disinterested_spectator In Aeschylus's "Oresteia," the point is made that revenge is never ending, whereas justice can brings things to a final resolution. "To the Last Man" turns that idea on its head. In this movie, which is about a feud between two families, whose principal names are the Haydens and the Colbys, the head of the Hayden clan, Mark Hayden, decides to end the feud by bringing in the law, which Granny Spelvin objects to as not honorable, because blood will not be spilled for blood. Nevertheless, Mark goes to the sheriff and charges Jed Colby with the murder of Granpa Spelvin. Even the sheriff thinks it is a bad idea to let the law interfere with a feud, but he arrests Jed, who is tried and sentenced to fifteen years in jail. To get away from Kentucky, Mark takes his family out to Nevada. But when Jed's fifteen years are up, he and what is left of his family follow the Haydens to Nevada, along with a gang of criminals, headed by Jim Daggs, whom Jed met while jail.While things are heating up between the two families, Lynn Hayden and Ellen Colby accidentally meet and fall in love. They plan to marry as the feud swirls around them. And so, this is a kind of "Romeo and Juliet" story, except that this too is turned on its head. Whereas Romeo and Juliet died, leaving their families to regret the feud that led to their deaths, this "Romeo" and "Juliet" live, get married, and live happily ever after, while everyone else in the two families dies (except for a few women and children on the Hayden side). Moreover, unlike justice, which ended nothing, revenge carried out to its ultimate conclusion, when there is only one man left, is the only thing that finally puts an end the feud.

MartinHafer "To the Last Man" is an interesting film--partly because of a couple uncredited performances and partly because it is a very gritty sort of film. As far as the uncredited roles go, you'll see Shirley Temple just before she became a mega-star as well as a tiny appearance by John Carradine.The film begins just after the Civil War. As a man returns to his wife in the hills of Kentucky, you see his father-in-law being murdered by a neighbor. The killing is all part of a long-standing feud (like the infamous Hatfield and McCoy feud) but instead of killing the perpetrator, the war vet has announced he's seen enough killing and takes the case to court. His family at first is upset he didn't kill the killer, but in the long run it was the logical thing to do. However, the murderer is NOT logical and vows to renew the feud after his 15 year sentence is complete. Now this guy is super-serious--and even after his enemy leaves Kentucky and moves to Nevada, he and his clan move west just so they can get their revenge!! But, instead of just shooting them, the ex-con plans on ruining their ranch--with the help of his best prison buddy. However, there is a monkey wrench in this plan--his daughter is about to fall in love with one of the enemy (Randolph Scott)! How's all this insanity going to end?! While the plot isn't all that remarkable, the film works because the film is very gritty and unsentimental. You'll see a lot of Pre-Code style violence--and this actually helps the film to be both realistic and creates a strong impact--especially during the big showdown at the end. Bold and gritty--and worth seeing.

Gary Imhoff This is a standout early-30's western because of the extraordinary talent that participated in it: director Henry Hathaway, writer Jack Cunningham (who collaborated with Hathaway on six pictures in 1933-34), original novelist Zane Gray, and a cast of stars and future stars who were in Hathaway's stock company at the time: Randolph Scott, Barton McLane, Buster Crabbe (who in two-shot close-ups looks as though he were born to play Scott's brother), Noah Berry, and Jack LaRue. Even in brief and minor roles, Hathaway gets memorable performances, such as a shaved Fuzzy Knight in a serious rather than comic-relief role and Eugenie Besserer as a fierce grandmother crying out for Biblical vengeance. Esther Ralston is a revelation in the lead female role, as an unpolished and touchy backwoods girl who yearns to be a lady but who is fully capable in the climatic scene of fighting desperately to save her man's life.The plot mixes returning Civil War veterans, hill country family feuds, and Western rustling action, and ties these threads neatly together. The film is only a little over an hour long, but it packs a lot of action and plot into that short running time.

disdressed12 this western,not to be confused with the Gunsmoke TV movie of the same name,is quite enjoyable,it's fast paced,lots of action and excitement.the story is basically two families are carrying on a longstanding feud with each other,and killing members of the opposite clan.Randolph Scott stars as does Buster Crabbe,and i'm also fairly certain a very young Shirley Temple appears,though i don't recall her name in the credits.she must have been about 5 years old or so at the time.Jack Cunningham wrote the screenplay from the novel by Zane Grey.Henry Hathaway directed.he also directed Rawhide(1951)The Garden of Evil(1954)and he was also one of four directors(each director having their own segments)to direct the big budget opus How the West was Won(1962).the other directors were John Ford,George Marshall,and Richard Thorpe,who was uncredited.as for to last Man AKA Law of Vengeance, i would definitely watch it again.my vote: 7/10