The Last Hard Men (1976) User Reviews

Revenging A Collateral Casualty

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 7 January 2007]

The Last Hard Men finds James Coburn an outlaw doing a long sentence breaking free from a chain gang. Do he and his friends head for the Mexican border from jail and safety. No they don't because Coburn has a mission of revenge. To kill the peace officer who brought him in and in the process killed his woman.

That peace officer is Charlton Heston who is now retired and he knows what Coburn is after. As he explains it to his daughter, Barbara Hershey, Coburn was holed up in a shack and was involved in a Waco like standoff. His Indian woman was killed in the hail of bullets fired. It's not something he's proud of, she was a collateral casualty in a manhunt.

Lest we feel sorry for Coburn he lets us know full well what an evil man he truly is. Heston is his usual stalwart hero, but the acting honors in The Last Hard Men go to James Coburn. He blows everyone else off the screen when he's on.

Coburn gets the bright idea of making sure Heston trails him by kidnapping Hershey and taking her to an Indian reservation where the white authorities can't touch him. He knows that Heston has to make it personal then.

Coburn's gang includes, Morgan Paull, Thalmus Rasulala, John Quade, Larry Wilcox, and Jorge Rivero. Heston has Chris Mitchum along who is his son-in-law to be.

The Last Hard Men is one nasty and brutal western. Andrew McLaglen directed it and I'm thinking it may have been a project originally intended for Sam Peckinpaugh. It sure shows a lot of his influence with the liberal use of slow motion to accentuate the violence. Of which there is a lot.

For a little Peckinpaugh lite, The Last Hard Men is your film.

Violent but entertaining Western with a duel of titans : Heston versus Coburn

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 10 November 2014]

In the early 20th century, a bandit named Zach Provo, a half Indian, (Provo well played by James Coburn , who was sent to prison during the latter part of the 19th century) leads a band of outlaw convicts on a jailbreak . Provo (Sean Connery and Robert Shaw were considered for the role) along with with 6 others to exact vengeance on Sam Burgade (a tough-guy splendidly performed by Charlton Heston) , an upright lawman , whose daughter (a very young Barbara Hershey) is abducted and threatening to gang-rape her . Provo seeks vendetta on Burgade because he not only captured him but was also responsible for the death of Provo's wife, at least in Provo's mind . At the beginning , the wild bunch holds up a train and attempt a bank until a bloody vengeance . The misfit group is formed by cutthroat guys (Jorge Rivero , Larry Wilcox , Thalmus Rasulala , Morgan Paull , John Quade ,Robert Donner) who kidnap the daughter and threat to rape but it goes wrong . This is the story about some men making their last stand and carrying out a merciless revenge .

This decent Western packs lots of action , shootouts, and explosive violence , including some tasteless images . Go riding , crossfire and fights provide some welcome distraction . Taut excitement throughout , beautifully photographed and spectacular bloodletting filmed in slow moving ; it was shot "in the style of Sam Peckinpah" . Rich in texture and including intelligent screenplay full of incredibly violent scenes . However , it has some appalling and disgusting rape frames entirely out of place . This motion picture is set in 1909 Arizona which is arguably right at the end of the old wild American western frontier era period if not it already having ended by the 1890s , as there is an occasional elegiac tone lamenting the passing of the West . This Western picture was based on the novel "Gun Down" by Brian Garfield ; and it was made and released about five years after its source book that had been first published in 1971 . Vibrant as well as brilliant all-star-cast displays exceptional performances . Charlton Heston is perfect as a veteran ex-sheriff with his own ethic codes . This is Charlton Heston's last name rhymes with Western , four years after this 1976 film, Heston would co-star in 1980's Mountain Men , another good western . James Coburn is terrific as a convict sets into motion plan of revenge on old Marshall . Furthermore , good secondaries such as and Jorge Rivero , Larry Wilcox , Thalmus Rasulala , Morgan Paull , John Quade , Robert Donner and Michael Parks as reform-minded Marshal. Enjoyable musical score , Jerry Goldsmith is credited with "Music" on the film's credits, the credit is misleading as he composed no original score for the film, instead it was tracked with cues from four other westerns he scored: 100 rifles (1969) ; Río Conchos (1964); Morituri (1965) and Stagecoach (1966) , which is why he did not receive a credit like "Original Music composed & Conducted by". Colorful and evocative cinematography in Panavisión by Duke Callaghan , Peckinpah's usual , and portions of this film were photographed at Old Tucson Studios, Tucson, Arizona .

This actioner motion picture was professionally directed by the veteran director of Westerns Andrew V. McLaglen , though Jack Smight and possibly Stuart Rosenberg were considered for the director . This was final cinema movie western directed by Andrew V. McLaglen who was a veteran of the genre . McLaglen though continued to direct a few more westerns for television. Andrew V. McLaglen, the veteran director of Westerns, is son of great actor Victor McLagen and known John Ford's disciple . Andrew holds the distinction of directing the most episodes of "Gunsmoke" . Furthermore , he holds the honor of filmmaking the most episodes of ¨Have gun , Will travel" (1957). And is one of the few directors to have directed both Clint Eastwood and John Wayne . He's a Western expert (McLintock, Shenandoah, Bandolero, Chisum, Cahill, Way west) and warlike specialist , such as proved in several films ( Return to Kwai, Wild Geese , Dirtdozen: the next mission, Sea wolves, Breakthrough ) . The Last Hard Men is a real must see for fans of the genre in Peckinpah style . Rating : Nice , acceptable and passable , 6 .

Pretty good western

[dworldeater · 7/10 · 23 March 2020]

Nowadays, people would take a different meaning if you told them you were watching a movie called The Last Hard Men. But this film in question is a Sam Peckinpah styled Western that has two leading men that were cast in Peckinpah's films going head to head against each other in this vicious revenge western. James Coburn escapes from Yuma prison on the chain gang and instead of going on the run, he plots revenge on the lawman that brought him in and kidnapped his daughter. This puts his old nemesis taking himself out of retirement to put down his long time enemy and get back his daughter. Both Heston and Coburn are fantastic and the film is tense, violent and nasty, but is totally well made overall. I can't say that this comes close to Peckinpaw's best work, but for something similar The Last Hard Men gets the job done and is a pretty solid lesser known western.

Realistic and somewhat violent western

[mjohncoady · 23 July 2004]

A nice departure from the mainstream, "good guys wear white hats", product typical of the genre. First released in the 1970's, the movie followed in the experimental trend of the day begun with the "Spaghetti Westerns" starring Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, etc.

Both the protagonist and antagonist are throwbacks to an earlier time. Charlton Heston is somewhat dismayed and bewildered by the technological changes thrust upon him while James Coburn's character simply disregards them. The two men become locked in an ego battle that disregards all those around them except to the extent others are useful in pursuing their own personal goals. Both characters are incredible "hard men", physically, mentally, and emotionally and this aspect of their personalities plays out in single-minded, intense violence and cruelty.

The plot is nothing new, however. Coburn plays an escaped convict bent on avenging himself against Heston, the lawman who captured him. Coburn manipulates a gang of mostly dimwitted but dangerous criminals who kidnap Heston's daughter. Heston then chases them across hill and dale in an attempt to save her.

Benefits from a vivid hero & villain.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 9 February 2012]

"The Last Hard Men", based on the novel "Gun Down" by Brian Garfield of "Death Wish" fame, is an effectively harsh, intense Western made in the Peckinpah style, utilizing the common Western theme of changing times and the weary veterans coming to terms with this reality.

Charlton Heston displays quiet strength as former lawman Sam Burgade, whose nemesis Zach Provo (James Coburn) has escaped from a road gang with his accomplices. Provo, a half breed, is obsessed with exacting vengeance upon Burgade after a past shootout had resulted in the death of Provo's wife. As Burgade puts it, vengeance is basically all that Provo lives for now and that there would be a big hole in his life to fill without that hatred. Provo's particularly insidious plan involves the kidnapping of Burgade's daughter Susan (ever lovely Barbara Hershey), upon whom Provo will unleash his drooling degenerate pals if Burgade doesn't come to face him.

Give this movie, directed by Western pro Andrew V. McLaglen, credit for going to a place not typically considered in the Western by having the outlaw gang actually force itself on poor Susan. The violence is also definite post-"The Wild Bunch" stuff with a fair bit of the red stuff flowing as the movie goes along. As would be important for any Western, the scenery is shown in all of its breathtaking glory, and the period recreation handled well. The music score by the consistently reliable Jerry Goldsmith hits all the right, rousing notes. As the climactic action plays out, it's equal parts suspenseful and exciting.

Coburn oozes menace as the seething, vengeance-crazed Provo, and his gang is comprised of men such as Jorge Rivero, Thalmus Rasulala (who unfortunately doesn't get a whole lot to do), Larry Wilcox of CHiPs, Morgan Paull, John Quade, and Robert Donner. Quade is especially good as a true creep. Christopher Mitchum, son of Robert, also comes off well as the "greenhorn" who Burgade realizes he has underestimated. But the most interesting performance in the whole thing is that by Michael Parks, playing the low key, reform minded, not terribly efficient sheriff.

"The Last Hard Men" is good if not great, and is a suitably entertaining movie while it lasts.

Seven out of 10.

A Peckinpah Wannabe directed by a John Ford Pupil

[lostinaction · 6/10 · 24 August 2008]

"The Last Hard Men" is a typical western for the 70's. Most of them seem to be inspired by Sam Peckinpah. Also this one, but Director Andrew McLaglan is a John Ford Pupil and this can be obviously shown in many scenes. IMO the beginning is very good. In a certain way McLaglan wanted to show the audience a travel from the civilization to the wilderness. In the third part there are some illogical flaws and I complain a bit about Charlton Heston. He has to play an old ex-lawman named Sam Burgade but he is in a fantastic physical shape. I never got the feeling that he really has problems to climb on a horse or on a rock. For me he didn't looks very motivated as he usual do in most of his epic movies. Same goes to the beautiful Barbara Hershey who is playing the sheriff's daughter. Maybe both had troubles with the director or were unhappy with their roles. Hershey and Coburn are not showing their best but they are still good. If the scriptwriter had John Wayne in their mind as Sam Burgade? Also Michael Parks as modern sheriff is a bit underused in his role. On the other Hand there is James Coburn as outlaw Zach Provo. Coburn is a really great villain in this one. He is portraying the bad guy between maniac hate and cleverness. His role and his acting is the best of the movie.

Landscapes and Shootouts are terrific. The shootings scenes are bloody and the violence looks realistic. Zach Provo and his gang had some gory and violent scenes. What I miss is the typical western action in the middle of the movie. I would have appreciated a bank robbery or something similar. Overall it's an entertaining western flick. Not a great movie but above the average because of a great Coburn, a very good beginning and some gory and violent scenes.

When I track him down I'm gonna kill him! And all the SOB's that are with him!

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 6 October 2008]

***SPOILERS*** Seething with hatred and revenge half breed Zach Provo, James Coburn, had spent the last 11 years on a chain gang planing his escape. What Provo want's more then freedom is to even the score with the man who captured him and in the process, during a wild shootout, killed his Navajo wife: The former Pima County sheriff Sam Burgade, Charlton Heston.

Making his escape after killing two prison guards Provo makes his way towards Yuma knowing that that's not just where Burgade lives but where his his young daughter Susan, Barbara Hershey,resides as well. Using his fellow escaped convicts to lure Burgade into the vast Arizona Desert, by promising them $30,000.00 in gold coins that he buried there, Provo plans to exact his bloody vengeance on Burgade. But only after having him witness his daughter being brutally raped by his fellow convicts or are, in not being with a woman for years, as horny as a rabbit during mating season!

Brutal and very effective western that updates the John Wayne 1956 classic "The Searchers" in a father searching through dangerous Indian territory for his kidnapped daughter. Charlton Heston as the guilt-ridden Sam Burgade in his felling somehow responsible for killing Provo's wife and then having to face the fact that the same thing can very well happen to his daughter Susan is perfect in the role of the aging and retired sheriff. Charles Coburn as the vengeful half breed Zach Provo is also at his best as the obsessed with hatred and murder escaped convict.

The man who escaped with Provo are really not interest in his personal affairs but have no choice, in that he knows the territory like the back of his hand, but to go along with him. It's only the thought of them having their way with Susan, when Provo gives them the green light, as well as the buried $30,000.00 in gold coins that keeps them from breaking up and going their own way.

Also going along with Burgade is Susan's boyfriend Hal Brickman, Chris Mitchum, who proves in the end that he's as good as Burgade is, who felt that he just didn't have it in him, in both tracking down the escaped criminals as well as using common sense, which in this case Burgade lacks, in doing it.

***SPOILERS**** The unbelievably brutal and blood splattered showdown between Burgade and Provo is almost too much to sit through. Provo who's hatred of Burgade bordered on out right insanity wanted him to suffer a slow and excruciating death. it was that hatred that Bugrade took advantage of and, after taking some half dozen bullets, thus ended up putting the crazed and blood thirsty, as well as mindless, lunatic away for good!

The Last Sadistic Twitches

[jaibo · 6/10 · 26 July 2009]

This is a minor 70s Western, directed with rather too much stolidity by Andrew V. McLaglen. Heston hasn't quite got the form in the genre to pull off the ageing lawman role, although you can certainly see his ornery old Republican role being practised before your eyes; Coburn is good as the psychotic halfbreed outlaw looking for revenge, but he needed a director who encouraged him to loosen up more and go loco.

The film does score points, though, in its nastiness. There is a genuinely sadistic universe on show here, as if in the last days of the Wild West the outlaw and the marshal both were reduced to being little more than collections of violent spasms, each twitch aimed at causing some torment to another human being, and each situation causing more twitchin'.

Uninspired Oater

[abooboo-2 · 4/10 · 5 February 2001]

I'm going to have to disagree with the previous comment and side with Maltin on this one. This is a second rate, excessively vicious Western that creaks and groans trying to put across its central theme of the Wild West being tamed and kicked aside by the steady march of time. It would like to be in the tradition of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", but lacks that film's poignancy and charm. Andrew McLaglen's direction is limp, and the final 30 minutes or so are a real botch, with some incomprehensible strategy on the part of heroes Charlton Heston and Chris Mitchum. (Someone give me a holler if you can explain to me why they set that hillside on fire.) There was something callous about the whole treatment of the rape scene, and the woman's reaction afterwards certainly did not ring true. Coburn is plenty nasty as the half breed escaped convict out for revenge, but all of his fellow escapees are underdeveloped (they're like bowling pins to be knocked down one by one as the story lurches forward). Michael Parks gives one of his typically shifty, lethargic, mumbling performances, but in this case it was appropriate as his modern style sheriff symbolizes the complacency that technological progress can bring about.

big names, pretty good western

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 3 September 2020]

Charlton Heston is Burgade, trying to retire, with his daughter Susan (Barbara Hershey). when chain gang prisoner Provo (James Coburn) escapes, he comes gunning for Burgade. along with a whole group of fellow prisoners. chris Mitchum, son of robert, is in here as Brickman. mexican muscle man jorgé rivero is Menendez. Larry Wilcox (CHIPS !) is Shelby. Provo manages to kidnap the daughter Susan, so Burgade gets a posse together and goes after Provo and his gang. the usual western, tracking, trailing, threats, shoot-outs. it's good. most of the film is the sheriff tracking Provo and his gang. Directed by Andrew McLaglen. he worked with John Wayne on seventeen films! Story by Brian Garfield. filmed in various beautiful locations around Arizona.

THE LAST HARD MEN (Andrew V. McLaglen, 1976) **

[Bunuel1976 · 4/10 · 27 July 2007]

This one came out during the Western genre’s last gasp; unfortunately, it emerges to be a very minor and altogether unsatisfactory effort – even if made by and with veterans in the field! To begin with, the plot offers nothing remotely new: James Coburn escapes from a chain gang, intent on killing the man (now retired) who put him there – Charlton Heston. While the latter lays a trap for him, Coburn outwits Heston by kidnapping his daughter (Barbara Hershey). Naturally, the former lawman – accompanied by Hershey’s greenhorn fiancé (Chris Mitchum) – sets out in pursuit of Coburn and his followers, all of whom broke jail along with him.

Rather than handling the proceedings in his customary sub-Fordian style, McLaglen goes for a Sam Peckinpah approach – with which he’s never fully at ease: repellent characters, plenty of violence, and the sexual tension generated by Hershey’s presence among Coburn’s lusty bunch. Incidentally, Heston and Coburn had previously appeared together in a Sam Peckinpah Western – the troubled MAJOR DUNDEE (1965; I really need to pick up the restored edition of this one on DVD, though I recently taped the theatrical version in pan-and-scan format off TCM UK). Anyway, the film is too generic to yield the elegiac mood it clearly strives for (suggested also by the title): then again, both stars had already paid a fitting valediction to this most American of genres – WILL PENNY (1968) for Heston and Coburn with PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID (1973)!

At least, though, Heston maintains a modicum of dignity here – his ageing character attempting to stay ahead of half-breed Coburn by anticipating what his next move will be; the latter, however, tackles an uncommonly brutish role and only really comes into his own at the climax (relishing his moment of vengeance by sadistically forcing Heston to witness his associates’ gang-rape of Hershey). Apart from the latter, this lengthy sequence sees Heston try to fool Coburn with a trick borrowed from his own EL CID (1961), the villainous gang is then trapped inside a bushfire ignited by the practiced Heston and the violent death of the two ‘obsolete’ protagonists (as was his fashion, Heston’s demise takes the form of a gratuitous sacrifice!).

The supporting cast includes Michael Parks as the ineffectual town sheriff, Jorge Rivero as Coburn’s Mexican lieutenant, and Larry Wilcox – of the TV series CHiPs! – as the youngest member of Coburn’s gang who’s assigned the task of watching over Hershey (while doing his best to keep his drooling mates away!). Jerry Goldsmith contributes a flavorful but, at the same time, unremarkable score.

Peckinpah-style western from a man who studied under Ford

[virek213 · 9/10 · 19 July 2001]

This hard-hitting, often violent western in the Peckinpah/Leone tradition is surprisingly directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, whose previous westerns (particularly those that starred John Wayne) were mainly in the John Ford mode. It is both surprisingly traditional (good guys/bad guys) and incredible up-to-date as well.

Heston portrays a former captain of the Arizona territorial police who has been in retirement for a year, having turned over the law enforcement reins to a reform-minded sheriff (Michael Parks) and finding his ways of enforcing the law being taken over by autos, telegraphs, telephones, and the railroad in the first years of the 20th century. But soon he is confronted with a menace from his past--a half-breed outlaw (Coburn) that he put away more than a decade before for a train robbery that killed four guards. In a subsequent shootout, Coburn's wife was killed; and so Coburn is out for a most nasty sort of revenge. It involves the kidnapping and, eventually, the rape of Heston's daughter (Hershey) by him and his gang. The result is a taut and violent pursuit through the mountains and deserts of southern Arizona.

THE LAST HARD MEN, based on Brian Garfield's novel "Gun Down", is violent in many places, including the showdown between Heston and Coburn, and the rape scene involving Hershey and two members of Coburn's gang (Quade, Paull) is probably every bit as questionable as similar scenes in STRAW DOGS and DELIVERANCE. But that doesn't detract too terribly much from the film's psychological approach to the western genre. McLaglen is able to handle the bloody story with significant panache, and Heston's performance as an aging lawman was probably the best one he ever gave in any of his 1970s films. Coburn makes for an especially cold-blooded heavy, and both Parks and Chris Mitchum (as Hershey's intended husband) do good turns as well. The music here is cribbed from Jerry Goldsmith's scores to 100 RIFLES and the 1966 remake of STAGECOACH, but it still works here.

Wisely filmed totally on location in southeastern Arizona, and utilizing the Old Tucson set, THE LAST HARD MEN needs to be released by Fox on VHS and/or DVD soon. It is a western that deserves nothing less.

Gritty but dated

[xredgarnetx · 6/10 · 11 November 2006]

TLHM is a gritty turn-of-the-century western pitting aging lawman Chuck Heston against escaped con James Coburn, who has kidnapped Heston's luscious daughter (the ever fetching Barbara Hershey). The shootouts and death scenes are almost G-rated by today's standards, but you can tell they were trying. Also, by 1976, there had been a lot more violent and bloody flicks, like THE WILD BUNCH and SOLDIER BLUE. So we must make do with the characters, and Heston and Coburn prove why they don't make them like this any longer. If this were remade, you might cast Mel Gibson or Tommy Lee Jones as the worn out cop and Stuart Wilson or Gary Busey as the obsessive bad buy, but it just wouldn't be the same. Heston and Coburn were legends. There are no legends today. Worth a look.

Predictable, pedantic.

[fleming52 · 1/10 · 11 September 2009]

I don't know why I'm taking the time to review this waste-of-time movie. If you stick with it long enough in hopes of a satisfying conclusion – good, bad, or surprising – don't. It finally fizzles out after stiff, formulaic, predictable dialogue and acting. Indoor scenes are so harshly lit you think if the camera were zoomed out one millimeter further you'd see the klieg lights. Costumes, hair-do's, and sets are starched, pressed, and immaculate. Are we supposed to imagine common people really lived like that in early 20th-century Arizona? Other reviews' comparisons to Sam Peckinpah are an insult to Peckinpah: at least that director wove his violence into the context of chaos and mayhem. HARD MEN's gore is gratuitous exploding squibs from wooden impersonations of bad guys with manicured fingernails. Huh?!? I can believe Heston thought he might have been making something of worth with this film. (He does get to clutch his gun in his cold fingers.) But Coburn? I'll never guess why he signed up for this travesty. Want to see a movie about the end of the West as we knew it, the end of Westerns as we knew them? Watch THE SHOOTIST or UNFORGIVEN again. THE LAST HARD MEN is a mockery of an obituary to the Western.

What Six Years Hath Wrought

[inspectors71 · 15 May 2016]

Fans of Andrew V. McLaglen movies (McLintock!, Chisum, and The Wild Geese come to mind) won't mind the dark, nasty, gory The Last Hard Men with James Coburn and Charlton Heston. It's standard revenge stuff until you notice that it's way more violent and sociopathological than something fluffy like McLintock! or the all- purpose, crowd-pleasing Chisum.

What the six years from Chisum to The Last Hard Men wrought. McLaglen had no trouble dabbling in a bit of gore here and a skosh of savagery there, but The Undefeated and Chisum were rated G. TLHM brings you lots of close-up impalings and incinerations and splashy gunshot wounds, sometimes in slow-mo! It seems that ol' Andy McLaglen was watching a lot of Sam Peckinpah and Sergio Leone in the early 70s!

The biggest change might be McLaglen's treatment of women. In McLintock!, John Wayne woos Maureen O'Hara by stripping her to her undies, dragging her through molasses, showering her with feathers, spanking her with a stove shovel, and boinking her as the lights come up.

To quote Judith Crist, "What girl could resist?"

In The Last Hard Men, Barbara Hershey, a woman I find much more real and appealing than the actressy O'Hara, gets pummeled by Coburn, leaving her gasping on the floor of Heston's home, with a sprig of hair across her face, daring not to brush it away for fear of getting hit again.

Jump to Coburn releasing two of his henchmen to chase down Hershey, as her dad, Heston, watches from a distance. They catch her and rape her while Coburn taunts Heston with "They're xxxxxxx your daughter!"

The switch from chauvinism to sadism, from the early 60s to the mid- 70s, couldn't be a pleasant one for the likes of Hershey's character.

With that said, I sat engrossed in The Last Hard Men when I saw it as the lead up to The Enforcer in December, 1976. It was just the sort of intense, brutal movie that I grooved on in my late teens. I learned to really like Charlton Heston and James Coburn, so much so that I have searched out movies with these two actors, long before I really noticed them.

I got my prurient kicks some years later seeing Barbara Hershey nekkid in the imbecilic The Entity, but the more I think about it, I realize she was more appealing, sexier when she was fighting back against the thugs in the western.

Cripes, where am I going with this?

I miss Heston and Coburn. I miss Wayne (and the PC police in California can pound sand with their complaining about John Wayne being a hater).

I think I liked The Last Hard Men not in spite of its sadism, but because of it. Kind of like The Professionals and The Dirty Dozen.

Does that make any sense?

"You don't die for women. You kill for them."

[lost-in-limbo · 6/10 · 28 May 2011]

Typically violent and brutal, but rather plodding western that has shades of film-maker Sam Peckinpah streaming through it. Coming in towards the back-end of a dying genre, "The Last Hard Man" sees the traditional American Wild West making way for modern times involving steam trains, telephones, cars and telegrams. However amongst these changes are two, very dogged nemesis coming to blows, but they do things the way they know best and rarely embrace the changes to help in some shape. Its old-fashion horse-back tracking is simplistic, where it's all about the primal instinct for revenge. Now it's personal. Vendettas loom. A cat and mouse game is started, where the two never back down for each other. They battle it out, knowing each others moves. But the actions which are perceived are surprisingly twisted in a way to gain some sort of upper hand.

Charlton Heston plays an aging, but retired sheriff Sam Burgade who suddenly gets back in the saddle after the man he put away a decade ago Zach Provo (James Coburn) escapes. Burgade knows he would be a target, as Provo blames him for his Navajo woman's death. So Burgade puts himself out there, but Provo surprises him by kidnapping his daughter.

It's probably not as exciting as it could have been where the set-pieces just causally morph and the operatic dramas only blister. Well that's until it reaches its rough, but very intense and unpleasant climax between the two men. It's quite a memorable, if barbaric standoff mainly due to Coburn's character's delusional state of mind. Coburn simply commands the screen, even when he isn't igniting it and he just nails down the part as the half-breed who becomes so obsessed in seeing Burgade squirm. While Heston is more in checked with a professionally sturdy turn. The support cast are just as good with the likes of Chris Mitchum, Larry Wilcox, Barbara Hershey and Michael Parks.

Director Andrew V. McLaglen's handling is tough and gritty, while slow grinding it did bestow some flashy moments of slow-motion to heighten the emotional effect of certain situations. However in the end those moments just felt more pointless and the visuals really do centre of the repugnant side. It's hard-headed in a weary manner, but it remains efficient. Jerry Goldsmith's palatable music score is serviceable, if nothing more.

The Last Hard Men (1974) **1/2

[JoeKarlosi · 6/10 · 6 March 2013]

Commonplace Western has James Coburn as a half-breed outlaw escaping from a chain gang and setting out for torturous revenge on retired sheriff Charlton Heston, who also was responsible for the death of Coburn's wife. Heston is ready to confront him, so the criminal kidnaps Chuck's daughter (Barbara Hershey) to outsmart him. The two tough guy actors are pretty good, and there is an attempt to make the action live up to its "R" rating with some bloody shots and a rape sequence, but what used to be violent in 1976 is not as strong today and the overall results are pretty standard. Jerry Goldsmith's score is spirited. Also features young Michael Parks as the current new sheriff. **1/2 out of ****

Good Cast In So-So Movie

[FightingWesterner · 6/10 · 18 November 2011]

In the waning days of the wild west, a chain gang led by James Coburn blasts their way to freedom, where he sets his sights on the daughter of Charleton Heston, the man responsible for his capture eleven years earlier.

Director Andrew V. McLaglen (who's done better) tries hard to capture a Sam Peckinpah type vibe, but fails in part because of uninspired writing and disappointing performances by Heston and Barbera Hershey. Likewise, Jorge Rivero is flashy, but bland as Coburn's right hand man.

However, it's mildly entertaining, thanks to some potent violence, nasty performances by Coburn and fellow escapee John Quade, as well as the presence of solid character actors Michael Parks and Christopher Mitchum.

"What I think up here, I think two, three, minutes ahead of you..."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 18 February 2007]

I have to side with the naysayers here, if you've seen enough Westerns, there's no escaping the fact that this one is nothing special. Perhaps notable for an early treatment of rape in cinema, even that theme gets botched by the overtly one track randiness of henchman Gant (John Quade). Once the attempt is made though, you have to wonder why Barbara Hershey's character doesn't seem the least bit traumatized, never mind the non response of her fiancée Brickman (Christopher Mitchum).

This could have been a taut psychological Western, what with the setup of the characters portrayed by Charlton Heston and James Coburn. Ultimately though, they seem to rather routinely go through their motions, former lawman Burgade (Heston) somewhat convincing as he reads Provo (Coburn) like a book, but as it turns out, Provo never even tries to throw him a curve. Say, how is it Burgade at one point has trouble getting up on his horse, but then winds up taking four bullets from Provo at point blank range and a nasty hard a-- bump off a rock ledge, and still manage to survive? I'd give him till the closing credits finish rolling.

At one point, as the hunt proceeds through Indian reservation territory, Heston's character remarks to his daughter's fiancée - "Everybody's gotta die, nobody's gotta give up". Sorry to say however, the film does both.

Stereotyped and tiresome.

[gridoon · 3/10 · 3 September 2001]

Stereotyped, derivative, unoriginal and boring Western. The two popular stars (Charlton Heston and James Coburn) both give performances that are far from their best, and justifiably so; they both have superficial roles and character traits stated mainly by dialogue. Heston is a sheriff who "liked the world better as it used to be before" and Coburn is an outlaw who "owes something to the man who locked him up and has to pay his debt". Additionally, Heston is so old that he has trouble riding a horse and Coburn is mean and tough but not as cold-blooded a killer as some of the minor villains. Apparently, the filmmakers couldn't come up with even ONE original idea about how to make this movie somewhat distinguished. (*1/2)

You don't die for women. You kill for them.

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 8 June 2008]

It is not often that you see an "R" rated western. It was even initially banned in Sweden, if you can believe that. But, that was for what was considered excessive violence, including a rape.

But, there was not much violence when you consider the torture porn of today, and there was no nudity, despite Oscar-nominee Barbara Hershey's long history of flashing her breasts in several movies, notably Boxcar Bertha just four years before.

James Coburn plays the role of a tough half-breed that wants to torture Charlton Heston for killing his wife eleven years previous when he was a sheriff. He almost gets his wish, but, hey, this is a western, and you can't ever let the bad guys win.

This is the way they should have all been made.

Detached...Diluted...Disappointing...Deja-Vu

[LeonLouisRicci · 3/10 · 16 June 2012]

A Movie so Derivative and Dull that without Shame. So much of this Film had come before that this Rip-Off is in Violation of any respect due its Predecessors. The Action is presented in an Unremarkable, Unrestrained, Mirror image of a paint by numbers New Violence kit.

The Star Cast is uninspired and seem Uninterested, probably because they feel a Sense of detached, diluted Deja-Vu. It tries to have a Hard Edge with a Soulful Protagonist but delivers a Dud and a Soulless Villain with absolutely Amoral Behavior, but presents a Pathological Bore.

The Editing and Exposition is Hackneyed and intrusive and the Movie seems to be quickly stuffed into the can and shipped before anyone Notices that there is Nothing Present beneath the wrapping.

The Western, after its explosive Ten Year run from Leone to Peckinpah, didn't need anymore of this type Imitative fodder for its Unfortunate Demise, as the Genre quickly Fell Out of Favor.

Two classic stars battle it out..

[smiley-32 · 8/10 · 4 August 2005]

I've seen this film on Sky Cinema not too long ago.. I must admit, it was a really good Western which features 2 of the big names.. On one side, there's Charlton Heston, playing the infamous and retired lawman Samuel Burgade. On the other.. The late James Coburn playing the villainous Zach Provo.. seeking revenge on Burgade no matter what the cost..!

The good thing about this film was there was some really good characters.. Most of the actors played it out really well.. Especially James Coburn, who I find that he was really mean in this film.. But that how it was..

Christopher Mitchum, who I've seen everywhere in other films.. Playing Hal Brickman.. I felt his character was left out in the cold, but he manage to get himself back in by teaming up with Burgade, to bring down Provo's posse's!

All in all, it was a great film.. Very good to watch.. Great score from the late Jerry Goldsmith..

Wonderful piece of Western persona..! 8 out of 10.

Vengeance is a plate to eat cold !!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 21 January 2020]

It's sounds me better when I saw it at first time, after I'd watched it a couple times, yesterday I decided try figure out carefully to establish a final rating on my files, the movie starts well in well-crafted storyline, the Yuma's convicts sentenced to forced labor in railroad tracks, Provo the leader (James Courbun) escapes with his gang, he destiny is a revenge against who put in jail, the already retired Sheriff Sam Burgade (Heston), he set up an ambush to arrest the gang, but Provo doesn't caught in the trap, actually he kidnapped the Burgade's daughter (Hershey) to enforce his enemy follow him, too violent western seeking the footprints of Peckinpah, the highlights are certainly the evil characters, as the pig Gant (John Quade) and the butcher Lee Roy (Robert Donner), in other hand the Kid Shelby (Larry Wilcox) is a friendly and decent, the awaited final showdown is a bit contrived, overall is an enjoyable western with fine landscape near the desert, bringing nostalgic feelings when l saw it for first time!!

Resume:

First watch: 1984 / How many: 4 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7.5

Ugly, mean spirited western.

[barnabyrudge · 3/10 · 28 October 2003]

By 1976 the western was an exhausted genre and the makers of this film clearly knew it. Still, instead of shelving the project and saving us from having to watch it, they went ahead and made it anyway. Apparently in need of an interesting thread to get the audiences to come and see the film, they decided to make it as blatantly violent and unpleasant as possible. Hell, it worked for The Wild Bunch so why shouldn't it work here? Of course, The Wild Bunch had the benefit of a superb script but the script of The Last Hard Men is plain old-fashioned rubbish.

It's hard to figure out what attracted Charlton Heston and James Coburn to their respective roles. Heston plays a retired lawman who goes after an escaped bunch of convicts led by a violent outlaw (Coburn). The hunt becomes even more personal when Heston's daughter (Barbara Hershey) is kidnapped by the convicts and subjected to sexual degradation.

This is a bloodthirsty film indeed in which every time someone dies it is displayed in over-the-top detail. It's tremendously disappointing really, because the star pairing sounds like a mouth-watering prospect. There's no sense of pace or urgency in the film either. It takes an eternity to get going, but when the action finally does come it is marred by the emphasis on nastiness. All in all, this might be the very worst film that Heston ever made. I'm sure it's one of the productions he is loathe to include on his illustrious CV.