The Last Sunset

In Mexico, the fugitive Brendan O'Malley arrives at the ranch where his former lover Belle lives. Sheriff Dana Stribling is after him, not to arrest him but to settle the death of his sister. A herd has to be driven to the border and all three set out together. Belle's sixteen-year-old daughter Missy comes along. The subject is not the pursuit but a piece of information at the end. Missy is drawn to O'Malley and he responds; then Belle tells him who the girl is. After that revelation the film becomes something else entirely. The form is the western template with unusual content; the cattle drive is a pretext and the real narrative lies in the past shared by three adults. The screenplay is by Dalton Trumbo. He had just emerged from the blacklist years and this is among the first films where his name could appear openly. Robert Aldrich directs. Kirk Douglas is also a producer and was instrumental in getting Trumbo's name on the screen. Rock Hudson plays the sheriff, Dorothy Malone plays Belle and Carol Lynley plays Missy. Who it is for: viewers who like westerns with unusual subjects and character-driven storytelling. Who it is not for: anyone who will find the handling of the subject uncomfortable; the film never states it plainly and that vagueness makes some scenes stranger still.