Last Train from Gun Hill

Kirk Douglas plays a sheriff who sets out to avenge the death of his Native American wife, unaware that the trail of the crime will lead him to the ranch of his old friend (Anthony Quinn). The film was a co-production between Douglas’s Bryna company and Paramount, directed by John Sturges, who sought to place greater emphasis on the characters’ psychology and to create a stylistically stripped-down chamber drama with elements of suspense, following the model of older Westerns such as High Noon and 3:10 to Yuma. The result is thus much closer to his earlier works than to his later “epic” films of the 1960s, such as The Magnificent Seven or The Great Escape. The train heading to the town of Gun Hill is not only the narrative axis of the film but also a symbol of the protagonist’s fate.

• supporting film
  The Train Robbery / Edwin S. Porter / USA, 1903 / 11 min. / 35 mm –
  One of the first Westerns in the history of world cinema, which had an undeniable influence on the development of the genre. This American silent film holds historical significance due to its innovative approach to editing and storytelling. It is considered the first feature film to successfully establish narrative continuity (the process of linking related but disjointed shots into a coherent sequence). The film’s simple story follows four bandits who organize a train robbery and are eventually tracked down and defeated by a local group of volunteers.