Last of the Wild Horses (1948)

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Let's be realistic.

Excellent, a Must See

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

You know, as an Oregon resident, there is a benefit to living here, especially since a lot of movies were filmed here, from "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey" (1993) to practically every movie made by Laika Studios (i.e. "Coraline" [2009]). Unfortunately, we have our fair share of bad movies, and this dull, tedious western from 1948 is one of the worst, to the point where an episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" was devoted to it. It really is that bad.So what's the story behind this thing? Well, this duo of deputies hired by a big rancher named Charlie Cooper is rounding up the mares of some wild horses on his order, despite being told by smaller ranchers and his daughter not to. Our hero, ironically named Duke (though he's nothing like John Wayne), stops the deputies from illegally rounding up the wild horses, while also being framed for horse theft shortly after. Things go too far, however, when Cooper's head deputy shoots his employer and frames Duke for the murder, with the only proof being Duke's black bandanna. So it's up to Duke to clear his name, stop our villain, and get the girl in the end.Watching this movie, I can't help but think that this is basically a dumber version of "The Man from Snowy River" (1982) before it was even made. The main character is an unrelatable, smug prick without a brain, the villain is as wooden as can be (also without a brain), and the execution of the plot is practically all over the place. Oh, and did I mention that this movie is as boring as boring can be? That last point is possibly the biggest sin this movie commits, because last I checked, westerns were supposed to be suspenseful thrill rides, not snore-fests equivalent to that of a Lifetime movie.So as an Oregonian, even though we did get a funny episode of "MST3K" out of it, let me just say that on behalf of everyone in the state, we apologize for almost assassinating the western genre with this trite. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go watch a better western with Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, or Randolf Scott to wash the awful taste out of my mouth.

Yes, near the end of this film all the action will shift from the plains, to the courtroom as the hero of the movie is put on trial. Kind of interesting, though not sure a trial of this type would of occurred in the old west. I figured the people would just mob the accused and hang them and feel a bit regretful when they find out the person is innocent, but still smile when they think of the fun they had afterward at the cookout. This film is about a guy who may or may not have been attempting to rob a stage coach intervene in three guys chasing a person and becomes the hero of the film. He has two girls interested so he is doing quite good for himself as he has a cute brunette and a cute blond, both from different households. The brunette is the daughter of a man who is sort of the bad guy, but not really. He just is a very poor employer who really should watch his employees better. The blond lives with a guy named Remedy who she may be the daughter of or not, their relationship is a bit more obscure compared to the brunette. Well it seems one ranch is rounding up all the wild horses and this hurts things somehow and there are lots of chases involving horses, tepid gunfights, and a couple of old fashioned fist fights where the good guy gets beat down for the most part. However, do not feel sorry for him, as he does have two cuties after him. Surprised the blond did not pull the trigger during the one scene as she was clearly falling behind at that point. It had its moments, to bad it feels the screen with one to many going no where kind of scenes. It does teach a valuable lesson, however, and that is back in the old west, one only really needed a handkerchief to prosecute someone of a crime. Guess it is kind of like DNA evidence today.

Though the story is routine, I found Glasser's score to be beautiful in parts, and I truly liked its omnipresence. Added to fill 10 lines of text: I found Glasser's score to be beautiful in parts, and I truly liked its omnipresence. I found Glasser's score to be beautiful in parts, and I truly liked its omnipresence. I found Glasser's score to be beautiful in parts, and I truly liked its omnipresence. I found Glasser's score to be beautiful in parts, and I truly liked its omnipresence.I found Glasser's score to be beautiful in parts, and I truly liked its omnipresence.I found Glasser's score to be beautiful in parts, and I truly liked its omnipresence.I found Glasser's score to be beautiful in parts, and I truly liked its omnipresence.I found Glasser's score to be beautiful in parts, and I truly liked its omnipresence.I found Glasser's score to be beautiful in parts, and I truly liked its omnipresence.

There are a handful of generally unknown actors that I enjoy seeing in just about anything. One of those people is Douglass Dumbrille. From A Day at the Races with the Marx Brothers to Castle in the Desert with Charlie Chan, I always look forward to Dumbrille's performances. In Last of the Wild Horses, he plays the wheelchair-bound owner of the Double C ranch. His performance is by far the best thing this movie has going for it. Now that I think about it, Douglass Dumbrille is probably the only thing Last of the Wild Horses has going for it. The movie is one of those utterly dull, white-bread kind of Westerns where no one gets dirty and the good guys always win. It's the kind of Western that always seemed to feature an annoying comic relief character that you just wanted to see someone put a bullet through. All it lacks is a cowboy with a guitar to make my stomach really turn.But the most unforgivable part of Last of the Wild Horses is the way director Robert Lippert continually cheats to keep the plot moving. On three different occasions, people conveniently drop evidence that is later found and used to advance the story. From a branding iron to a letter to a bandana – Last of the Wild Horses would have us believe that the cowboys of the Old West were a bunch of butterfingers.