The Last Round-Up (1934) - A dusty western with a really great villain name

If you have an hour to spare and you like the smell of old movie dust, The Last Round-Up is actually worth a look. It’s perfect for anyone who misses those old-school westerns where the hero is very brave and the villain has a name you can't forget.

If you hate black-and-white movies where the audio crackles like a campfire, you should probably skip it. It’s definitely not for the high-definition crowd.

The bad guy in this is named Mile Ahead. I am not kidding. That is his name.

He is played by Bud Osborne, and he spends the movie being a total jerk. He decides to rustle a bunch of cattle from the Bar D ranch, which is pretty standard stuff for 1934.

But then he gets a bit more intense and starts a fire on the other side of the ranch. It's meant to be a distraction so he can make off with the herd while everyone else is busy with the flames.

The foreman, Denver, is played by Bob Custer. He has one of those faces that just looks like it belongs on a wanted poster or a milk carton from the 30s.

There is a moment where they are fighting the fire and the smoke looks really real. You can see the actors squinting and it doesn't look like a special effect at all.

Mile Ahead also kidnaps the new school teacher because he's a villain and that's just the rule. She ends up trapped in the schoolhouse while the fire he started gets out of control.

The movie gets much better once the fire starts moving toward the school. It feels a bit like Salty Saunders in the way it just rushes toward the ending without much talking.

I noticed one extra in the background who was holding a shovel very awkwardly. He looked like he had never seen a shovel before in his life. 🤠

The pacing is a bit weird though. One minute they are talking about the cattle and the next everything is exploding into flames.

It’s a bit like Set Free where you can tell they didn't have a huge budget. Some of the sets look like they might fall over if the wind blew too hard.

There is a reaction shot of the teacher looking at the fire that goes on about ten seconds too long. She looks more like she’s trying to remember if she turned the oven off than being scared of burning up.

The horse riding is actually the best part. Cliff Lyons is in this and he was a real stuntman, so the riding looks dangerous and fast.

I liked how Denver realizes the cattle are gone just by looking at some dirt. He’s like a dirt detective or something.

Anyway, it’s a short movie. It doesn't overstay its welcome and it has a guy named Mile Ahead. What else do you really need on a Sunday? 🐎