Simply Perfect

Just perfect...

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Director: NATHAN JURAN. Screenplay: John K. Butler, Lawrence Roman. Story: John K. Butler. Photographed in Technicolor by Harold Lipstein. Film editor: Virgil Vogel. Art directors: Bernard Herzbrun and Richard H. Riedel. Set decorators: Russell A. Gausman and Julia Heron. Costumes: Jay Morley. Make-up: Bud Westmore. Hair styles: Joan St Oegger. Assistant director: Tom Shaw. Sound recording: Leslie I. Carey and Richard DeWeese. Producer: Melville Tucker. Copyright 11 May 1954 by Universal Pictures Co, inc. A Universal- International picture. No New York opening. U.S. release: 1 June 1954. U.K. release through G.F.D. on the lower half of a double bill: 2 October 1954. Australian release: 10 December 1954. 6,913 feet. 77 minutes. SYNOPSIS: A villainous white man tries to stir up an Indian war for his own commercial advantage.COMMENT: Very attractively photographed. The studio night scenes particularly appeal. The camera-work reveals a dramatic depth of creative composition not usually associated with the work of Nathan Juran (though the man is a former art director after all). A few other inventive touches like the track ahead to the tree stump and the constantly clever use of pans in establishing shots, lend Mr Juran's direction even added luster and style. The exteriors are equally impressive. In fact, production values generally — even though lumbered with one or two obvious stock shots — are of an unusually high order.Unfortunately, the script and most of the players are something else again. The story is almost an entry in the unusual alliances cycle, except that this device is not over-emphasized in the manner of many later movies. Lyle Bettger, as usual, shines as the smiling heavy. It's also great to find Bob Steele in a meaty role as a bad-favored henchman. But Lisa Gaye makes a ridiculous if well-proportioned heroine, whilst Mara Corday is only slightly more credible as Bettger's moll. Still, neither girl has much of a part."Drums Across the River" boasts enough action to satisfy the fans, even if the doubles do all the work.

As this film opens with Gary Brannon preparing to lead a group of men in to the San Juan Mountains; the mountains are the territory of the Ute Indians but with no other gold left near the mining town of Crown City people are prepared to take a chance and cross the river into the San Juans. Gary's father tries to persuade him not to go but he ignores him; shortly after the group leaves his father is attacked; that doesn't stop him heading after the group though. They don't get far into Ute territory before they get jumped and one of the group is captured. Gary captures an Indian and thanks to his father's negotiating they trade him for the captured man. This wasn't what Walker, the man who hired Gary wanted... he wanted to ferment a war with the Indians so that the army could be called in to force them off their land and into a reservation. To this end he and his men open fire on the departing Indians killing many of them. A war seems inevitable but Gary goes to the Indians alone and talks to the new chief; it looks like he has established a peace but Walker hasn't given up yet. He has a second plan that will frame the Brannon's for a robbery and make it look as though they were working with the Utes... Gary will have his work cut out if he is to save his father, avoid getting hanged and prevent a war!This is another solid western staring Audie Murphy; as usual he does a fine job as the hero. His character is given a bit of depth by the fact that he can't forgive the Utes because one of them killed his mother; we later learn that the killer was the chief's son and the chief had him killed for his crime... of course Gary comes to see that he can't judge a people by the actions of one man and comes to respect them. The bad guys are suitably villainous; Lyle Bettger does a decent job as the devious Walker and Hugh O'Brian is menacing as the hired gun Morgan. Director Nathan Juran kept the action going nicely with fistfights, shootouts and villains being dragged behind Indian horses. Filmed in California, as were so many B Westerns, rather than in Colorado the film still looks good with some spectacular scenery shot in vivid Technicolor. While this isn't a classic I'm sure fans of the genre will enjoy it.

Drums Across the River concerns freighters Walter Brennan and his son Audie Murphy trying very hard to prevent a full scale Indian war which Lyle Bettger and sidekicks seem bound and determined to start.There's some rich mineral deposits on Ute land which is separated by a river boundary. Lyle Bettger plays on the greed of the white folks to invade the Ute treaty land so the government will send in troops to move them.Brennan sees the game for what it is, but it takes Murphy a while to come around. When he does he's the heroic Audie we know in most of his B westerns.Lots of action and a really nice performance by Jay Silverheels as the young Ute chief. Silverheels was on hiatus from the Lone Ranger and he ought to be remembered for more than just playing Tonto. There's also a nice performance by Mara Corday who is Bettger's squeeze and does quite a bit more for him than the usual moll.Despite that the film probably suffered from some poor editing and a script in which the character's motivations in doing certain things are a bit vague.Nevertheless Drums Across the River has enough action to satisfy any western lover.

Crown City, Colorado was born and built on gold, but by 1880 the town was tapped out, with the only remaining mineral left to mine located in the San Juan Mountains, right in the middle of Ute Indian Territory. Gary Brannon (Audie Murphy) is on the side of the miners, and wants to see his town survive along with it's citizens. But father Sam (Walter Brennan) has been able to maintain an uneasy peace with the Utes and their Chief Ouray (Morris Ankrum), even after the death of his wife at the hands of a drunken Ute brave. Gary finds it harder to forgive and forget, and would rather consider all Indians his enemy based on the actions of a few.Heavy Frank Walker (Lyle Bettger) leads the mining faction and insists on creating havoc with the Indians, finding ways to undo the truce established with the Utes by the elder Brannon. He brings in a black clad gunman named Morgan, enthusiastically portrayed by Hugh O'Brian in an uncharacteristic role. The future TV Wyatt Earp plays his part with gusto until brought down by Gary.Ouray's son Taos (Jay Silverheels) becomes Chief when the elder Indian dies, setting the stage for what will figure in the movie's finale. With young Brannon present for the Chief's burial on sacred ground, Taos warns him never to return at the risk of death. Knowing this, and having been framed for murder by Walker, Brannon leads Walker and his men into the sacred mountain area to be ambushed by the Utes, thereby risking his own neck in order to save it.In 1954, Jay Silverheels was still in the middle of his co-starring role as Tonto in the Lone Ranger Television Series. In this film though, he's brought to more regal bearing as the Indian Chief Taos, and looks particularly impressive in full war bonnet. For his part, the young Audie Murphy looks a bit out of his element among the heavies of the film, though he manages to prevail against every henchman presented. The film ends with the Utes and the Crown City citizens exchanging mining rights for hunting privileges on each other's side of the mountains, a reasonable enough compromise that probably could have been worked out without the bloodshed, but then, there wouldn't have been a story.