Duel At Silver Creek [DVD]

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Although pretty average in terms of story, this is still entertaining thanks to the assured direction of Don Siegel, in the years before he'd graduated to the ranks of major A list directors. He knew how to handle action scenes, for one thing, and "The Duel at Silver Creek" is reasonably rousing at times. Overall, the filmmaking is quite capable, with top notch location work and superb creation of the classic Western look (in glorious Technicolor). You will notice that Siegel and the screenwriters don't exactly bother to keep the identities of certain villains a secret. You're also left in little doubt as to how the predictable script will unfold, so the scenario isn't about suspense, despite the fact that good guy Lightning has been badly wounded and can't handle a gun as well as he used to.

The Duel at Silver Creek is a nice example of how much fun the Western used to be before the genre got all serious and realistic. over without fuss and moves on to the action. Lots of fast moving-camera shots showcase the ChatsworthSusan Cabot plays the good girl with first a yen for McNally and then for Murphy. Faith Domergue is the bad girl, bad as they come in westerns. She's in cahoots with the bad guys and shamelessly flirts with McNally and young gun Eugene Iglesias while all the time she acts as Mohr's moll in a more modern gangster film style. Domergue has the best role in the film, too bad the film itself is so weak. When “Lightning” suffers an injury that compromises his ability to out-draw the bad guys, he opts to carry on as though nothing’s wrong.This is merely the first of his questionable decisions and incorrect assumptions that effectively muddy his standing as not only an effective lawman but the film’s token upstanding protagonist.Among his poor choices is falling for the perpetually ruffle-dressed Opal Lacy (Faith Domergue) whom he uncreatively dubs “Brown Eyes”.It’s no secret to the viewer that Opal is trouble; a femme fatale who’s only real purpose is to derail our hero.Her brother is the leader of the claim jumpers, a mysterious organization that Lightening is out to stop.But Opal’s beauty and outward respectability (i.e. whiteness and wealth) shield her and her brother in plain sight.

The romantic rectangle helps. Dusty Fargo (Susan Cabot) has long been smitten with our good marshal. But he’s known her since she was a girl and thinks of her more as a sister than a potential mate.Audie Murphy as Luke Cromwell, aka The Silver Kid, looking for the men who killed his father in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952) Marshal Tyrone: “I could do better with my left foot. Sometimes, I feel like it (his left hand) doesn’t even belong to me.”

Stephen McNally plays the famous Marshal who wasn't interested in the Kid's poker, but he was interested in the way he handled a six-gun… He needed a right hand and he had the fastest one he ever saw… He didn't see it dangerous to make him his deputy… Ride a Crooked Trailis essentially a sly case of mistaken identity stretched out to eighty-eight rather lite minutes.Along the way, it takes in greater weight as the old judge begins to put two and two together.And you’d better believe that any notion that crosses the judge’s mind will be stated plainly.It’s as though Matthau got hired for his trademark voice, and the producers are going to get every penny’s worth.Murphy is very good in what is basically a comedic role, though his chemistry with the ill-fated worldly star Scala is not exactly organic. Johnny Sombrero: “Didn’t know it was a marshal’s job to tell a fellow what females he can interest himself in.” He held the honor of being the most decorated living combat veteran.Audie Murphy, having single-handedly held off hordes of incoming German soldiers in France during World War II (and then leading a counterassault despite being out of ammo), earned literally every military service award that was available- even the Medal of Honor, which is most commonly given posthumously.The best-known actor in the film is Audie Murphy. He made a few good films, most notably "The Red Badge of Courage", but a lot of his output consisted of routine Westerns. Murphy always seemed to be struggling against two disadvantages. The first was the fact that because he had become well-known to the American public for something other than his acting- he was a much-decorated war hero- he was unable to ditch his odd, feminine-sounding Christian name in favour of something more rugged. The second was his smooth, youthful looks which meant that he was frequently typecast as a callow young greenhorn even when he was in his thirties. Mr. Cromwell is among their latest victims, killed just when his mine was starting to yield some dust. I came to this film on the basis of it being Don Siegel's first western and the first film he made in colour. 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. As such, it works on a B movie level and that is pretty much what I expected it to do. 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. All the clichés are here but they are delivered with a slight sense of fun that helps it move smoothly. The colour is good and Siegel's direction is solid enough (although he would do much better later). But don’t be scared away. This is a tightly woven, entertaining little film, featuring one of McNally’s better performances in a Western.