Last Challenge, The

Glenn Ford and Chad Everett aim to let their guns do the talking in this hair-trigger Western adventure costarring Angie Dickinson. The fastest man with a handgun this side of Abilene, middle-aged marshal Dan Blaine (Ford) is about to have his reputation tested...again. Riding into town is Lot McGuire (Everett), a young gunman of blinding speed who doesn't want to live his life thinking he's second best. And while Blaine's girlfriend (Dickinson) would rather he avoid a showdown, the marshal refuses to back down, knowing a gunslinger who's not the best at what he does is a dead man anyway. Adapted by blacklisted Hollywood Ten screenwriter Albert Maltz from his novel (writing as John Sherry), The Last Challenge was the final project directed by M-G-M veteran Richard Thorpe (White Cargo, Jailhouse Rock), his 185-film career making him one of the most prolific moviemakers in Hollywood history.

• drama
• western