Customer Reviews

Silver Lode [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

SILVER LODE may be the finest western that RKO released in the mid-1950s. With expert and taut scripting, high production values (it's one of producer Benedict Bogeaus' best), excellent direction under the veteran Allan Dwan, this little oater also has two of the best performances of its two male leads: John Payne and Dan Duryea. Payne, a veteran of numerous Westerns for Paramount [e.g., EL PASO and THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK] and Republic [e.g., THE ROAD TO DENVER], here turns in a tour de force as the innocent, but hunted and accused hero. He is very fine indeed, his lines crisply given, adding to the mounting tension. Duryea, one of Hollywood's finest "bad guys," almost outdoes Payne; Duryea is simply studpendous. The final scene between the two--in the town bell tower--is quite striking and remarkable.
Secondary starring roles are filled with some very competent Hollywood veterans---Robert Warwick, Emile Meyer as the town sheriff, Harry Carey Jr. and Alan Hale Jr. as members of Dan Duryea's "posse." Lisbeth Scott is Payne's love interest; she's does quite well.
VCI has given us a fine, clean print, and attaches the original trailer at the end, along with bios of the leading actors, all very helpful.
Silver Lode is the kind of movie that will repay watching from time to time. It is way above average as oaters go. Recommended highly both to those interested in good Western fare and, yes, to others interested simply in good cinema.

A Federal Marshal and his deputies ride into the western town of Silver Lode during 4th July celebrations claiming to have a warrant for the arrest of one of its citizens Dan Ballard on this his wedding day. Slowly the townsfolk turn against Ballard leaving him with only the support of the two women in his life.

The stoic hero is played by John Payne with his back against the wall for most of the film and Dan Duryea is the villain of the piece. Lizabeth Scott is Ballard's fiance and Dolores Moran plays the saloon girl. The film moves along at a fine pace well directed by Allan Dwan

John Payne turns in a fine performance as the hero and "Baddies" don't get much better than Dan Duryea! Altogether a fine western DVD movie plus Trailer etc

John Payne, Dan Duryea and Lizbeth Scott gave tense, very good performances in this color western. John Payne was especially good at showing what can happen to a person as he is slowly stripped of his self-respect, reputation and every friend in town, who desert him. Finally, he is down to nothing but self-preservation and survival. Lizbeth Scott is Payne's loyal love interest and Dan Duryea plays a convincing and clever villain. There are insinuations of 'McCarthyism' in the film, but they are too simplistic to be taken seriously. The career of Senator Joseph (Tailgunner Joe) McCarthy had a lot more to it than could be talked about here.

I thought the color balance, sound and image clarity were very good for this DVD.

Silver Lode was directed by: Allan Dwan in 1954. Dwan made many films in his career, which stretched from 1911 to 1961, although remained much the B-movie director in spite of his popularity in the 20s. The only film of any note would have to be the 1922 adaptation of Robin Hood starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr.

`Silver Lode' is an enjoyable if not brilliant B-western, which acts as an analogy of HUAC / McCarthy witch-hunts of the 50s which takes its ques from High Noon (1952, Zinnemann). Cinematography was by John Alton who shot 2 great film noir pictures in the 40s: T-Men (1947, Mann) and Raw Deal (1948, Mann). He would also shoot the defining noir picture `Big Combo' (1955, Lewis) the following year. I'll admit that I'm not fond of the colour cinematography in `Silver Lode' but that may have something to do with the fact that the film is not in good condition with the colour tending to fade in and out occasionally.

The film starred: Lizabeth Scott (Dead Reckoning, 1947), Dan Duryea (Criss Cross, 1948; Scarlet Street, 1945; Winchester 73, 1950) and John Payne (Miracle on 34th Street, 1947).

`Silver Lode' appeared in both `1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' (Cassell Illustrated) and Jonathan Rosenbaum's `Essential Cinema: On the Necessity of Film Canons' (Johns Hopkins University Press) which lists 1000 essential films.

The dvd transfer is only adequate with no significant extras.

I'd never heard of this low-budget, talky and politically-minded western until I saw it new in the video store. Though it's far from being one of the greats I'm glad I checked it out - mostly for lead Dan Duryea, one of my favorite seedy leading men/bad guys from noir, in the first western I've seen him in.

Duryea is Ned McCarty, riding into the town of Silver Lode on July 4th, after a man named Dan Ballard (John Payne, yet another face familiar from noir), who is in the process of being married to Rose Evans (Lizabeth Scott - a third noir icon!), daughter of the town's big cheese. Ballard is an upstanding citizen who's done well for himself in two years in the town and has become well-loved by everybody, but when McCarty comes in claiming that he's a US marshall charged with bringing Ballard back to California (I guess Silver Lode is probably in Nevada though I don't think it's ever stated) for murdering his brother, the town starts to turn against him. Ballard being the straight-shooter kind of guy admits to the killing - though he claims the other guy drew first - and people start to remember that it was always kind of odd that he pulled into town with loads of money out of nowhere years ago. Soon the whole town, except for his bride-to-be, is against him, as he tries to prove that McCarty isn't a real marshall and turn McCarty's mean against each other.

A well-done, taut and economical little thriller with very little gunplay until the last act, with the only real problem being that Payne is just too obviously the good guy and Duryea just as obviously the bad one. Perhaps with other actors not as stereotyped at that point there would have been more ambiguity; then again ambiguity seems to run counter to the obvious political McCarthy undertones - Ballard standing in for accused Communists, of course. Still quite nicely done, the two leads are fine (I've never been a fan of Lizabeth Scott, a low-rent Lauren Bacall to my mind, but she has little to do here and can't be faulted) and there are a couple of great tracks across the town as Ballard tries to escape the citizens turned against him. Dwan was one of the great action directors back in the silent days and he still had it in the mid 50s.

This is an overlooked rarely seen little gem. Typical 50's fare western, however, it contains a huge cast of some of the best known character actors of the era. This fact alone makes this film worth watching. Payne is more than adequate and although appearing tired and a little weather beaten, Duryea still has shining moments of his brilliant old snarly self from his heydays. Harry (Dobe) Carey Jr. plays a bad guy in this one but you still can't help but like him......

VCI Entertainment presents "Silver Lode" (1954) (Dolby digitally remastered)...an RKO Pictures production featuring John Payne, Lizabeth Scott and Dan Duryea...story is drama at its best, very similar to "High Noon"...four men ride into the town of "Silver Lode" with a warrant for John Payne led by Duryea, with Carey Jr, Hale Jr and Whitman as the deputies...is Payne guilty of murder and taking $20,000, can he find some proof that these charges are false and unwarranted...is the town standing behind him or they split right down the middle of his innocence...Duryea is the brother of the man Payne is accused of killing in Discovery, will they take him alive or dead...can Payne depend on Rose the saloon girl who still carries a flame for him...will four desperate men claiming to be lawmen who are bent on revenge find an innocent victum for their next target of murder...watch as the screens most exciting manhunt begins when one man fights against mob violence and his survival...is it my imagination or is this close to the McCarthy witch hunt for communists in the film industry during '50s...however the point is well take as this is a very good western with fine performances...so pop some popcorn, sit back and enjoy the movie.

Under director Allan Dwan, producer Benedict Bogeaus with original story by Karen DeWolf, music composed by Louis Forbes...the cast include John Payne (Dan Ballard), Lizabeth Scott (Rose Evans), Dan Duryea (Ned McCarthy-marshall), Dolores Moran (Dolly), Harry Carey Jr (Johnson-deputy), Alan Hale Jr (Kirk-deputy), Stuart Whitman (Wickers-deputy), Morris Anktrum (Zachary Evans), I.Stanford Jolley (Bit part), Myron Healey (Rider), Lane Chandler (Man at fire), Frank Sully (Paul Herbert), Emile Meyer (Sheriff Wooley), Robert Warwick (Judge Cranston), John Hudson (Michael 'Mitch' Evans), Roy Gordon (Dr. Elmwood), Hugh Sanders (townsman), Florence Auer (Mrs. Elmwood), Ralph Sanford (Joe-bartender), Al Haskell (Sheriff's Deputy), John Dierkes (Blacksmith), Edgar Barrier (Taylor).....special note on actor John Payne played Vint Bonner in "Restless Gun": (1957-59) legendary gunfighter hero who drifts in and out of towns during the old west helping the underdog...and actor Dan Duryea was outstanding in the Bette Davis film "The Little Foxes", but remembered in the 1948 Universal Film "Black Bart", as the black garbed highwayman making away with Wells Fargo bounty in a series of stagecoach holdups, wonderful hard riding scenes over the technicolor plains....familiar veteran actors supporting the cast with Morris Ankrum (Hoppy films as the villain), Lane Chandler (Duke Wayne's sidekick in many B-Westerns), Myron Healey (the cowboy picking on Dean Martin in the saloon scene "Rio Bravo"), Robert Warwick (played everything from Indian Chief to Judge in the '40s) and one of my favorite character actors I.Stanford Jolley who was always in the thick of rustling, bank robbing or running the local saloon, great stuff from those days of B-Westerns.....there's a great deal of entertainment here for "B-Western" fans out there...all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features like this one.

SCENE SELECT:
1. Strangers
2. Accusations
3. Friends
4. Time
5. Information
6. The Plan
7. Twisted Truth
8. On The Run
9. In Hiding
10.Alone
11.Surrounded
12.Telegram

SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. "Silver Lode" (original theatrical trailer)

BIOS:
1. John Payne
Birth Date: 5/23/1912 - Roanoke, VA
Died: 12/06/1989 - Malibu, California
2. Lizabeth Scott (aka Emma Matzo)
Birth Date: 9/29/1922 - Scranton, PA
Died: still living
3. Dan Duryea
Birth Date: 1/23/1907 - White Plains, NY
Died: 6/07/1968 - Hollywood, CA

Own them now on DVD....if you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure then this is the place for all of the above...if you enjoyed this feature check out another as VCI Entertainment presents "Cattle Queen of Montana" (1954) (Dolby digitally remastered)...an RKO Pictures production featuring Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan...story line has Sierra Nevada Jones (Stanwyck) and her father (Ankrum) arriving in Montana to file their claim for some prime ranch land...while camping and bedding down the cattle Natchakoa (Caruso) with his band of renegade tribesmen raid the camp and steal the cattle...land owner and neighbor McCord (Evans) is behind all of the bad events that happen to Sierra...with the help of Colorados (Fuller) son of the chief who has attended the whitemans college is trying to bring peace between the Indian and townspeople...is Farrell (Reagan) who is working for McCord and his henchman Yost (Jack Elam) help Sierra Jones...can Farrell who is a hired gun be working for the army undercover...will his fast gun help turn the tide for the Cattle Queen of Montana...this above average B-Western will keep you guessing to the very last scene.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing the "Silver Lode" (1954), digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more of the same from the '50s vintage...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment, stay tuned once again with a top notch Westerns from VCI...so saddle up and get ready for some hard riding and adventure that only VCI Entertainment (King of the Serials) can deliver...just the way we like 'em!

Total Time: 80 mins on DVD ~ VCI Entertainment 8291 ~ (6/25/2002)

A taut western, very suspenseful. Much has been made of the MacCarthyism theme in this movie and it is there. Well acted with lots of familiar faces from the westerns of the era. The action takes place entirely within a small town which raises the thrill level even more. After all, how can someone remain hidden in such a small place. It is not a typical horse and cowboy shoot-em-up flick. Still though it is exciting to watch.

An elder gunslinger is marrying a beautiful young blonde when a posse of Trouble ride into town. The townsfolk forsake him and, save for the women who love him, he stands alone to meet his fate. Welcome to High Noon Redux, also known as SILVER LODE.

SILVER LODE is a `message' movie, with more or less the same message its illustrious predecessor had - McCarthyism is bad. Or, as the dvd jacket blurb begins, "A fictional account of the most shameful moments in American history. McCarthyism justice western style: a case of guilty by association." On the off chance that the original audience missed the connection, the chief bad guy in this one, wonderfully played by A-List heavy Dan Duryea, is named `Ned McCarthy.' Get it?

I don't have much patience for message westerns, and SILVER LODE definitely fits into the Ox-Bow Incident/High Noon continuum. I find myself drawn out of the movie too often, usually to criticize minor plot points (No judge would ever have so cavalierly allowed a shady, unidentified US Marshall extradite one of his town's citizens!) or to whine about how preachy it is.

Still, SILVER LODE boasts a strong cast, headed by Gary Coo...er, I mean John Payne as the innocent accused and B-movie queen Lizabeth Scott as his almost-bride. Duryea is, as usual, excellent and great fun to watch. SILVER LODE also contains more than its fair share of well choreographed and photographed action scenes.

A bit heavy handed, SILVER LODE is a movie with a message that borrows liberally from the mother lode of anti-McCarthyism westerns, HIGH NOON. The higher your tolerance for being preached at, the more you'll enjoy this movie.

The movie itself is an excellent 'small' western of the 'town' variety, a transparent critique in 1954 of the McCartheism then afflicting the US. Very well done & a credit to Dwan & its other makers. Unfortunately, this new "special edition" released in spring 2010 is terrible: Silver Lode - Special Edition - far inferior to earlier edition from same company. Image quality is more contrasty than previous ed, & horizontally truncated just as former release. The earlier ed, which is also not very good but somewhat better in image quality & contrast, is available from amazon used at half the price of new special ed. Thus recommend Silver Lode earlier ed, until a good restored version is hopefully offered.