User Reviews

Although this entry stars Harry Carey, our star doesn't play the title character. Instead, Clinton is a comedy-relief role played by Victor Potel. In fact, I don't even remember the title's ominous message – last! – being mentioned in the movie at all. Not that it matters, because The Last of the Clintons is a minor film with minor production values and minor variations on the usual familiar themes. The main innovation is that the usual big shoot-out (in which no-one of importance gets shot) occurs at the beginning rather than the end. Indeed, the actual climax is rather tame. Nevertheless, Carey breezes through the movie in his usual captivating style, despite the fact that he often seems to be playing second fiddle to lesser members of the cast, including not only Vic Potel, but Tom London as the chief villain, plus Del Gordon and Betty Mack as the young lovers caught up in London's snare. So Carey doesn't even get the girl! Yet, what's worse is that he doesn't dispose of the villain either. In fact, our number-one bad guy is the victim of what we writers call a "deus ex machina", that is an outside event over which the main players have little or no control, for example being eaten by a stray mountain lion or falling to his death when his horse rears at the sight of a snake on the edge of a precipice! These, of course, are not the events that occur in this movie, but you get the idea. It's a disappointing climax, but nevertheless, Harry Carey is always worth seeing even when – as here! – he is all but outfoxed by script, director and minor players among the rest of the cast!