JohnHowardReid Review of The Last Outpost

The Last Outpost (1935)

Different directors make for a rather choppy scenario!

[7/10 · 13 February 2018]

On the surface, this is a moderately entertaining adventure/romance whose plot follows a very familiar path indeed. But a number of factors make the film of some interest to the student or connoisseur, even if they don't make it any more entertaining. One is the incorporation of vast amounts of obviously-filmed-at-silent-speed stock footage including copious excerpts from Grass (1926). Aside from the obvious giveaway of the speed factor, however, the excerpts have been quite skilfully matched to the new material. Another factor is the interesting cast deployed in these antics, including Akim Tamiroff in an uncredited but most impressive cameo as Grant's fellow-prisoner. Claude Rains, as usual, is interesting, even if his talents are virtually wasted in a role that is not only stereotyped but is handicapped with rather ordinary and mundane dialogue to boot. Miss Burke has only a small and insignificant part with no dialogue at all, while Miss Michael makes a rather late entrance (as does Billy Bevan who provides one of his delightful Cockney cameos). It is obvious that a different director is at work on Miss Michael's scenes - which are filmed mainly in rather ordinary close-ups (Miss M. is not too flatteringly photographed, though her costumes are nice) - than on the desert location scenes which are not only staged in a way to match in the stock footage but display a certain inventiveness of composition in their own right. Undoubtedly these desert location scenes and all the action footage was directed by Gasnier, with Max Marcin, his long-time collaborator, handling the dialogue direction, while Barton and Potter were responsible for the studio and hospital scenes which occupy the middle portion of the film. Gasnier and Marcin had worked with Grant very successfully in 1933 on Gambling Ship but don't have the same success here, as Grant does not have the strong characterization Marcin and Seton I. Miller wrote for him on Gambling Ship. I like the music score under the romantic passages and production credits generally are A-1.