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Sadly Over-hyped

Good start, but then it gets ruined

The acting in this movie is really good.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This B-movie is one that was listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, it had average ratings by critics, so I questioned why it would have this kind of high recommendation, the only way to find out was to watch it. Basically in the western town of Silver Lode, Dan Ballard (John Payne) is a respected citizen, he and Rose Evans (Lizabeth Scott) are getting married. But the wedding is interrupted by four Marshal Fred McCarty (Dan Duryea) and his deputies riding into town, McCarty is an old acquaintance of Ballard, who they have come to arrest, accused of the murder of McCarty's brother, and the theft of $20,000. Ballard denies the charges and intends to do whatever it takes to gather evidence and prove himself innocent. At first the citizens of Silver Lode are on his side, but gradually they turn against him. Ballard is then accused by the townspeople of killing Sheriff Wooley (Emile Meyer), only his love Rose, and saloon girl Dolly (Dolores Moran) are left. Ballard struggles to stay out of the clutches of McCarty and the phoney lawmen, and it all comes to a head in the final showdown with a shootout breaking out in Silver Lode, but ultimately, the good guy beats the bad guys. Also starring Robert Warwick as Judge Cranston, John Hudson as Michael 'Mitch' Evans, Harry Carey Jr. as Johnson, Alan Hale Jr. as Kirk, Stuart Whitman as Wickers and Frank Sully as Paul Herbert. Payne is a slightly dull hero, Scott is alright as his fiancée, Duryea is a reasonable villain, and Moran gets her moments as the local floozy, the film is pretty much exactly the same as High Noon, on a wedding day with a final showdown, there is certainly some good photography, use of colour, costumes and the setting, all together it is a reasonable classic Western. Worth watching!

Released in 1954 - Silver Lode stands tall as a pretty decent Western in its own right. True. Its familiar story can easily be compared to "High Noon" in many ways, but, nevertheless, it is an entertaining cowboy flick, all the same.Filmed with the obvious restrictions of its B-movie budget, this vintage, Technicolor Western tells the tale of Dan Ballard, a decent man (relatively new to town) who (on his wedding day, which also happens to be the 4th of July) finds himself being accused of cold-blooded murder and the theft of $20,000.This unjust accusation is leveled at Ballard by Marshal McCarty, a very mean and forceful lawman, who unexpectedly arrives in town from Discovery, California, in the company of his 3 rough-looking deputies.Needless to say, an intense conflict takes place that quickly escalates into an all-out gunfight which has almost every able-bodied man in town involved (and even some of the women).With his life now hanging delicately in the balance, Ballard soon finds himself a hunted man in his own hometown. A vicious, mindless mob-mentality takes over as the citizens of Silver Lode pursue Ballard with a blind, hateful vengeance.Silver Lode was a film that was very much a product of its time. It was produced during the "McCarthy" era, when film producers, writers and actors were called to account during a (literal) political witch hunt.This film's screenplay reflects the concerns of the American people of that time in regards to matters such as truth and liberty in what they believed to be a free society.With a running time of only 80 minutes, Silver Lode moved along at a really good clip. Its cast included John Payne, Dan Duryea, Harry Carey Jr., and Lizabeth Scott.

A good western by Allan Dwan,much better than his exotic extravaganzas of the era ("Escape from Burma" "Pearls of the South Pacific").A transparent metaphor of the witch hunt.The villain is called McCarthy .The hero is a well-respected man,about to marry the daughter of a wealthy inhabitant.Up comes a so called US marshal,and he is accused of a crime ."We are behind you!" the incredulous people of Silver Lode say.But not for long.Without any real proof,the villain succeeds in turning the opinion round and the groom into an outcast.Only the bride and a "bad" gal working in the local saloon ,Dolly,still believe in him.Overnight,an honest man becomes the one you've got to get rid of.SPOILERS The ending climaxes the movie:the chased man takes refuge in a church (a symbol:since the Middle Ages ,such a place has been a sanctuary ,a place where even a criminal must not be arrested (remember "the hunchback of NOtre Dame").By entering the sacred place with a gun,McCarthy braves the law of God .That he can be killed by a bullet ricocheting off a bell on Independence day is ,as the priest says,a divine intervention.Like this?Try this "High Noon" Fred Zinnemann 1952

Federal Marshal Dan Duryea arrives in the town of Silver Lode with three deputies to arrest one of its citizens, John Payne, on a charge of murder. As things start to happen, Payne who at first has the whole town behind him, loses all his friends save for fiancé Lizabeth Scott and former girl friend Dolores Moran who works in the saloon. By the way, Duryea arrives on the 4th of July which was also to be Payne's wedding day.This is a classic version of the ill effects of mob violence. Some have said it's a polemic against McCarthyism, no doubt helped by the fact that Duryea's character name is McCarty. For myself Silver Lode is in the tradition of The Oxbow Incident and Fury, both classic films from major studios about vigilante justice.Silver Lode doesn't have the production values that 20th Century Fox or MGM could bring to a movie, it was done by RKO. Nevertheless supporting Payne, Duryea, and Scott are a solid cast of players, very much at home in westerns. This was also Dolores Moran's last film, she was married to producer Benedict Bogeaus.Payne had already essayed a very good role in Kansas City Confidential of a wrongly accused man and he follows it up here with an equally good portrayal. It's one of his best film parts.Allan Dwan keeps things moving at a brisk pace, Silver Lode doesn't bog down for a fraction of a second. One of the best B westerns ever done.