The Last Frontier [Savage Wilderness] *** (1955, Victor Mature, Guy Madison, Robert Preston, Anne Bancroft, James Whitmore) – Classic Movie Review 7296

Director Anthony Mann’s 1956 The Last Frontier [Savage Wilderness] is a slightly below-par, rather predictable Western from director Mann and writers Philip Yordan and Russell S Hughes, all of whom could be brilliant on a good day, not taking the best advantage of Columbia Pictures’ big budget and the useful cast headed by Victor Mature, Robert Preston, Guy Madison and Anne Bancroft.

Victor Mature stars as trapper Jed Cooper, who is attacked by Indians with his buddies Gus (James Whitmore) and Mungo (Pat Hogan) during the American Civil War. They then seek shelter at a nearby isolated US Army frontier post, commanded by Captain Riordan (Guy Madison), who recruits them as scouts.

Preston plays the unbending, unstable new colonel who arrives at the army base and stirs up Indian mayhem and marriage trouble by bringing his wife Corinna (Anne Bancroft) and the manly scout Cooper (Mature) together. Cooper has fallen in love with Corinna and the deluded Marston wants to attack the Indian chief Red Cloud, whose braves totally outnumber the personnel at the frontier post.

Nevertheless, The Last Frontier is still quite a good movie and, on the plus side, it is lifted by some strong acting, excellent action sequences, William Mellor’s fine Technicolor and CinemaScope cinematography and the stunning Mexican locations. And, although Mature is no James Stewart (Mann’s star in series of memorable Westerns), he still gives a skillful performance.

The stars are Victor Mature as Jed Cooper, Guy Madison as Captain Glenn Riordan, Robert Preston as Colonel Frank Marston, James Whitmore as Gus, Anne Bancroft as Corinna Marston, Russell Collins as Captain Phil Clarke, Peter Whitney as Sergeant Major Decker and Pat Hogan as Mungo. Also in the cast are Manuel Donde, Guy Williams, William Calles, Jack Pennick and William Taylor.

Yordan and Hughes’s screenplay is based on the 1947 novel The Gilded Rooster by Richard Emery Roberts. The Gilded Rooster was the film’s working title but you can see why they would change that. The Last Frontier has also been titled Savage Wilderness, and shown on TV under that title.

Columbia bought the film rights in 1953 with Marlon Brando in mind, but Mature took over as one of the films in his two-picture deal with Columbia. Production began 21 March 1955 on location in Mexico, delayed from January as Mature was filming Violent Saturday.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7296

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