Review - The Last Run (1971)

Yet Another 'One Last Job'

Stop me if you've heard this one before: a criminal decides to take "one last job," and, of course, all hell breaks loose. The Last Run, a George C. Scott vehicle released shortly after Patton, employs that venerable gangster/crime movie premise but, despite almost threatening to be interesting at times, it never quite manages to break out of the generic mold.

Scott plays Harry Garmes, a getaway driver that gave up the business to buy a fishing boat in Portugal. Only shortly after he bought the boat, he lost his wife and son. So Garmes has been counting the days until he dies, living life with no purpose. Although the movie never adequately helps us understand why, after 9 years out of the game Garmes decides to try "one last job" - helping to break a hood out of jail and transporting him to France. Garmes says he just wanted to see if he could still do the job, but given that the filmmakers want us to look at him as a guy just waiting to die, his explanation doesn't add up.

Naturally, once Garmes breaks the hood - played by Tony Musante - out of jail, complications ensue. No complication is greater than the unexpected addition of the hood's girlfriend, played by Trish Van Devere. After the trio bickers for a while, Garmes starts to like the couple he's been matched with (why? because the film would have ended after 40 minutes if he didn't), and eventually he finds himself deciding to cast his lot with them when it turns out that Musante's hood was only broken out of jail so the Mafia could execute him. 

The trio goes on the run, and a couple of car chases and gunfights ensue. Oh, did I mention that somewhere in the whole thing Colleen Dewhurst shows up as the genre-necessary hooker with a heart of gold?

The film is never terrible; the reason this storyline is cliché is because it works so well as a plot device. The ticking clock of retirement - or catastrophe - can be irrestible. We all want to believe we can do "one last job," and walk off into the sunset with the money and girl, but either through our weary cynicism or our devotion to Code morality we also know such an ending is impossible. We still hope it all works out, and yet enjoy seeing how it won't.

Alas, The Last Run never quite manages to break out of cliché and never really does anything that transcends the genre or adds a twist to make this worth more than any other half-decent gangster film. There's nothing awful about it, yet there are also not any memorable chases, performances, or even lines in this one. If you like this story, great, check it out - or just choose a hundred like it (or, better yet, rent The Killing, The Wild Bunch, Unforgiven, or Le Samourai and see how it's really done - if you're looking for a gangster road movie, try Stephen Frears' The Hit).

There is half a moment when it seems like the movie is about to take on an intriguing premise as to whether Van Devere's moll character is playing Harry Garmes or her hood boyfriend. But hopes for that are quickly dashed and the movie never really goes anywhere that you couldn't predict just from looking at the poster. By the way, if you squint hard enough during the movie, you'd be forgiven for thinking you're re-watching George Clooney's 2011 film The American, which proves that these clichés never get old in Hollywood.

The greatest weakness of the film, however, is the male lead performances. Musante brings some sleaziness to his hood character, but he never brings any menace to the movie. That robs the film of heat it could have used. Scott sleepwalks through his role, never managing to convince us he's anything but a tired actor looking to get the shoot over with. Scott plays the role too down-the-middle and at times seems distracted. It isn't his finest moment on screen, that's for sure. Van Devere does the best job with her character, but, as noted, the script ultimately lets her down.

Director Richard Fleischer gets demerits here as well for doing a weak job shooting the film's chases. What is supposed to be the film's signature chase on winding mountain roads is a particular let-down - there's no flair in it and thus no adrenaline rush. Forgettable score from Jerry Goldsmith and also nothing much of interest in the production design or cinematography.

The Last Run is perhaps most famous for drama behind the scenes. George C. Scott showed up for the film with legendary John Huston to direct and his then wife Colleen Dewhurst to co-star. Scott finished the film with new director Fleischer and a new future wife in other co-star Van Devere. I suspect a movie about the making of The Last Run might be more interesting than The Last Run itself. The Last Run was viewed via streaming on Warner Archive Instant.