Last of the Wild Horses is a 1948 western film directed by Robert L. Lippert.
Drifter Duke Barnham finds himself in the middle of a budding range war in Jacksonville, Oregon between local land baron Charlie Cooper and the other smaller ranchers in the area over Cooper's prideful refusal to stop poaching mares from the local wild horse herd—a practice that would soon mean the end of the herd.
What no one knows is that the conflict is being secretly provoked by Cooper's ranch foreman, Riley Morgan, who plans to start a full on-war between the ranchers, then step in and buy up the lot when the law eventually rounded up the ranchers.
Can Duke, along with Cooper's daughter, Jane, female ranch hand Terry and Jack of All Trades Remedy make Cooper see the light before tragedy strikes?note Can they expose Riley's treachery?note
For the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version, please go to the episode recap page.
This movie has examples of:
- Action Girl: Terry and Jane both carry guns, with Terry being specifically pointed out as a tomboy. Jane also gets into a gunfight with Duke, and succeeds in wounding him in the shoulder.
- Actually Pretty Funny: Remedy and Terry essentially blackmail Duke into being a ranch hand, saying they could tell Sheriff Harrison they "misremembered" their earlier alibis for him. Duke can't help but smirk at this play of theirs.
- Aside Comment: The movie's end joke is Remedy being greeted by a model as part of his art correspondence course. Curly is standing there, as the two walk by.Curly: I wonder how they got her in the mailbox.
- Blackmail: The key to proving who really murdered Cooper. Remedy stumbles upon a letter from one of Riley's men promising to reveal the whole truth if not paid off.
- Cold Opening: The opening shows scenes of the climatic fight between Duke and Riley.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The poster brags it's in "Glorious Sepiatone!" though a) it probably wasn't the producer's choice, and b) it's plain black and white, not sepia.
- Distracted by the Sexy: When Remedy has trouble extracting Curly's tooth, the tomboyish Terry appears in something more feminine. Curly notices and then his tooth gets yanked out.
- Drowning My Sorrows: One of Riley's men gets plastered following Cooper's murder, saying he just can't stop thinking about what happened. Riley has him leave town before he confesses or gets found out.
- Evil Chancellor: Riley, of the Wild West flavor.
- Frame-Up: Riley plans to frame Duke for murdering Cooper. He is found guilty, though Terry slips him a gun so that he can make an escape.
- Funny Background Event:
- Remedy has a lengthy conversation with Duke whilst preparing yank out Curly's bad tooth; the whole time, Curly sits between them, eyeing Remedy's dental "tool" nervously as Remedy waves it about. At one point he even tries to slip away, only for Remedy to grab him and set him back down without even pausing in his conversation.
- A mild one when Jane finds Duke's hiding place in the old barn loft. As she climbs up the ladder Duke and Terry pull guns on her; Duke relaxes upon recognizing her but Terry does not, leading to a moment or two of Duke trying to get Terry to put her gun away while Jane enters the loft.
- He Knows Too Much: Realizing that Remedy might be able to expose him, Riley tries to shoot him dead and thinks he's succeeded. He also intends to deal with his blackmailer in short order.
- Honor Before Reason: The entire conflict is pretty much fueled by Charlie Cooper's refusal to even compromise.
- Lovable Rogue: Duke. The film works hard to make you forget that, in the film's opening scene, Duke would've robbed the stagecoach, had he not broken off to intercept Riley's men pursuing Terry. It helps when, upon being challenged by Remedy, Duke admits it would have been his first robbery.
- Love Triangle: A mild one between Duke, Jane, and Terry. It's mostly one-sided on Terry's part; she's infatuated with him, while Duke makes clear he considers it a Precocious Crush.
- Meaningful Name: Remedy. He fancies himself a doctor and dentist, though he's mostly self-taught and his medical knowledge is dubious at best.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: The climactic fight leaves both Duke and Riley bloodied messes.
- Not Quite Dead: Remedy is shot by Riley and falls in the water, but he turns up alive (albeit in rough shape).
- Obfuscating Stupidity: As Duke makes his escape after being found guilty at the trial, a few men want to give chase, but their saddles suddenly slip off the horses when trying to jump on.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Curly over tomboy Terry suddenly wanting to dress in more feminine clothing, being completely flummoxed by it. (By contrast, Remedy immediately figured out why and doesn't find it remotely surprising.)
- Parental Substitute: Duke assumes that Remedy is Terry's father. He's not her real father, but he says she was left to him years ago to look after.
- Plucky Comic Relief: Remedy and, more pertinently, Curly. (Remedy, at least, contributes to the plot.)
- Police Are Useless: The Sheriff can't or won't do anything about the other ranchers' complaints, because Cooper pretty much holds his leash, a fact Riley uses to bully him into deputizing his henchmen. Of course, once Cooper is dead, the leash comes off, much to Riley's impotent displeasure.
- Precocious Crush: Terry's infatuation with Duke is treated like this, as Duke considers her just a "kid."
- Pride: Cooper refused to let anyone tell him what to do, even when his actions were clearly in the wrong. Said pride also leads to Cooper's death, as he confronts Riley and a henchman alone, rather than tell the sheriff what he'd heard or simply waited for backup.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Sheriff Harrison privately points out that Remedy couldn't possibly vouch for Duke, due to being in town at the time those on the stagecoach reported seeing a masked man up to no good. However, he likes Remedy and is willing to turn custody of Duke over to him. Later, he falls for the Frame-Up, but he stresses that the matter will be handled by the book and that he won't tolerate Riley's extreme actions.
- Time Skip: The last scene takes place two months after the climax, with Remedy having largely recovered from his near-death experience.
- Title Drop: Done by Rocky after being ordered to round up the remaining wild horses in the valley.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Terry is a tomboy who almost exclusively wears men's clothing, to the point that it surprises Remedy (and Curly, serving as a distraction so Remedy could yank his tooth) when she turns up in a more feminine outfit to catch Duke's eye. Jane is considerably more feminine. While she does wear pants, they're billowy culottes that allow her to ride while still presenting the silhouette of a dress.
- Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Duke gives Terry a playful smack, only to learn she's a girl. He's a little amused by this turn of events, though he stresses he wouldn't have done this had he known in advance.
