THE LAST REBEL

Italy, 1971, 90 minutes, Colour.
Joe Namath, Woody Strode, Jack Elam.
Directed by Denys Mc Coy.

The Last Rebel is a spaghetti western of 1970. It is not particularly startling and is a vehicle for ex-football player Joe Namath - not particularly convincing in the central role. Enjoying themselves are the veterans of this kind of western, Jack Elam as the villain and Woody Strode as one of the heroes.

The film is set at the end of the Civil War, the declaration of Lee's surrender. Namath and Elam escape and go across the West, robbing, womanising, falling out with each other. On the way, they liberate a slave, Woody Strode. There is also a young black boy who becomes an integral part of the plot. There are some prostitutes as well as some wealthy women - who, in behaviour, are similar to the prostitutes.

The film focuses on a plot line rather than character development - although Elam gets more and more villainous, even to using some of the men of the town in Ku Klux Klan raids. Strode is the noble and silent hero.

Typical enough of the many westerns at the time, during the influence of Sergio Leone's Clint Eastwood films. They utilise scenery well, rely on the conventions of the western - but do not offer much else.