To the Last Man (1933 film)

To the Last Man is a 1933 American Pre-Code Western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Randolph Scott and Esther Ralston. The screenplay by Jack Cunningham was based on a story by Zane Grey. The Paramount property was previously made as a silent film, Victor Fleming's 1923 film version of the same title. The supporting cast of Hathaway's version features Noah Beery Sr. (repeating his role from the 1923 version), Jack La Rue, Buster Crabbe, Barton MacLane, Shirley Temple, Fuzzy Knight, Gail Patrick and John Carradine.

The film was reissued for American television under the title Law of Vengeance.

Plot
A feud between the Colby and the Hayden families starts in the hills of Kentucky and continues in the mountains of the West after the American Civil War. Also involved is the conflict between vigilantism and the law in a frontier environment, and lovers from the two feuding families. At one point during the ensuing mayhem, one of the villains shoots the head off 5-year-old Shirley Temple's doll right in front of the child.

Cast

 * Randolph Scott as Lynn Hayden
 * Esther Ralston as Ellen Colby
 * Noah Beery Sr. as Jed Colby
 * Jack La Rue as Jim Daggs
 * Buster Crabbe as Bill Hayden
 * Barton MacLane as Neil Stanley
 * Gail Patrick as Ann Hayden Stanley
 * Muriel Kirkland as Molly Hayden
 * Egon Brecher as Mark Hayden
 * Fuzzy Knight as Jeff Morley
 * Eugenie Besserer as Granny Spelvin
 * Harlan Knight as Grandpa Chet Spelvin
 * John Carradine as Pete Garon (uncredited)
 * Harry Cording as Fred (uncredited)
 * Shirley Temple as Mary Stanley (uncredited)
 * Delmar Watson as Tad Stanley (uncredited)

Reception
In his book, The Hollywood Western: Ninety Years of Cowboys and Indians, Train Robbers, Sheriffs and Gunslingers, film historian William K. Everson discusses the film and notes that the Zane Grey series was "uniformly good." He also writes: "To the Last Man was almost a model of its kind, an exceptionally strong story of feuding families in the post-Civil War era, with a cast worthy of an 'A' feature, excellent direction by Henry Hathaway, and an unusual climactic fight between the villain (Jack LaRue) and the heroine (Esther Ralston in an exceptionally appealing performance)."