User Reviews

"Last of the Warrens" is a swiftly moving film with no sidetracks and provides opportunities for the players to actually show off some acting skills. Bob Steele, of course, is an accomplished performer, but he is supported well by expressive and gorgeous Margaret Marquis (with whom Steele shares some surprisingly sumptuous kisses), dastardly Charles King (check out King's detailed approach to his craft when he writes out the letter at the table with one of his henchmen), and Horace Murphy, among others. Why, we even have the pleasure of Lafayette McKee's company as the sheriff (although McKee wasn't exactly an actor prone to displaying fluidity, he had a rustic presence that was always welcome in westerns).

That the story is predicated on a feud between families is really of no particular consequence in the details and telling of the story. There are a few plot expediencies that are curious, including the one where King was so tired that he just had to take a nap--talk about curious-- I don't remember such a blatantly odd contrivance in a film in a long time. But it was one way to make the wrap-up possible! And one can also wonder about King's sloppy approach in dealing dirt with Steele's dad. There are others, too, but they are all part of the fun.

Be advised that prints available range from poor to very good, so try to settle on a good one. In summary, then, this is a fun little B-effort and fans of the genre' and of Steele and the stock company will eat it up with relish!

This is a very strange plot for a B-western...very strange indeed. It begins in Europe during WWI--an odd setting for a western. You see a bunch of airplanes supposedly attacking some soldiers. There are only two problems with this--the soldiers are clearly French soldiers from WWI and the planes are from the 1930s. So, not only is this anachronistic but the planes are attacking our allies! This is pretty weird and the stock footage is inserted in such a random manner it appears as if the film makers were drunk.

In this attack, our hero Bob Steele is injured and spends a lot of time in the hospital. When he recovers he's sent home---only to learn that he's been reported dead and none of his letters home have arrived. A local baddie has apparently intercepted the letters. At first it's pretty obvious that the jerk did this because he wanted Bob's fiancée for himself. But this is only half of it--and the exact reason for his diabolical plans turns out to be pretty weird. You certainly can not guess what it's all really about--and if you can, give yourself a pat on the back. In the end, two standard clichés come into play--a secret government agent (a very common theme in John Wayne's Bs) and a final confrontation where the dumb good guy throws away his guns to battle it out bare-knuckle style! I hate clichés--and without them the film would have been a lot better. And, being an annoying stickler for historical accuracy, I hated the WWI sequence. Aside from that, it all plays like a somewhat typical (though oddly plotted) low-budget western. Watchable if you love the genre, but otherwise probably not to most people's liking.

UPDATE: Goodness knows why, but I saw this film again yesterday. While I liked it a tiny bit more the second time (mostly because I like Bob Steele), it didn't improve much the second time around for me. Too many plot holes, too much BAD stock footage (mixing WWI and 1930s stock footage of airplanes and battles) and an ending that took forever, it's not a great film by my standards.