrop. Anyway, all Western Lovers should have this one on their list. I thought I'd seen just about every Western at least once so this really came as a wonderful surprise. Watch for it and enjoy! At less than 90 minutes long, it doesn't wear out its welcome like this overlong review! Unfortunately the IMDb insists on ten lines whether or not you have something to say. OK, it finally says I wrote enough lines!