The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Jock Mahoney is Brad Ellison, a tired gunfighter eager for a chance to earn a bundle so he can buy a ranch in Oregon, far away from his reputation.

In steps John Forbes, a rich businessman slowly dying of disease.

Seems he had two partners in his business venture — a greedy friend and a long-lost brother, who was somehow squeezed out of the deal and fled to Mexico. Now the greedy friend stands to make out big time if the brother doesn’t surface.

For a change, Ellison is hired not to kill someone, but to find a man and bring him back to the U.S. to claim a fortune.

And in return, Ellison will get the $25,000 he needs for a fresh start.

During his search, he meets King O’Reilly (Lorne Greene), an American who has established a successful ranch south of the border; Maria (Linda Cristal), O’Reilly’s lovely daughter; and Miles Lang (Gilbert Roland), a trusted ranch-hand.

Miles agrees to take Ellison into the hills of Mexico in search of Forbes, though he and a padre they meet warn that the likelihood of finding Forbes’ brother is a whole lot less than the likelihood of winding up dead in the process.

Jack Mahoney as Brad Ellison, heading south of the border to find a man’s long-lost brother in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Gilbert Roland as Miles Lang, O’Reilly’s foreman, meeting Brad Ellison and learning of his mission in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Review:

Snappy dialogue, an unusual plot and unusual locations make this a step above your average 1950s Western. A couple of unexpected twists in that plot help out as well.

Mahoney, convincing as the weary gunman, keeps being told the man he’s looking for died years earlier. But he has too many clues to the contrary and too much yearning for that big payday to give up without searching for himself.

This was one of the last in a series of 1950s Westerns starring Mahoney, who at about the same time was starring in his own Western TV series “Yancy Derringer.” Lorne Greene was just a year removed from an even bigger TV role, as Ben Cartwright on Bonanza, of course.

Linda Cristal, looking oh so lovely here in what marked her second American film role, would have to wait nearly a decade for her own big break in a TV Western, as Victoria Cannon in “The High Chaparral.”

Eduard Franz as Padre Jose, the humble priest who agrees to help Brad Ellison on his mission in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Linda Cristal as Maria O’Reilly, fretting over a threat to Father Jose’s safety in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Directed by:
George Sherman

Cast:
Jock Mahoney … Brad Ellison
Gilbert Roland … Miles Lang
Linda Cristal … Maria O’Reilly
Lorne Greene … King O’Reilly
Eduard Franz … Padre Jose (Ed Forbes)
Carl Benton Reid … John Forbes
Edward Platt … Sam Grypton
Eduardo Noriega … Cordoba
Jorge Trevino … Manuel
Rafael Alcayde … Alcalde
Lee Morgan … Johnny Ringo
Milton Bernstein … James Younger
Stillman Segar … Ben Thompson
Jose Chavez … Jose Garcia
Francisco Feiguera … Pablo

Runtime: 82 min.

Lorne Greene as King O’Reilly, fretting that his daughter Maria is in danger in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Carl Benton Reid as John Forbes, the man who hires Brad Ellison to find his long-lost brother in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Memorable lines:

Brad Ellison: “You wanted to see me?”
John Forbes: “I wanted to see the winner.”
Ellison: “Nobody wins in a gunfight.
Forbes: “You seem to be quite careful.”
Ellison: “They give you a choice. Get careful or get dead.”

Brad Ellison: “You’re pretty careful for a man who’s supposed to own this range.”
King O’Reilly: “The richer I get, Mr. Ellison, the more careful I have to be.”

Brad Ellison: “The money you make with a gun you have to spend fast, before it starts to stare back at you.”

Edward Platt as Sam Grypton, a man who runs a hideout for fast guns ducking the law in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Lee Morean as Johnny Ringo, fearing the days of the fast gun are coming to an end in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Maria O’Reilly: “Do you know that every time you look at me, I feel as though I am running around without any clothes on.”
Brad Ellison: “It’s going to get mighty chilly when the sun goes down.”

Miles Lang to Brad Ellison: “This tequila will make you feel 10 feet high and 6 feet wide.”

Maria O’Reilly; “You’re a long way from home.”
Brad Ellison: “A man always is until he has one of his own.”

Jock Mahoney as Brad Ellison, on what he hopes will be his last job as a hired gun in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Linda Cristal as Maria O’Reilly, intrigued by the man who caught her bathing and swiped her scarf in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Lorne Green as King O’Reilly and Eduard Franz as Father Jose, facing a difficult decision in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Eduardo Noriega as Cordoba, a peon fiercely loyal to Father Jose in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Gilbert Roland as Miles Garrett and Eduard Franz as Father Jose debate the best route to safety while Maria (Linda Cristal) listens in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)

Lorne Greene as King O’Reilly comforts his daughter Maria (Linda Cristal) while Brad Ellison (Jock Mahoney) watches out for a gunman in The Last of the Fast Guns (1958)