JohnHowardReid The first thing that strikes a current audience is the way the characters are introduced, silent film style. An interesting idea, but you can see why it went out of fashion as it interrupts the flow of the narrative. We're well into the movie before Randolph Scott finally appears and it's a bit disconcerting to suddenly have a sub-title superimposed, "Randolph Scott... Lynn Hayden."The next arresting thing is undoubtedly the fact that in some scenes Hathaway keeps his camera jumping around in a fascinatingly imaginative fashion, taking full advantage of the breadth of the sets and the width of the great outdoors. Pace is further enhanced by breaking up many of the scenes into (by modern standards) an unusually large variety of camera angles (leading to some rough editing in places).The lighting by Ben Reynolds also dates the picture on at least two fronts as it's unfashionable to use soft focus anymore; and illuminating night scenes with only a little key light and little or no background fillers at all has been a definite no-no ever since picturegoers complained that they paid money to see their favorite stars at full strength not half-hidden by shadows.For all Hathaway's efforts to quicken the pace, his players tend to work against him, not only by speaking slowly but by inserting long pauses between words, phrases, and especially cues. Oddly enough, the villains are the worst offenders. In fact this film reverses the general Hollywood rule and makes the goodies much more interesting and diverting than the baddies. Noah Beery and his bunch are not only dull and cliched but abnormally colorless. Hammy acting from Noah Beery and Jack LaRue doesn't help. Not that the good guys are innocent of theatrics, but Scott gives such a likeable and personable performance, he makes up a lot of the leeway. As for the once super-popular star Esther Ralston we can understand why her fortunes declined in the talkies. Her voice is okay but it not only doesn't jibe with the character, she's unable to use it expressively. All her emotions are still registered through her eyes, her facial muscles, her body language. Some of the support players are so bland or so impersonal or so amateurish it's hard to credit they managed to carve out considerable careers in the years ahead: Buster Crabbe, Gail Patrick, Barton MacLane, Fuzzy Knight. Plus Beery and LaRue. As for Miss Temple, well she was only five years old at the time and she does reasonably and recognizably well by her small part. It's the abominable Watson brat who has the lion's share of the kiddie footage.Hathaway's taste for violent action (the principals fight without doubles) and his penchant for location shooting are well in evidence throughout, though the long-awaited climax is a bit abrupt and resolved in a somewhat unsatisfying fashion, but these structural faults doubtless derive from the Zane Grey novel. Incidentally, despite reports to the contrary, there are only five or six short snips of stock footage, few of which seem to have been lifted from the original 1923 picture which has quite different emphases in its storyline.

davidjanuzbrown This is without question a Pre-Code Western that featured two people that would become legends. Shirley Temple and Randolph Scott. What is interesting is Shirley is not credited and Scott ( like the rest of the cast) is not credited until he shows up. The main star in the movie is Esther Ralston ( Ellen Colby) who is the daughter of Jed Colby ( Noah Beery) who murdered the Grandfather of Lynn Hayden ( Scott). A couple of points:,the bad guy usually has some redeeming characteristics ( like caring about his daughter), Colby does not and spoilers ahead: He gets murdered by the even nastier Jim Daggs ( Jack La Rue ( an actor like Berry known for playing villains)). It is about a feud between the two families and what is interesting is there is no question who is good and who is bad. Something else you never see is Colby and Daggs succeed in killing all of the male adult members of the family ( except a badly wounded Lynn). It is actually Ellen that is the real heroine of the movie. She is able to fight off Daggs so that Scott can finally kill him, and They show a photo where they marry at the end. You rarely see a woman who is so obviously a white trash tomboy especially in Westerns ( even Indians are usually not shown that way). Another point is the price that both Ellen and especially Lynn pay. One finding out how creepy her father is the other losing family members. One more point. This movie that I saw on TCM, is the restored print from the Museum of Modern Art and you can see a clear difference between that and Public Domain prints. This is an excellent Western and a MUST for Scott fans. Also do not overlook the Pre-Fox ( this was filmed at Paramount) Shirley Temple who steals the scenes she was in, and Esther Ralston. 10/10 stars.

Syl This movie is in the Shirley Temple collection. She is only in a for a few minutes and uncredited. The film was under the title, Law of Vengeance, instead of the Last Man. It must have been her film debut. The film is dark in subject matter as there is plenty of violence. The cast is excellent with Randolph Scott and Esther Ralston and others. The film shows the dangers of gun violence and vengeance between warring families in the Wild West. In 1933, the film industry was just getting started. I feel though this film was misplaced in the collection. The ending appeared abrupt and left in doubt about the ending too!

John Seal This tale of fussin' and a feudin' is showing its age in spades, but at least it benefits from a memorable cast: Randolph Scott, Buster Crabbe, John Carradine, and little Shirley Temple, whose doll gets its head shot off. Jack La Rue plays the villain and is in desperate need of a moustache to twirl.