Last Train from Gun Hill
aka One Angry Day
aka Showdown (at Gun Hill)
(1959)
Western
95 minutes
Directed by John Sturges
Cast:
Kirk Douglas as Matt Morgan
Anthony Quinn as Craig Belden
Carolyn Jones as Linda
Earl Holliman as Rick Belden
Brian G. Hutton as Lee Smithers
Ziva Rodann as Catherine Morgan
Bing Russell as Skag
Val Avery as Steve, bartender at the Horseshoe Saloon
Walter Sande as Sheriff Bartlett
Lars Henderson Jr. as Petey Morgan
Henry Wills as Jake
Brad Dexter as Beero
Last Train from Gun Hill was co-produced by Kirk Douglas’ Bryna Productions, Hal Wallis Productions and Paramount Pictures, released by Paramount in 1959 and directed by John Sturges. The movie was filmed in Arizona and California.
Craig Belden and Matt Morgan have been friends since they were young men, sometimes acting on the wrong side of the law. As they grew up they separated, but remained friends with mutual respect for each other.
Craig Belden, a widower with a grown son, is now a wealthy rancher who owns most of the land and most of the town of Gun Hill. Matt Morgan is the sheriff of the small town of Pauly, married to a Native American woman with a small son.
When Morgan’s wife is raped and murdered he swears he will track down the killers and bring them to trial in Pauly. Following leads, he arrives in Gun Hill, and is reunited with his friend Belden. Both men are shocked when the evidence, a fancy saddle, shows that the murderer is Belden’s son, Rick.
Morgan manages to capture Rick, and is holding him in the town’s hotel until the next train arrives to take him and his prisoner back to Pauly.
Belden, despite his deep respect and friendship for Morgan, is torn but must ultimately save his flesh and blood. He and his men surround the hotel, determined to rescue Rick from Morgan and the law.
