The Last Day (1975)

Robert Conrad is Bob Dalton, a man determined to outdo Jesse James, even if that means robbing two banks at the same time in his hometown of Coffeyville.

So he calls together his old gang, including brothers Grat (Richard Jaeckel) and Emmet (Tim Matheson), to pitch the job to them.

His girlfriend Daisy (Loretta Swit) is opposed to the idea. She’s tired of wondering whether her man will return from his latest “job.”

Emmet’s girlfriend Julia Johnson wants him to lead a lawful life. But she agrees to run off with him if he survives whatever the gang is planning.

Coffeyville is an easy mark, Bob figures. There are two banks full of cash. A town full of storekeepers and farmers. An aging marshal.

The only possible obstacle is former gunman Will Spence (Richard Widmark), a man he holds an old grudge against.

But he’s called in a couple of old favors and sent two back-shooters to Coffeyville to take care of that problem. He figures Spence will be six feet under by the time the gang hits town.

As for Spence, he’s just looking for a place he can settle down with his wife and son and escape his past.

Will and his family thought they’ve found that home in Coffeyville. Once the Daltons are spotted near town, they’re not so sure.

Richard Widmark as Will Spence, waiting for the Dalton Gang to make their break to escape in The Last Day (1975)

Robert Conrad as Bob Dalton, gathering his gang for its biggest job yet in The Last Day (1975)

Review:

Even at age 60, it’s great to see Richard Widmark in the saddle — or at least in a Western — again. He leads a huge heaping of credibility to this better-than-average TV Western.

Hearing that the Daltons are in the area, the townsfolks of Coffeyville are convinced he’s the reason. He’s stays regardless, sure they’ll have no chance of standing up against the gang on their own.

M.A.S.H. fans will mostly be interested in the spirited performance of Loretta Swit as the woman Bob Dalton takes for granted. She was in the middle of her run on the hit TV show when this film was made.

And another M.A.S.H. star, Harry Morgan, narrates the film, giving it more of a true-story documentary feel than it probably deserves. The Daltons, for instance, were not from Coffeyville.

Tim Matheson as Emmet Dalton, unsure he should follow brother Bob on another job in The Last Day (1975)

Tom Skerritt as Bill Powers, a member of the Dalton gang in The Last Day (1975)

Directed by:
Vincent McEveety

Cast:
Richard Widmark … Will Spence
Barbara Rush … Betty Spence
Robert Conrad … Bob Dalton
Richard Jaeckel … Grat Dalton
Tim Matheson … Emmet Dalton
Christopher Connelly … Dick Broadwell
Tom Skerritt … Bill Powers
Loretta Swit … Daisy
Gene Evans … Marshal Connelly
Morgan Woodward … Ransom Payne
Kathleen Cody … Julia Johnson
William Bramley … Oates
Rex Holman … Munson
Logan Ramsey … Riley
Warren Vanders … Docken
Dorean Lang … Agnes Broadwell
Sparky Marcus … Adam Spence
Harry Morgan … Narrator

Runtime: 100 min.

Loretta Swit as Daisy, Bob Dalton’s girl, ready for trouble in The Last Day (1975)

Richard Jaeckel as Grat Dalton and Christopher Connelly as Dick Broadwell in The Last Day (1975)

Memorable lines:

Will Spence, upon learning the Daltons have been sighted near Coffeyville: “Even at the blister end of a pitchfork, a man can’t shake the past.”

Daisy: “Not me, Bob. I’m not spending my life wondering if you’re coming back. Or when.”
Bob Dalton: “You’re always here when I get back, aren’t you?”
Daisy: “Well, don’t count on it next time.”

Mrs. Broadwell to her son, about following Bob Dalton’s lawless path: “Pa weren’t much. But he died a hard-working, decent man. Not a thieving outlaw.”

Bob Dalton, of the upcoming Coffeyville raid: “There’s nothing or no one who can stop us. Town’s full of farmers and pot-bellied store owners. Marshal’s an old man. Be like robbin’ a candy store.”

Daisy to the man searching for the Daltons: “You couldn’t find a milk bucket unless you stepped in it?”
Ransom Payne: “I found you, didn’t I, Daisey?”

Riley, a Coffeysville townsman, blaming Will Spence for the Daltons’ return to the town: “Trash draws flies.”

Barbara Rush as Betty Spence, wanting to settle in Coffeyville, but wondering if it’s possible in The Last Day (1975)

Sparky Marcus as Adam Spence, Will’s young son, bullied because of his dad’s past, in The Last Day (1975)

Morgan Woodward as Ransom Payne, a lawman on the trail of Grat Dalton in The Last Day (1975)

Gene Evans as Marshal Connelly, the aging lawman watching over Coffeyville in The Last Day (1975)

Kathleen Cody as Julia Johnson, trying to convince boyfriend Emmet Dalton to lead a lawful life in The Last Day (1975)

Richard Widmark as Will Spence, a former gunman trying to put his past in the past in The Last Day (1975)