For those who consider The Shootist as one of the best Westerns of its time, The Last Challenge would make for a more-than-worthwhile follow-up. John Wayne had no involvement in The Last Challenge, but the 1967 Western does share a lot in common with the 1976 classic that served as a send-off for the Western legend. Like The Shootist, the film features one of the Western genre’s most beloved stars in the lead role – Glenn Ford. Over several decades in the film industry, Glenn Ford starred in dozens of movies, with the majority of his best roles being in film noirs and Westerns.
Glenn Ford may not have the legendary resume of John Wayne when it comes to Westerns, but he too has contributed a great deal to the genre. Perhaps the most significant project he was associated with was the original version of 3:10 to Yuma. He made several other memorable – but often under-the-radar Westerns as well, such as Cowboy, The Cimarron Kid, and The Violent Men. The same goes for The Last Challenge, a film directed by Richard Thorpe. And interestingly, it has a story that’s similar in entertainment value to The Shootist.
Glenn Ford Plays An Aging Gunslinger With A Target On His Back In The Last Challenge
Dan Blaine’s Legendary Reputation Puts Him In Great Danger
In The Shootist, John Wayne’s J.B. Books is introduced as an aging gunslinger with an unparalleled reputation who comes to realize that he has terminal cancer. Unsatisfied with such a fate, Books plans to go down fighting, and intentionally attracts the attention of three men who would love nothing more than to be the one who takes down the famed gunfighter. The Last Challenge offers a similar premise, albeit without the promise that the main character is dying. In the movie, Glenn Ford plays Dan Blaine, an experienced marshal decades past his prime. Much like Books, he’s regarded as the best gunfighter around.
In both cases, the main character’s prowess with the gun becomes a liability with their old age. Dan Blaine understands early on in The Last Challenge that people will always be gunning for him, hoping to prove their superiority. Blaine may be the best shot in the West, but unfortunately, his age puts a time limit on that.
Blaine has to stand against the threat posed by McGuire, while also facing the reality that because there will be more like him, he can only survive like this for so long.
This is the struggle The Last Challenge forces Blaine to tackle, as its story pits him against Chad Everett’s Lot McGuire, a young, hotshot gunslinger eager to become the best by killing Blaine. Blaine has to stand against the threat posed by McGuire, while also facing the reality that because there will be more like him, he can only survive like this for so long.
The Last Challenge Is A Great Western About A Hero Coming To Terms With His Mortality
The Last Challenge Was One Of The Last Westerns Glenn Ford Made
It’s this theme that ultimately drives The Last Challenge, allowing it to offer both a meaningful performance from its star. Glenn Ford’s Dan Blaine may be the fastest gunslinger in the land, but he’s also someone who knows he’s not nearly as good as he used to be. He’s not literally dying like Books in The Shootist, but the film still provides a strong sense that the main character is living on borrowed time.
Related
I Can Watch This John Wayne Movie Over & Over Again, And It Isn’t One Of His Classic Westerns
John Wayne starred in many great movies, but the one that I can’t help watching repeatedly is this often overlooked 1952 non-Western classic.
It doesn’t rise to the same level as The Shootist, nor does it serve as a symbolic ending to Glenn Ford’s movie career, but it weaves a compelling narrative around its central protagonist in a way that keeps the viewer guessing as to what fate awaits Ford’s character. Not unlike what happened in John Wayne’s final Western, it uses Blaine’s inevitable showdown with Lot McGuire to answer the question with an unexpected twist.
- Release Date
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December 22, 1967
- Runtime
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105 minutes
- Director
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Richard Thorpe
- Writers
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Robert Emmett Ginna
Cast
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Angie Dickinson
Lisa Denton
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Glenn Ford
Marshal Dan Blaine
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Gary Merrill
Squint Calloway
- Release Date
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August 11, 1976
- Runtime
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100 minutes
- Director
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Don Siegel
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Lauren Bacall
Bond Rogers
