5: To the Last Man (1992)

To the Last Man (1992)

From The Cowboys starring John Wayne to The Ox-Bow Incident with Henry Fonda, stories about cattle rustlers and cattle drives are as old as the Old West itself. What makes this movie different is that Marshal Dillon faces a gang of cattle thieves with only the help of his daughter, Beth. As if being outnumbered and outgunned isn’t bad enough, the father-daughter duo land smack in the middle of the Pleasant Valley War, America’s most vicious decade-long feud between two ranching families, that resulted in an estimated 35 to 50 deaths. Fans debate whether including this historical event adds value to the story. Or should it have been a fictional feud? What do you think?

Fun trivia:

• Actor Pat Hingle plays Col. Tucker in To the Last Man but you’ve also seen him in six Gunsmoke episodes as Dr. Chapman in Season 17.
• Hingle also portrayed Commissioner Gordon in several Batman films
• He was a different Col. Tucker on an episode of M*A*S*H
• Hingle appeared on Rawhide, Bonanza, Daniel Boone and The High Chaparral
• He played Judge Fenton in Hang ‘em High with Clint Eastwood, and he was Horace the bartender in The Quick and the Dead with Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Gary Sinese, Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio