To the Last Man (1933)

After the Civil War, Mark Hayden (Egon Brecher) heads West to Nevada, determined to outrun the Hayden-Colby feud that has caused blood to be spilled for years back in Kentucky.

But upon completing a 15-year prison sentence for killing Chet Spelvin, Jed Colby (Noah Beery) heads West, too He’s determined to wipe out the Hayden clan once and for all with the help of Jim Daggs (Jake LaRue), a friend he met in prison.

Caught in the middle is Lynn Hayden (Randolph Scott), who witnessed the murder of his grandpa Chet; and Ellen Colby (Esther Ralston), who managed to eek during her dad’s stint in prison.

In fact, they fall for one another before realizing they’re on opposite sides of a generations-long feud.

Prodded along by Daggs, Colby’s men keep stealing stock and harassing his family until Mark Hayden is convinced he has to take the law into his own hands.

Daggs, meanwhile, has his own ideas for Ellen Colby.

Randolph Scott as Lynn Hayden, slipping off to meet Ellen Colby and deliver her a gift in To the Last Man (1933)

Esther Ralston as Ellen Colby, explaining how difficult life has been with her father in prison in To the Last Man (1933)

Review:

An entertaining early Western featuring Randolph Scott and adapted from a story by Zane Grey, even if the love interest between Lynn Hayden and Ellen Colby comes as little surprise.

Esther Ralston turns in a particularly spirited performance as the tomboyish but quite pretty Ellen. In one of the film’s better scenes, she kicks a wrapped gift from Lynn down the mountainside and into a fire pit, only to retrieve it before it burns too badly to be ruined.

Other highlights include a well-filmed rockslide, an attack on the Hayden home and a knock-down, drag-out fight between Ellen and Daggs.

This movie also features uncredited performances by John Carradine and Shirley Temple, unmistakable because of all those curls.

Noah Beery as Jed Colby, fresh out of jail for killing a member of the Hayden clan and thirsting to kill more in To the Last Man (1933)

Egon Brecher as Mark Hayden, a man who heads West to escape a feud and find that it follows him in To the Last Man (1933)

Directed by:
Henry Hathaway

Cast:
Randolph Scott … Lynn Hayden
Esther Ralston … Ellen Colby
Jack LaRue … Jim Daggs
Buster Crabbe … Billy Hayden
Barton MacLane … Neil Stanley
Noah Beery .. Jed Colby
Gail Patrick … Ann Hayden Stanley
Egon Brecher … Mark Hayden
Muriel Kirkland … Molly Hayden
Fuzzy Knight … Jeff Morley
James Eagles … Eli Bruce
Eugenie Besserer … Granny Spelvin
Harlan Knight … Grandpa Chet Spelvin
Jay Ward … Lynn Hayden as a child
John Carradine … Pete Garon
Shirley Temple … Mary Stanley

Runtime: 75 min.

Buster Crabbe as Billy Hayden and Muriel Kirkland as his wife Molly, finding themselves embroiled in a decades-old family feud in To the Last Man (1933)

Gail Patrick as Ann Hayden Stanley, helping nurse a wound to her husband Neil (Barton MacLane) in To the Last Man (1933)

Memorable lines:

Grandpa Spelvin’s dying words, about his gun, as he passes it to his grandson: “It’s yours now, Lynn. Don’t ever use it, ceptin’ on a Colby.”

Jed Colby, upon hearing his 15-year prison sentence: “It wasn’t murder. It was feuding, pure and simple.”

Jed Colby of Mark Hayden: “I’m gonna be stretchin’ out his misery the same as he did mine. We’re gonna keep workin’ on him til he comes gunning for me.”

Jack LaRue as Jim Daggs, encouraging Jed Colby to clean out the Hayden family so both of them can profit as quickly as possible in To the Last Man (1933)

Billy Hayden (Buster Crabbe), Neil Stanley (Barton MacLane) and Lynn Hayden (Randolph Scott), ready to defend their home in To the Last Man (1933)

Shirley Temple as Mary Stanley, mexmerized by a pocket watch while holding her new doll in To the Last Man (1933)

Jay Ward as young Lynn Hayden, reacting to his grandfather’s death and holding the rifle he’s supposed to use to kill members of the Colby clan in To the Last Man (1933)

Esther Ralston as Ellen Colby, fearful someone will find the wounded man she’s just hidden in her loft in To the Last Man (1933)

Randolph Scott as Lynn Hayden, learning the pretty girl he just met is a member of the Colby clan in To the Last Man (1933)