This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Better Late Then Never

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Richard Widmark's costume does indeed show evidence of Comanche Todd being shot in the shoulder at the beginning of the movie: a tear and powder burn. Very clear when watching the movie on an IPad.

I have to admit that I am a huge fan of westerns, which may in part explain why I enjoyed "The Last Wagon" so much. But I think even those who don't watch offerings of the genre that much would enjoy it. Richard Widmark makes for a compelling central figure, convincingly showing a heroic streak while at the same time showing some dark sides to his character. He is aided by a screenplay that gives him ample opportunity to flesh out his character, as well as the other protagonists he helps. The movie moves at a brisk pace, and the outdoor locations are attractive and brightly shot. There are also a few action scenes that are pretty exciting.The movie is not perfect. There are two minor quibbles I have with the movie. The first is that Widmark's character is seen killing an innocent man in front of the other characters early in the movie. Even with what he does to make up for that during the long stretch of the movie, it's kind of hard to believe his eventual fate in the end. Also, while I did often welcome the screenplay's ample dialogue - which fleshes out the characters - there is a little too much. I think had there been a little less dialogue and a bit more action the movie would have worked even better than it does now. But the movie is still very enjoyable despite those two small quibbles.

As with the same year's BACKLASH, star Richard Widmark puts his stamp of authority on what otherwise might have been a routine Western. He ends up guiding what's left of a wagon train family to safety from the Apaches. Most of the survivors are not exactly thrilled with this wild and wooly frontiersman leading them anywhere, and it is all Widmark can do to keep them from painting big red targets on each other's chests and backs for the Indians to shoot at. LASSIE's Tommy Rettig is the juvenile in the group. The female leads are great to look at in a 1956 kind of way. With the exception of Nick "Johnny Yuma" Adams, none of the rest of this cast is particularly well known, but veteran director Delmer Daves keeps them in line and believable as a group of frightened tenderfeet. James Drury, who would go on to fame as THE VIRGINIAN on TV, is in the film for bit.

The Last Wagon is a film with some good intentions and some very good moments, but it could have been a whole lot better.A really brutal sheriff played by George Matthews brings a prisoner in to a small wagon train. By his manner he puts off a whole lot of the wagon train member. They start having some sympathy with prisoner Richard Widmark.When some of the young people of the train go off and frolic in a midnight swim, they return and find the Apaches have massacred the train except for one survivor. Widmark survived by a fluke I won't reveal.Widmark's a white man who lived with the Comanches and he's the only one who might insure the survival of the rest. Reluctantly they trust him and the adventure begins.Widmark's is the only really developed character in The Last Wagon, the rest have some strange motivations and attitudes that are not fully explained. Still their are some exciting sequences in the film and it can be enjoyed on that level.