norbert-plan-618-715813 Review of The Duel at Silver Creek

The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)

Fast paced revigorating, without unnecessary dramatic fat

[7/10 · 17 August 2023]

A band of bandits who plunder gold concessions: they take them over brutally if the owner won't sell to them. The Silver Kid, Audie Murphy, is out to avenge his friend who's been gunned down by these villains, whom he meets in the town of Marshall, Lightning Tyrone, Stephen McNally. He's a bit naïve, incorruptible, has a soft spot for the pernicious Opal Lacy, Faith Domergue, and is showing signs of aging in his ability to draw first. The Silver Kid and Lightning team up to take on the bad guys. These include the treacherous Johnny Sombrero (Eugenie Iglesias) and Tinhorn Burgess (Lee Marvin in his debut). We particularly like the character names... Don Siegel wraps all this up very quickly in 87 minutes: no dead time, no unnecessary fat, everything gets to the point, and there's no need for periphrasis or roundabout schemes to tell the story. An invigorating, fast-paced serial western starring Audie Murphy and Stephen McNally. Note that there's no question of a duel at Silver Creek... In fact, there are several putative duels that never take place.