The Last Hard Men (1976)

James Coburn is Zach Provo, an outlaw who escapes from a prison chain gang and sets out to settle an old score with former lawman Sam Burgade (Charlton Heston).

More than 10 years earlier, Burgade led a posse that tracked down Provo. In the hail of gunfire that followed, the outlaw was seriously wounded, his young Indian wife killed.

Provo blames Burgade for her death, and he hasn’t escaped alone. He had six hardened criminals with him, and loot from an old robbery to bribe them into doing his bidding.

News of Provo’s escape prompts Burgade to strap on his guns again, though new Sheriff Noel Nye assures him modern technology — from telephones to automobiles — will lead to the outlaw’s swift recapture.

Burgade decides to lure Provo and the other escapees into a trap by leaking news of a large shipment of money arriving in Tucson.

But while Burgade and Nye are waiting to spring their trap, Provo visits the retired lawman’s home and kidnaps his pretty young daughter Susan.

He plans to use her to set a trap of his own.

And while his men are eager to share her as well as the loot, Provo insists she won’t be soiled.

Well, at least not until he has his old enemy present to witness the act.

Charlton Heston as Sam Burgade, pondering Provo’s next move in The Last Hard Men (1976)

James Coburn as Zach Provo, promising his men a stake and move if they help him even an old score in The Last Hard Men (1976)

Review:

Another Western in which all sorts of newfangled gadgets are finding their way West, but nothing beats a determined man on horseback.

Heston and Coburn carry the show, of course. Especially the latter, who’s determined to make sure his old enemy dies a slow death, even after witnessing his daughter’s rape.

Barbara Hershey plays said daughter. Western fans might recall her as the Indian girl Glenn Ford rescues in “Heaven with a Gun” (1969).

The supporting cast also includes Jorge Rivereo as Provo’s right-hand man and Larry Wilcox as young Mike Shelby, assigned the job of protecting Susan Burgade’s virtue until Provo decides it shouldn’t be protected any longer.

What will strike you most about the film is the violence, clearly a sign of the influence of Sam Peckinpah and Spaghetti Westerns.

For trivia buffs, Heston and Coburn starred in two other Westerns together — “Major Dundee” (1965) and “The Avenging Angel” (1995).

Barbara Hershey as Susan Burgade, victimized because of her father’s past in The Last Hard Men (1976)

Jorge Rivero as Cesar Menendez, Provo’s partner in his prison break in The Last Hard Men (1976)

Directed by:
Andrew McLaglen

Cast:
Charlton Heston … Sam Burgade
James Coburn … Zach Provo
Barbara Hershey … Susan Burgade
Jorge Rivero … Cesar Menendez
Michael Parks … Sheriff Noel Nye
Larry Wilcox … Mike Shelby
Thalmus Rasulala … George Weed
Morgan Paull … Portugee Shiraz
John Quade … Will Gant
Robert Donner … Lee Roy Tucker
Christopher Mitchum … Hal Brickman

Runtime: 96 min.

Christopher Mitchum as Hal Brickman, Susan’s boyfriend who insists on riding with Burgade in The Last Hard Men (1976)

Michael Parks as Sheriff Noel Nye, the man who replaced Burgade when he retired in The Last Hard Men (1976)

Memorable lines:

Cesar Menendez: “You know what I’m thinking? When they locked us up, that was 1897. My God, that was another century.”

Grant: “What the hell’s in Tucson?”
Zach Provo: “Samuel Burgade.”
Shiraz: “Kee-rist.”
Tucker: “Oh, shit.”

Sheriff Nye: “Don’t you worry about it, Sam. We’ll get him. Hell, we got automobiles, telegraph, railroad. Ain’t heard of anybody outrun a telephone yet. And the Army tells me next year they’re gonna have some of them flying machines.”

Sam Burgarde to daughter Susan: “Honey, there’s a man comin’ for me. I can’t just sit there on the couch and wait for him.”

John Quade as Will Gant, the escapee with his own plans for Susan in The Last Hard Men (1976)

Robert Donner as Lee Roy Tucker, the man who helps Provo find his way after the prison break in The Last Hard Men (1976)

Grant, acosting a Mexican woman: “Let me see what you got, honey.”
Cesar Menendez: “She’s carrying!”
Tucker: “What you’ve got to do with these greasers is teach them who’s boss, even before they’re born.”

Susan Burgarde, about her kidnapping: “Having second thoughts?”
Provo: “A man who has to think twice ain’t no man.”

Sheriff Nye: “I know where you’re goin’. You’re goin’ about six feet under. They’ve got seven guns to your one.”
Burgarde: “Everybody’s gotta die. Nobody’s gotta give up.”

Burgarde to Hal Brickman, Susan’s boyfriend: “That’s my ace in the hole. I want to kill him. But he wants to kill me slow.”

Provo: “You don’t die for women. You kill for them.”

Larry Wilcox as Mike Shelby, assigned the job of protecting Susan’s honor, for a while in The Last Hard Men (1976)

Thalmus Rasulala as George Weed, one of Provo’s fellow escapees in The Last Hard Men (1976)

Morgan Paull as Portugee Shiraz, one of Provo’s fellow escapees in The Last Hard Men (1976)

Barbara Hershey as Susan Burgade, in a desperate situation in The Last Hard Men (1976)

James Coburn as Zach Provo, meets an old enemy’s daughter in The Last Hard Men (1976)

Charlton Heston as Sam Burgade, on the trail of Provo and Susan’s kidnappers in The Last Hard Men (1976)