Duel At Silver Creek [DVD]

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The issue of vulnerability, of the complementary nature of good and evil, is central to the comprehension of Seigel’s films. A band of ruthless claim jumpers invade the local area and begin robbing, extorting, and killing miners who have struck it rich. A version of this article appears in print on of the National edition with the headline: THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; U. I don't know what surprised me the most, a western directed by Don Siegel and such a clean one (in the sense it is not very gritty and it follows the plot points of most westerns of the 50's) or the fact that Lee Marvin once had hair which was not white. Tyrone pursues the treacherous Opal Lacey ( Faith Domergue), who is secretly in league with the claim jumpers, and Cromwell falls for tomboy Dusty Fargo ( Susan Cabot) who is only interested in Lightning.

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. This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. A gang of claim jumpers is infesting the territory, gaining ownership of undermanned mining operations through extortion. 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. A young cowboy played by real life war hero turned movie star Audie Murphy is on a revenge quest after the claim jumping bastards.

A half-hearted attempt to steer a little Western slightly off the beaten trail was unfolded with the Palace's new stage show yesterday. The prettiest, Miss Domergue, not only dresses to the ears but, as one of the chief culprits, is not above garroting a wounded man to death.

The plot is basic but enjoyable with plenty of likable characters who are as bright as the Technicolor they are presented in. 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. 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? 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. The Duel at Silver Creek dramatizes the perils of personal isolation and infirmity, conditions likely to prove fatal to the forces of evil. Images Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape Donate Ellipses icon An illustration of text ellipses.

As for the ladies, the nice one, Miss Cabot, runs around garbed like the village blacksmith, complete with smoking revolver.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. We hear his narration of the case of a gang of claim-jumpers led by Gerald Mohr as Rod Lacy, Opal's slimy brother.

It was the first time Murphy had appeared in a film where he played a character who was good throughout the movie. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. 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. 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.Luke manages to find out that the marshal's girlfriend is really one of the gang and exposes her and her brother as the real killers. oh to be in the wild west and wear a cool black leather jacket like audie murphy -- his babyface blasting baddies with two shiny six-guns, because sometimes overkill is the right amount of kill. 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. 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.