The Duel at Silver Creek
by Don Siegel
List Price:
Our Price: $4.66
You Save: $5.33 (53%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.44 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Audie Murphy, Faith Domergue, Gerald Mohr, Stephen McNally, Susan CabotDirector: Don Siegel
Brand: Universal Studios
Cinematographer: Irving Glassberg
Editor: Russell F. Schoengarth
Producer: Leonard Goldstein
Producer: Ross Hunter
Writer: Gerald Drayson Adams
Writer: Joseph Hoffman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 77 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-05-06
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of The Duel at Silver Creek
DVD Review: A bit too much to pack into 77 minutes, but still a fun ride
Summary: 4 Stars
I might not have bothered picking up this little 1952 b-western at this time if not for the director, Don Siegel (later of DIRTY HARRY fame). This is just Siegel's 4th feature, and it's his first western. I've seen one of the earlier films, the 1949 seriocomic noir THE BIG STEAL, and quite a few of his later ones; it seems he really hit his stride a couple of years after this film with a couple of punchy noir titles, RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11 and PRIVATE HELL 36, and then of course he hit serious cult status with INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS in 1956. It strikes me that Siegel in this film and some of his other work comes off in some ways like a cross between Samuel Fuller (hard-hitting, punchy direction of action sequences, quick pacing) and Howard Hawks (complex-for-the-period male/female dynamics, a love of male camaraderie). I wouldn't put him on the level of either of those two - and I think that sometimes the sheer amount of stuff going on can be exhausting - but such a volatile mixture sure helps keep the films from being boring!
In this case, we start out with Luke Cromwell, aka The Silver Kid (Audie Murphy, also fairly early in his career and sometimes a bit hesitant) and his father getting bushwhacked by a group of claim jumpers who force owners to sign over their lands and then kill them. The Kid escapes, seeking revenge - then we cut quickly to Marshal "Lightning" Tyrone (Stephen McNally) on the trail of the claim jumpers himself. Lightning narrates the film too, and his world-weary, somewhat cynical demeanor and the presence of a real Bad Girl, Opal Lacy aka Brown Eyes (Faith Domergue) - who we know is in with the villains right from the beginning, but who puts the charm on the unaware Lightning - help make this a very noirish-feeling western at times. Lightning is wounded, but soon back in Silver City, where he meets the Kid and rapidly makes him a deputy, and we find that Brown Eyes has a brother, Rod (Gerald Mohr) who doesn't exactly come off as trustworthy after his first 30 seconds or so onscreen. Somehow, the identities of the claim jumpers have never been established, but Lightning thinks that Johnny Sombrero (Eugene Iglesias) and his no-good pal Rat Face (James Anderson) may know something about it. Also along for fun and games are Lee Marvin as a questionable gambler, and Susan Cabot as the Good Girl who loves Lightning despite his obsession with Brown Eyes and is in turn ignoring the advances of the Silver Kid.
This is a mixed bag all in all, with a somewhat ridiculous central plot problem - nobody knows who the claim jumpers are, but wouldn't they find out pretty quickly when the bandits tried to sell the claims? And it tries to pack just a bit too much into it's 77 minutes - the instant reversals of opinion that the Marshal has to exhibit more than once would seem to make him a little too scattered for such a job - but on the whole it's a lot of fun, with most of the acting pretty solid - in particular I think Cabot, Marvin and Iglesias are strong - and some entertaining characters and a couple of terrific action sequences including one of the more visceral and "realistic" horseback chases I've seen in a film from this period. Irving Glassberg's color photography is also quite excellent.
The DVD transfer is quite sharp and shows off the photography to good effect; it's limited in extras to optional subtitles in English, French and Spanish, and the trailer.
Description of The Duel at Silver Creek
DUEL AT SILVER CREEK - DVD MovieBestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
The Red Badge of CourageMURPHY,AUDIE; Release date: 2003-02-04; DVD
Best price: $11.62
Price in other shops:
The Quiet AmericanTCFHE/MGM; Release date: 2005-04-19; DVD
Best price: $2.98
Price in other shops:
Seven Men From Now (Special Collector's Edition)Paramount; Release date: 2005-12-20; DVD
Best price: $2.98
Price in other shops:
To Hell and BackUNI DIST CORP. (MCA); Release date: 2004-05-25; Published: 2004-05-01; DVD
Best price: $7.34
Price in other shops:
Gunfight at Comanche CreekWarner Bros.; Release date: 2009-11-17; Published: 2009; DVD
Best price: $14.51
Price in other shops:
The TexicanSony; Release date: 2005-04-05; DVD
Best price: $7.78
Price in other shops:
Whispering Smith - 25 Episodes - starring Audie MurphyTIMELESS MEDIA GROUP; Release date: 2010-04-20; DVD
Best price: $11.79
Price in other shops:
Apache RiflesRelease date: 2010-08-31; DVD
Best price: $7.12
Price in other shops:
No Name on the BulletUniversal Studios; Release date: 2004-06-01; DVD
Best price: $3.86
Price in other shops:
Artist Not Provided - 4 Movie Marathon: Classic Western Collection (Albuquerque / Whispering Smith / The Duel at Silver Creek / War Arrow)Universal; Release date: 2011-03-22; DVD
Best price: $4.71
Price in other shops: