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The Last Wagon (1956 film)

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Director
  
Initial DVD release
  
May 23, 2006

Duration
  

Language
  
English

7/10
IMDb

Genre
  
Adventure, Drama, Western

Music director
  
Country
  
United States

The Last Wagon (1956 film) movie poster

Release date
  
September 21, 1956 (1956-09-21)

Writer
  
James Edward Grant (screenplay), Delmer Daves (screenplay), Gwen Bagni (screenplay), Gwen Bagni (story)

Cast
  
(Comanche Todd), (Jenny), (Jolie Normand),
Tom Rettig
(Billy),
Stephane Griffin
(Valinda Normand), (Clint)

Similar movies
  
Last of the Renegades
,
Apache Gold
,
The Desperado Trail
,
Ulzana's Raid
,
Treasure of Silver Lake
,
War Horse

Tagline
  
ROMANTIC WESTERN ADVENTURE!

The Last Wagon is a 1956 western film starring Richard Widmark. It was co-written and directed by Delmer Daves and tells a story set during the American Indian Wars: the survivors of an Indian massacre must rely on a man wanted for several murders to lead them out of danger.

Contents

The Last Wagon (1956 film) movie scenes

Plot

The Last Wagon (1956 film) wwwgstaticcomtvthumbmovieposters39124p39124

Sheriff Bull Harper (George Mathews) is taking "Comanche" Todd (Richard Widmark), a white man who has lived most of his life among the Indians, to be tried for the murder of Harper's three brothers. The pair join a wagon train led by Colonel Normand (Douglas Kennedy). Harper's brutal treatment of Todd causes friction with some members of the wagon train. When the sheriff beats a lad for giving Todd a pipe to smoke, Todd takes advantage of the distraction to kill his tormentor with a dropped axe.

The Last Wagon (1956 film) Blog Archive The Last Wagon 1956

Then, while some of the young people sneak away for a late night swim, the Apaches kill everyone else. Todd miraculously survives a fall when the wagon to which he is tied is thrown off a cliff. The Apaches are gathering to avenge the massacre of their own women and children by the whites. It is up to Todd to lead the six other survivors to safety, despite the distrust of some of them. Along the way, he and Jenny (Felicia Farr) fall in love.

The Last Wagon (1956 film) The Last Wagon 1956 film Alchetron the free social encyclopedia

Despite saving a small U.S. cavalry detachment from an ambush, Todd is recognized and brought to trial. He reveals that all four Harpers raped and murdered his Comanche wife and killed his two young boys. General Howard takes pity on him and places him in the permanent "custody" of Jenny.

Trivia

The Last Wagon (1956 film) The Last Wagon 1956 film Alchetron the free social encyclopedia

Tommy Rettig, who plays Jenny's younger brother Billy, is re-united with Widmark. He played Widmark's son in the 1950 film noir Panic in the Streets.

Cast

The Last Wagon (1956 film) 41652jpg

  • Richard Widmark as Comanche Todd
  • Felicia Farr as Jenny
  • Susan Kohner as Jolie Normand, Colonel Normand's half-Indian daughter
  • Tommy Rettig as Billy, Jenny's younger brother
  • Stephanie Griffin as Valinda Normand, Jolie's racist white half-sister
  • Ray Stricklyn as Clint, another survivor
  • Nick Adams as Ridge, one of those suspicious of Todd
  • Carl Benton Reid as Gen. Oliver O. Howard
  • Douglas Kennedy as Col. Normand
  • George Mathews as Sheriff Bull Harper
  • James Drury as Lt. Kelly, leader of the cavalry detachment
  • Ken Clark as Sergeant
  • Timothy Carey as Cole Harper
  • Juney Ellis as Mrs. Clinton
  • Abel Fernandez as Apache Medicine Man
  • George Ross as Sarge
  • Production

    The film was shot on location in Sedona, AZ, at the mouth of Oak Creek Canyon, and mostly along Schnebly Hill Road. Director Delmer Daves described the difficulty of finding a pristine location for the film, as his previous western, Broken Arrow (1950), had popularized the region.

    The film has some jarring continuity errors. During the last third of the film, Tommy Rettig's hair goes from being long and fair with a fringe, to being short back and sides and dark and brushed back, and then back again on two occasions, once in the same scene.

    It was shot in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope.

    References

    The Last Wagon (1956 film) Wikipedia
    The Last Wagon (1956 film) IMDb The Last Wagon (1956 film) themoviedb.org