This film begins with a cowboy being shot and killed at long range by a man sitting on a ledge with a high-powered rifle. He then proceeds to kill another man with that same rifle and then after running out of ammunition kills yet another one with his knife before being held at gunpoint and taken prisoner. As it turns out, the person being held at gunpoint goes by the name of "Comanche Todd" (Richard Widmark) and the man who has taken him prisoner is named "Sheriff Bull Harper" (George Mathews). The three people just killed were the sheriff's brothers. That being said, Sheriff Harper does not treat Comanche Todd very nicely from this point on and this abusive conduct continues even after they subsequently join a wagon train carrying Christian families headed in the same direction. The problem is that not only is Comanche Todd quite determined to escape but they have also wandered into hostile Apache territory and that poses a greater danger than any of them realize. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a pretty good Western which also contained an easily recognizable anti-racism message throughout. Be that as it may, it had some good action scenes and decent acting performances by all concerned and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.
Review of The Last Wagon
