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To the Last Man
To the Last Man
Directed by	Henry Hathaway
Screenplay by	Jack Cunningham
Based on	To The Last Man; by Zane Grey
Produced by	Harold Hurley
Starring	Randolph Scott; Esther Ralston; Noah Beery Sr.; Buster Crabbe; Barton MacLane; Gail Patrick; Shirley Temple; Fuzzy Knight; John Carradine
Cinematography	Ben F. Reynolds
Edited by	Jack Scott
Music by	John Leipold; Ralph Rainger
Production; company	Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	September 15, 1933;
Running time	70 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

To the Last Man is a 1933 American pre-Code Western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Randolph Scott and Esther Ralston. The screenplay by Jack Cunningham was based on the 1921 novel of the same name by Zane Grey. The novel, optioned to Paramount Pictures, was previously made as Victor Fleming's 1923 silent film version of the same title. The supporting cast of Hathaway's version features Noah Beery Sr. (repeating his role from the 1923 version), Jack La Rue, Buster Crabbe, Barton MacLane, Fuzzy Knight, Gail Patrick, and, in uncredited roles, Shirley Temple and John Carradine. The film was reissued for American television under the title Law of Vengeance.

Plot

A feud between the Colby and the Hayden families starts in the hills of Kentucky and continues in the mountains of the West after the American Civil War. Also involved is the conflict between vigilantism and the law in a frontier environment, and lovers from the two feuding families. At one point during the ensuing mayhem, one of the villains shoots the head off 5-year-old Mary Stanley's (Shirley Temple) doll right in front of the child.

Cast

Randolph Scott as Lynn Hayden
Esther Ralston as Ellen Colby
Noah Beery Sr. as Jed Colby
Jack La Rue as Jim Daggs
Buster Crabbe as Bill Hayden
Barton MacLane as Neil Stanley
Gail Patrick as Ann Hayden Stanley
Muriel Kirkland as Molly Hayden
Egon Brecher as Mark Hayden
Fuzzy Knight as Jeff Morley
James Eagles as Eli Bruce (credited as James C. Eagles)
Eugenie Besserer as Granny Spelvin
Harlan Knight as Grandpa Chet Spelvin
John Carradine as Pete Garon (uncredited)
Harry Cording as Fred (uncredited)
Shirley Temple as Mary Stanley (uncredited)
Delmar Watson as Tad Stanley (uncredited)

Production

To the Last Man was filmed on location at Big Bear Valley and Big Pine, California.^[1]

Reception

In his book, The Hollywood Western: Ninety Years of Cowboys and Indians, Train Robbers, Sheriffs and Gunslingers, film historian William K. Everson discusses the film and notes that the Zane Grey series was "uniformly good."^[2] He also writes:

To the Last Man was almost a model of its kind, an exceptionally strong story of feuding families in the post-Civil War era, with a cast worthy of an "A" feature, excellent direction by Henry Hathaway, and an unusual climactic fight between the villain (Jack LaRue) and the heroine (Esther Ralston in an exceptionally appealing performance).

References

^ Vermilye, Jerry (2014). Buster Crabbe: A Biofilmography. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, Inc. pp. 55–56. ISBN 978-0-7864-5180-7.
^ Everson, William K. The Hollywood Western: Ninety Years of Cowboys and Indians, Train Robbers, Sheriffs and Gunslingers. New York. Citadel Press, 1992, First edition 1969.