Nonureva Really Surprised!

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Cristi_Ciopron A western with Esther Ralston, Scott, MacLane, Crabbe, Gail Patrick, N. Beery, Shirley Temple, some of these players had yet to wait for their heyday, others had it already, while others yet were just about to taste it; an embellished B with a storyline of feud and rustling, in the coarse style of the Bs, with more violence and less silliness (perhaps none at all, in fact this makes much of the movie's quality), not really a drama, but well directed, let's say an inspired B style, crafty but undoubtedly B, better than other feud and rustling '30s movies, but still one of those, and the feminine cast seems surprising, the actresses transcend the almost mediocre movie. The script is worth an epic. There's an awareness of the cast's league, and the direction gives the players the chance to act, mostly the actresses, but also N. Beery the older. A cowpoke talks about his mother's profession, a boy rescues dogs, Beery stops J. La Rue's hand. Consequently, the action is eventful, rich and lively.Esther Ralston makes a memorable role, as the churlish girl. In her movies, she sometimes seemed a bit dolt. Her hot-blooded performance is enjoyable.Muriel Kirkland leaves a good impression.MacLane doesn't promise anything worthy.Scott was obviously above the league of Crabbe or of La Rue, but not that much.

kevin olzak With this 1933 Paramount feature, "To the Last Man" (its TV title "Law of Vengeance"), John Carradine made his Western debut, and though he's only on screen for exactly 16 seconds he certainly did enough of them over the years (particularly on television) to nearly surpass his more famous horror resume, which actually begins with his next role in James Whale's "The Invisible Man." A remake of a 1923 silent of the same name, it's a story familiar from eons ago, feuding Kentucky families carrying their generational grudge out West, to the community of Grass Valley, Nevada. The film opens with Mark Hayden (Egon Brecher) returning home from the newly ended Civil War, determined to avoid any further bloodshed by moving his family away from their bitter enemy Jed Colby (Noah Beery Sr.). His young son Lynn is present when Jed cold bloodedly shoots old Grandpa Spelvin, at his side cousin Pete Garon (John Carradine, who has no dialogue). Grandpa identifies the two killers to Lynn, while his father counts on the law to settle the matter by jailing Colby for a period of 15 years ("murder? Why it was feudin' pure and simple!"). Jack La Rue continues his streak of playing scheming evildoers as Colby's former cellmate Jim Daggs, whose job is to locate the Hayden clan so that Jed can continue the feud, even after a passage of 15 years. Daggs intends to marry Jed's wildcat daughter Ellen (Esther Ralston), only to find a rival in newcomer Lynn Hayden (Randolph Scott), who remembers seeing his grandfather shot by Ellen's father, but wants to assure her that their elders' fight should not be their own. Brother Bill Hayden is played by Buster Crabbe, with Gail Patrick as sister Ann, Barton MacLane as her husband, the one who kills Carradine's Pete Garon off screen, in answer to the Colbys' year long raid of cattle rustling (Shirley Temple makes a strong impression as their daughter). Such a strong cast, coupled with Henry Hathaway's straightforward direction, and a total absence of a music score make this a better than expected early talkie Western, a formulaic plot with several pre-code twists and turns that keep the viewer off guard. John Carradine was making only his 8th feature film, Shirley Temple her 4th, while other unbilled actors included Erville Alderson, Harry Cording, and young Delmar Watson.

MartinHafer "To the Last Man" is an interesting film--partly because of a couple uncredited performances and partly because it is a very gritty sort of film. As far as the uncredited roles go, you'll see Shirley Temple just before she became a mega-star as well as a tiny appearance by John Carradine.The film begins just after the Civil War. As a man returns to his wife in the hills of Kentucky, you see his father-in-law being murdered by a neighbor. The killing is all part of a long-standing feud (like the infamous Hatfield and McCoy feud) but instead of killing the perpetrator, the war vet has announced he's seen enough killing and takes the case to court. His family at first is upset he didn't kill the killer, but in the long run it was the logical thing to do. However, the murderer is NOT logical and vows to renew the feud after his 15 year sentence is complete. Now this guy is super-serious--and even after his enemy leaves Kentucky and moves to Nevada, he and his clan move west just so they can get their revenge!! But, instead of just shooting them, the ex-con plans on ruining their ranch--with the help of his best prison buddy. However, there is a monkey wrench in this plan--his daughter is about to fall in love with one of the enemy (Randolph Scott)! How's all this insanity going to end?! While the plot isn't all that remarkable, the film works because the film is very gritty and unsentimental. You'll see a lot of Pre-Code style violence--and this actually helps the film to be both realistic and creates a strong impact--especially during the big showdown at the end. Bold and gritty--and worth seeing.

amosduncan_2000 It would be a shame if no strong print of Hathaway's "To The Last Man" survives, because it is far from a typical western-it could fairly be called "pre-code"- and it stands with Walsh's failed "The Big Trail" as an attempt to make a "grown up" adult Western. Like "The Big Trail" , "Last Man" has one for in the formal styles of Silent Film. What sets it apart is it's theme of decency finally caving in to humanities thirst for revenge and violence. The brutality of the film, both in terms of violence and emotional cruelty, is formidable. It all leads to an ending that, despite the upbeat coda, is truly apocalyptic. Worth going out of your way to see; but it is too bad there is no quality print.