Duel At Silver Creek [DVD]

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The Duel at Silver Creek is a 1952 American Western film directed by Don Siegel; his first film in the Western genre. It starred Stephen McNally, Audie Murphy and Faith Domergue. [2] It was the first time Murphy had appeared in a film where he played a character who was good throughout the movie. [3] The working titles of the film were Claim Jumpers and Hair Trigger Kid. [4] Plot [ edit ] This Kino Lorber disc has a fantastic commentary by film historians/filmmakers Steve Mitchell and Gary Gerani.Right away, Gerani makes a key equation with No Name on the Bulletas a kind of Biblical-styled morality play.He homes in on the way the film dwells on “What’s good?What’s evil?What’s in between?What’s prejudice?”This discussion is great added value in terms of legitimate food for thought.Mitchell and Gerani have a lot of positive things to say about Murphy and the others involved with this film, nailing the point that No Name on the Bulletis its star’s finest Western, and is certainly among the finest of his many films. *****

The main heroes are the local Marshal and the Silver Kid, a young gambler and gunfighter whose father was one of the claim jumpers' victims and who joins forces with the Marshal to seek his revenge. There are two complicating factors. One is that the Marshal has fallen in love with a young woman named Opal Lacey who is secretly in league with the killers. The other is that the Marshal has been shot in the shoulder, an injury which affects his ability to handle a gun. over without fuss and moves on to the action. Lots of fast moving-camera shots showcase the Chatsworth

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This is director Don Siegel’s (“Rough Cut”/”Dirty Harry”/”Coogan’s Bluff “) first film in color and his first Western. The story told is that the producer Leonard Goldstein told the agent Gersh he wanted Don Siegel to direct the next action pic he was shooting. This prompted the agent to rush to the phone and tell Siegel if he signs with him immediately he can guarantee getting him to direct an action pic. Siegel signed, but if he only waited a little longer Goldstein would have signed him anyway and he would have saved paying ten per cent to the agent. Now, we can honor him and his formidable acting career with the exceptional Audie Murphy Collection. But don’t be scared away. This is a tightly woven, entertaining little film, featuring one of McNally’s better performances in a Western. Luke Cromwell, aka the "Silver Kid" ( Audie Murphy), loses his father to mining claim jumpers. He is deputised by Marshal Lightning Tyrone ( Stephen McNally) of Silver City, who wants to defeat the claim jumpers. The two men fall for different women, Tyrone for the treacherous Opal Lacey ( Faith Domergue), who is secretly in league with the claim jumpers, and Cromwell with tomboy Dusty Fargo ( Susan Cabot) who pursues Lightning. [5] Cast [ edit ]

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). 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… Meanwhile, we have complicated relationships between Lightening, Johnny Sombrero, and Audie, who reinvents himself as 'The Silver Kid', in a distinctive outfit, after being a victim of the jumper gang. Lightening suspects Johnny is behind some of the recent killings, but can't prove it. He hires the equally flashy and irreverent Silver Kid as his deputy to help protect him, his right hand being suboptimal in function from a shoulder slug. Lightening is forced to engage Johnny in a classic 'high noon' showdown. But the Silver Kid interrupts the proceedings by shooting Lightening in the trigger hand(knowing its suboptimal functionality), then taking his place. That's the second time he's saved Lightening from a potential bullet. Johnny's dying words provide a key clue to Lightening implicating Opal's involvement in the jumper gang.

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For a B-Western, this film is very entertaining. I'm surprised that it is rated --as of today-- only 6.1 at IMDb. What more do they want for a B-Western? The Duel at Silver Creek dramatizes the perils of personal isolation and infirmity, conditions likely to prove fatal to the forces of evil. Film critic Judith M. Kass writes: 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. It’s been said that while Audi Murphy might not have been the greatest actor, he was a reliable presence and the camera loved him.With the three 1950s Westerns in this great new box set from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, it becomes apparent that in addition to those accolades, Murphy was in fact a perfectly decent actor in the right roles.The two films here from the later part of the decade are particularly demonstrative of his evolved talent and confident presence.