The Last Challenge

Sadly, there isn't really anything very original here and I kept seeing Stephen Boyd every time Chad Everett made his presence felt. His ''Lot'' isn't so much looking for his pillar of salt as his pillar of the community and local sheriff ''Blaine'' (Glenn Ford) might fit that bill. They encounter each other whilst the latter man is out fishing, but quickly we discover that the former is looking for a famous scalp and that the latter was once - and may well still be, a formidable gunslinger. There is no deceit between the two men here. ''Lot'' is upfront about his purpose and although the two part as friends, the gauntlet has been clearly thrown down. Meantime, they had to find a part for Angie Dickenson and so ''Lisa'' takes on the mantle of running the local hotel whilst being romantically attached to the lawman. When she, too, learns of the plot she thinks that perhaps she ought to have a few drinks and then take the law into her own hands. So we are now all teed up for something predicable but watchable enough. That latter element is improved by the always reliable and curmudgeonly presence of Jack Elam; there is a small part for Gary Merrill as the curiously monikered ''Squint'' and amidst what appears to be a great deal of dialogue, there is some gun totin' action to keep us entertained. No, I doubt that even the most die-hard fans of Ford and/or this genre will recall this for long, but it passes the time effortlessly.