Andre de Toth had worked on Zoltan Korda’s Sahara (1943, a great film). And as a director, he got to remake it a decade later as Last Of The Comanches (1953). Starring Broderick Crawford and Barbara Hale, it gave early parts to Lloyd Bridges and Martin Milner. Chubby Johnson’s in it, too.
De Toth’s opinion of the picture is probably summed up by the fact that in his book De Toth On De Toth (highly recommended), he covers working as assistant director on Sahara, but makes no mention of Last Of The Comanches.
Barbara Hale: “We shot that in Tuscon… The picture was loaded with many wind scenes but the wind wouldn’t blow when we were up there… Finally, Andre de Toth, the director, had to send to the studio for those great big wind machines. The same day they arrived, the winds started blowing.” (From a Western Clippings interview)
For some reason, I enjoy Broderick Crawford barking his dialogue in Westerns, even though in a lot of ways, he’s completely out of place.
Great director and good cast.
If you enjoy westerns like many of us do,
this is worth a look.
Also, good to see footnotes from
my favorites publication: “Boyd Magers
Western Clippings”. He and Les Adams
have a great insight to the early B-Westerns.
Glad I fond this site, have enjoyed many
of the posts that came my way. Keep ‘em
coming.
Brod Crawford is always welcome on my screen. 10-4?
Watched LAST OF THE COMANCHES last night and thoroughly enjoyed. With Brod and Barbara Hale together (two of my all-time favs), it had a plus going in.
Full of action, great story and performances all around. You always have to keep an eye on sneaky Hugh Sanders.
Brod could run my army for me anytime.
Have just seen Last of the Commanches for the first time and enjoyed it. Fast paced and full of action and just enough character development.
Broderick Crawford must have had more dialogue to learn than the rest of the cast put together!
It was mentioned somewhere above the opinion that B. Crawford looks out of place in westerns. I do not think he looks out of place in westerns because he has a real rugged, rough look. However, in THE FASTEST GUN ALIVE I could not really believe him as the quick-draw gunfighter that he played. Really quick, really fast gunfighters according to my stereotype would be lean men, lean, lithe, and very fast, like a snake or karate master. Crawford has a heavy, stocky, almost overweight look….he does not look like a quick-draw master at all. So, in that western he was miscast.