Duel At Silver Creek [DVD]

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Siegel's first western is a fun film and should be enjoyed as such – it's far from his best and fans may only come to it because of the significance in his career but it is worth seeing if you're in the mood for this type of film. The plot is basic but enjoyable with plenty of likable characters who are as bright as the Technicolor they are presented in.

The local marshal, "Lightning" Tyrone (Stephen McNally), is also tracking the gang, but receives a crippling injury during a gunfight. The story takes an ominous twist after the Marshall meets the scheming girl Opal Lacy who has secret plans that aren't in the Marshall's best interest. Don Siegel's cool western bubbles over with action while there's a lot of stuff you can read into it that's hidden between the lines. However, that doesn't make this any less enjoyable of a film because Siegel throws in a lot of shootouts and chases to make it all exciting, while the Technicolor photography is sumptuous and the story has enough twists and cool characters to make it work.

Aside from Domergue the 'baddies' are fairly unmemorable; when the film started they were tough and violent but eventually we are presented Mohr's words in place of this and it really isn't enough for a fun B-movie. The damaged, vulnerable hero and the anti-hero are facets in the same persona and cannot be separated, even when the harm is physical as in The Duel at Silver Creek.

But, man alive, how many movie problems could be avoided if it occurred to men FOR EVEN A SECOND that women might not be the helpless, delicate flowers as which they portray themselves?

As for the ladies, the nice one, Miss Cabot, runs around garbed like the village blacksmith, complete with smoking revolver. It was the first time Murphy had appeared in a film where he played a character who was good throughout the movie. The plot is pretty basic and doesn't live up to the suggestions of the opening – instead becoming rather focused on the actions of a few characters. Tyrone deputizes Cromwell, and the two take on the murderers together, while trying to resist the charms of Opal (Faith Domergue), the new beauty in town. Slimy brutal villains and great characters abound in a film that sure doesn’t feel like Don Siegel’s first crack at the Wild West.

don 'the don' siegel directs with intense grit -- a comparative trifle, but the seeds of greatness to come; the rare one of his films that actually has interesting female characters, including a high-femme villain! A gang of outlaws is murdering miners and taking over their claims, but they cross the wrong man when they target the father of Luke Cromwell (Audie Murphy), a gunslinger known as "the Silver Kid.Murphy is good but his character has less meat on it and he has therefore less to do that really sticks in the mind. At just 77 minutes long, The Duel at Silver Creek is hardly the lengthiest Western ever made yet Don Siegel is still able to pack into it a lot of action in his first outing in the genre. But before the smitten sheriff manages to pin the goods on this cowtown Mata Hari, "Duel at Silver Creek" has frittered away as just another Western, loud and grim, with a stale corn kernel for every flying bullet. A gang of claim jumpers is infesting the territory, gaining ownership of undermanned mining operations through extortion. Alone with McNally, Domergue vamps him into forgetting his job…In a sense, McNally’s gun had abandons him by becoming lame after an injury, leaving him more open to assault.

We hear his narration of the case of a gang of claim-jumpers led by Gerald Mohr as Rod Lacy, Opal's slimy brother. Set in the town of Silver Creek, it seems like there's a lot that goes on beneath the surface all the time. Photos are provided courtesy of the AMRF and may not be reproduced or copied for commercial purposes without permission of the copyright owner. Lightning sets out to get to the bottom of the murder and has several suspects already before the deceitful Opal Lacy points him towards Luke Cromwell, known as the Silver Kid.

Ruthless claim-jumpers, femme fatale guile, tenacious lawman, vengeful quickdraw-turned-deputy: The Duel At Silver Creek is lean, pulpy, ‘50s b-western fun. Participating in the proceedings are Faith Domergue, Susan Cabot and Eugene Iglesias, who gives the film's best performance. This focused plot is improved by a good range of fun characters – with fancy names and exaggerated characters to match: the tough broad, the kid, the tough sheriff, the old coot etc. Despite it's obvious flaws this is a really good fun B-movie western and you'll like it if you view it as such.