Die letzte Kugel trifft (1964)

Die letzte Kugel trifft: Directed by R.G. Springsteen. With Audie Murphy, Darren McGavin, Ruta Lee, Beverley Owen. Former Texas Rangers Sam Ward and Logan Keliher become enemies when Sam turns bank robber and Logan marries Sam’s ex-wife.

“This Western might be best described as a u0026quot;motley posseu0026quot; Western. The irony here is that Audie Murphyu0026#39;s other famous posse Western, POSSE FROM HELL, probably sums up this posse just as well.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are other similarities. Both posses are filled with very credible characters. The big difference here is Audieu0026#39;s character. In POSSE FROM HELL he played more of a Hollywood cliché, another of those rebels without a cause sorts who are angry for exactly no reason.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHere, he plays a more believable character, a mature man more in tune with the realities of the old West. Purists may grumble about the lack of dust and sweat on these colorful props and clothes, but there are two chief reasons for this spectacular style of cinematography. First, is itu0026#39;s artistic, of course. Secondly, and what we see is a problem later in the u0026quot;dust and dirtu0026quot; Westerns, is there is less confusion. The film is supposed to tell a story. With the vivid spectacle, we know what is going on. The trouble with showing what the characters see is that we donu0026#39;t know what is going on. Okay, the dork who pauses and magnifies each frame, he knows, but sane, mature people will refuse to do this.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe characters make this a superior Western, no doubt about it. Murphy is a u0026quot;stepfatheru0026quot; whose son doesnu0026#39;t know his real father is not only an escaped convicted killer, but that he was once a Texas Ranger along with the stepfather.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe relationships and dialog concerning the family could still be used today. In fact, Iu0026#39;ve seen real father-wife-stepfather-child dialogs today that are almost identical to the lines in the film, from people who have never heard of Audie Murphy, much less seen the film. The directing and writing here, certainly of characters, is as full of insight as you will find.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThat shouldnu0026#39;t surprise you, that a film from over half a century ago would have more insight. Hollywood really lost the u0026quot;insightu0026quot; and u0026quot;characteru0026quot; with the seventies mainstream. These older films not only had writers who had to live more mature lives, but also had to appeal to more mature audiences than the later cubicle dwellers.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe subtle differences between the posse members also deserves note. The skipper plays the lawman of the group, and is much more like a real town lawman than people today would think, full of fear and desperation. The u0026quot;chiefu0026quot; of Control plays a very realistic honest member of the posse. The two town tough guys, bouncers in the saloon, are shown to have their different personalities. One is pure evil, but the other has some u0026quot;manlyu0026quot; qualities, refusing to kill the woman for thousands of tax free dollars. The old grizzled veteran reveals multiple dimensions about himself, but most notably his demonic side, a side which we see mostly in the characters we could almost respect otherwise, as he lightly discards the squaws he butchered.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAudieu0026#39;s nemesis begins the film with a demonic act, in fact. We never forget what he is, and that there is an evil in him that isnu0026#39;t in those of us who arenu0026#39;t psychopaths. No doubt, some of the IMDb bubble boys and beavis types, will think heu0026#39;s u0026quot;coolu0026quot;, but to people who deal with reality on a more usual basis, Audieu0026#39;s character will be the one who looks u0026quot;coolu0026quot;.”