The somewhat older Faith was initially featured in films thanks to the infatuation of Howard Hughes. But, he finally gave up on her after several films failed to make a splash. I thought she was charismatic in this film. 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.

SYNOPSIS: The marshal of Silver City (sic) joins up with Luke Crowell, alias the Silver Kid, to apprehend claim jumpers. Also curious is the fact that Miss Domergue effectively plays a thoroughly evil femme fatale, - one who doesn't have a single redeeming quality! Miss Cabot does okay by the obligatory tomboyish "other gal". It's worth noting that the run time is a mere 77 minutes. It's always nice when actors and filmmakers can tell their story in a succinct manner and not drag it out any longer than necessary.

#= data.dataItem.date #

over without fuss and moves on to the action. Lots of fast moving-camera shots showcase the Chatsworth 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. But don’t be scared away. This is a tightly woven, entertaining little film, featuring one of McNally’s better performances in a Western. Johnny Sombrero: “Didn’t know it was a marshal’s job to tell a fellow what females he can interest himself in.” 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…

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. A fast-paced western, the first directed by Don Siegel, "The Duel at Silver Creek" is a classic good vs evil oater and ideal Saturday matinee fare. A gang of claim jumpers force miners to sign over their property, then shoot them to cover up the crime. The son of one murdered miner heads to the town where the jumpers are headquartered, and there he teams with the local marshal and finds romance. Although war-hero Audie Murphy is first billed as the young Silver Kid, Stephen McNally as Marshal Lightening Tyrone is the lead. Although the characters are one dimensional, and the acting requirements minimal, both actors adequately fill the bill, shoot convincingly, and ride a horse with conviction. Nothing more needed, although both have a yen for the ladies. After a few traps are set for claim jumpers, the film reaches its boiling point when the gullible Lightning finally wakes up and smells the coffee to realize his Brown Eyes is a treacherous snake. This leads to the truth about the claim jumpers, and a final shootout in their mountain hideout as the posse led by Lightning and the Silver Kid rescue the kidnapped Dusty and take care of the baddies. At the same time, Dusty wakes up and kisses the Kid. It actually plays better than it sounds, thanks to a filmmaker who knows how to make the implausible seem plausible. Susan 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.Now, we can honor him and his formidable acting career with the exceptional Audie Murphy Collection. at Murphy shows real promise - he'd have been great in the Johnny Sombrero role that's wasted on the One day, in the Tomahawks, the same gang forced Cromwell's old man to sign over the little claim he had and then they killed him… Luke went after them and managed to get one of them before they shot his horse out from under him… 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. 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).

Marshal Tyrone, when Opal says she’s heard of his renown as a gunman: “Famous is a pretty big word. I’m afraid most people call me a lot of other things.” Marshal Tyrone: “I could do better with my left foot. Sometimes, I feel like it (his left hand) doesn’t even belong to me.” 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. more than its original compression.) The features are fairly short (less than 1.5 hours) and have high 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.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?