The Last Outpost (1951)

Back in the day old Ronald Reagan was a regular fixture in B-westerns, and several of his westerns still hold up today - in fact you could argue that Reagan was the most successful actor in history given that he went onto become President of the United States.In this movie he is at odds with the United States and instead fights for the Confederate army. His brother, played by Bruce Bennet is a colonel in the Union Army, but far from being a story about brother V brother this is a straight forward cowboys and Indians western with the civil war acting as a backdrop.

Reagan learns that the Union army are holding several Apaches including the infamous Geronimo prisoners and intend to use these as a bargaining chip to get the Apaches to fight the Johnny Rebs alongside the Union Army. However the story turns and the two warring brothers are forced to fight side by side against an Indian attack.

The Last Outpost is pretty much a standard western adventure, of the kind the BBC would show on a Saturday night when I was growing up, but saying that it is a good one  and the climactic battle is rousing stuff. It may seem a little simplistic by the standards of later westerns but it was filmed with the sole intention of providing an exciting adventure and it certainly does that.

I'm not sure why the film should be in the public domain but given that it is available to be viewed fully on You Tube then it must be.


I have embedded the trailer below and the full movie can be found by searching on You Tube.