Story of movie The Last Sunset Film : The Last Sunset is a 1961 American Western film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, and Dorothy Malone.
| The Last Sunset | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Robert Aldrich |
| Produced by | Eugene Frenke, Edward Lewis |
| Written by | Howard Rigsby (novel Sundown at Crazy Horse), Dalton Trumbo |
| Starring | Rock Hudson Kirk Douglas Dorothy Malone Joseph Cotten Carol Lynley |
| Music by | Ernest Gold, Tomás Méndez (song "Cu Cu Ru Cu Paloma") |
| Cinematography | Ernest Laszlo |
| Edited by | Michael Luciano |
Production company | Brynaprod S.A. |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3 million or $3.5 million |
| Box office | 1,655,692 admissions (France) |
The film was released by Universal Studios and shot in Eastman color in Mexico. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo was adapted from Howard Rigsby's 1957 novel Sundown at Crazy Horse.
The supporting cast features Joseph Cotten, Carol Lynley, Neville Brand and Jack Elam.
Screenplay
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Brendan O'Malley (Douglas) crosses the border into Mexico to escape justice for a murder. He arrives at the ranch of a former lover, Belle Breckenridge (Malone) and her husband, the drunkard and coward John Breckenridge (Joseph Cotten).
O'Malley meets her daughter Melissa (Carol Lynley). He is immediately attracted to Missy, who reminds him of Belle when they were lovers years ago. Breckenridge, meanwhile, hires O'Malley to drive his herd to Texas.
Sheriff Dana Stribling (Hudson) is pursuing O'Malley. He arrives at the ranch to serve a warrant for the murder of his brother-in-law.
Stribling does not have jurisdiction to arrest O'Malley in Mexico so he also agrees to join the cattle drive to Texas. He promises to deliver O'Malley to the law upon their arrival.
During the cattle drive some former Confederates confront Breckenridge in a bar and accuse him of cowardice during a battle in the Civil War. Although Stribling and O'Malley team up to try and save Breckenridge's life, Breckinridge is shot in the back and killed trying to leave the bar. Stribling and O'Malley respond by shooting the man who shot Breckinridge, and then bury Breckinridge back at the cattle drive camp.
Along the journey, Stribling and Belle become attracted to each other and plan to marry, and O'Malley and Missy fall in love, increasing the tension between the sheriff and the outlaw.
On the eve of the showdown between the two men, Belle discloses the secret that Missy is the daughter of O'Malley and their incestuous love cannot continue. At the gunfight, O'Malley faces the sheriff with an unloaded gun, effectively committing suicide.
- Rock Hudson as Dana Stribling
- Kirk Douglas as Brendan "Bren" O'Malley
- Dorothy Malone as Belle Breckenridge
- Joseph Cotten as John Breckenridge
- Carol Lynley as Melissa "Missy" Breckenridge
- Neville Brand as Frank Hobbs
- Regis Toomey as Milton Wing
- James Westmoreland as Julesburg Kid (as Rad Fulton)
- Adam Williams as Calverton
- Jack Elam as Ed Hobbs
- John Shay as Bowman
In 1959 Krik Douglas announced he had bought the rights to Day of the Gun by Richard Telfair (the pen name for Richard Jessup).
In December 1959 it was announced Douglas and Rock Hudson would star in Day of the Gun from the novel by Howard Vechel, filming to begin in Mexico in March. It was the ninth film from Bryna, Douglas' production company.
Douglas wanted Sandra Dee to play a key support role. Then Tuesday Weld was cast but was unable to do it due to delays on High Time so Carol Lynley played the role.
Douglas hired Robert Aldrich to direct. Aldrich later said he was "dead broke" at the time, after having made "two bad pictures" in Europe and spent months on an unsuccessful attempt to make a film of Taras Bulba. Aldrich says the film was a "very unpleasant experience". He says Dalton Trumbo had written a script but left the project to go an work on Exodus for Otto Preminger. He did return to Last Sunset but Aldrich says "it was too late to save it" by then. Aldrich says "Kirk was impossible. He knew the screenplay wasn't right. The whole thing started badly, went on badly, ended badly. Rock Hudson of all people emerged from it more creditably than anyone. Most people don't consider him a very accomplished actor But I found him terribly hardworking and dedicated and very serious... if everybody on that picture, from producer to writer to other actors, had approached it with the same dedication it would have been a lot better."
During filming the movie was known as The Day of the Gun, Journey Into Sunset and The Hot Eye of Heaven.
In May 1960 it was announced that Dalton Trumbo was on set working on the script. Trumbo had previously written Spartacus for Douglas' company and Universal. At this stage Universal had not decided if Trumbo would get screen credit for his work on Spartacus. However United Artists had said they would give Trumbo credit for his work on Exodus.
"That was a toughie," said Aldrich. "I found it extremely difficult personally to do the film. But in this business you have to stay alive. You have to take subjects like this to make money to eat, to buy more properties and float another project."
- List of American films of 1961
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