Coroner Creek

Once again Randolph Scott is after the guy who killed his betrothed, and when you learn the culprit was tall, blonde, blue-eyed and has a scar on his cheek and the cast includes George Macready you know what's coming...

That Macready plays the main villain indicates the calibre of the cast producer Harry Joe Brown has assembled for this moody tale of revenge by Luke Short. The rest of the production shows evidence of equal care, including the costumes, production design and photography by Fred Jackman Jr., all of which extract the maximum visual impact from Cinecolor's limited palate; notably during the almost expressionist final shootout.

"Coroner Creek" marked a departure for Randolph Scott in the character he plays. He usually played square-jawed righteous heros with a clear set of moral values. In this film he plays a character bent solely on revenge, even to the point of almost shooting the villain in the back as he tries to escape. He is driven by hate and has few if any redeeming qualities.

Scott is on the hunt for the person responsible for his fiance's death. He finally tracks him down in the town of Coroner Creek and sets out to force a final showdown. True to the Hollywood Production Code of the day, Scott's character sees the error of his ways at the end.

"Coroner Creek" boasts an excellent cast. George Macready plays the chief villain in a cold, cruel and calculating manner. Marquerite Chapman is the nominal heroine who tries to get Scott to change. Sally Eilers as a rancher and Barbara Read as Macready's alcoholic wife are the other female characters. Edgar Buchanan plays the spineless sheriff who eventually finds his courage and Wallace Ford plays Scott's only real friend and ally.

The rest of the cast is made up of many veterans of "dusters" both of the "A" and "B" variety. On the wrong side of the law are Forrest Tucker, Douglas Fowley and Joe Sawyer. On the right side of the law are Russell Simpson, William Bishop and Forrest Taylor. Charlie Stevens appears as (what else?) an Apache who provides Scott with information on the killer. And if you look close you'll see Joe DeRita (of the Three Stooges) and Dewey Robinson as bartenders.

"Coroner Creek" was a grim, realistic western for its time. Don't miss the brutal encounter between Scott and Tucker about half way through the film.

Spectacular scenery highlights this Randolph Scott movie. Scott was 50 yers old when this was made and he never looked better. He is a man out to avenge his fiance's death caused by veteran bad guy, George MacReady. Lots of action and great fun watching Scott do his thing.

Out in the remote Southwest a stagecoach his held up by renegade Apache Indians led by a mysterious white man. All bar one of the passengers are killed, the other, a female, is taken as captive but takes her own life rather than suffer any more indignities. That woman was the fiancée of cowboy Chris Denning, who upon learning of the news vows revenge and goes in search of the mysterious leader. A search that takes him to the small town of Coroner Creek...

Coroner Creek doesn't mess about, it's a tough, no nonsense Oater that may have flecks of humour, and pretty gal familiarity's, but most assuredly thrives on its darkly revenge driven core. Directed by Ray Enright and starring genre supremo Randolph Scott as Denning, Coroner Creek is adapted by Kenneth Gamet from the novel written by Luke Short. Very much following the old biblical thematic of "an eye for an eye", Enright's film, produced by Harry Brown, boasts rousing fist fights, simmering sexual tensions and a riveting finale.

Scott is terrific, as he mostly always is in these genre pieces. Denning's sense of pain and hunger for revenge is perfectly brought home to the viewers by Scott, an actor who has the ability to express so much with darkened eyes and a down-turned mouth. And of course more crucially, Scott brings believability to his characters. You really wouldn't know he was 50 years of age whilst making this picture, such is the gusto he puts into the role. He's backed up by George Macready doing a solid line in scar faced villainy, the always enjoyable Wallace Ford as Denning's newly formed confidante Andy West, while Sally Eiles and Marguerite Chapman fill the important female roles with professional turns.

On the minor downside is the use of Cinecolor, a two colour process that fails to bring Fred Jackman's cinematography to life, whilst simultaneously giving the actors an odd looking sheen. DVD and TV viewers may find they have to tone down a couple of hues on this one to find a decent colour balance. Still it be a fine genre entry and one that is a must see for Randy Scott enthusiasts. 8/10

Stalwart western hero Randolph Scott is at his stalwart best in "Coroner Creek" - and it wasn't directed by the overrated Budd Boetticher. Scott is a man of action as he attempts to avenge the killing of his fiancée at the hands of George MacReady in one of his most villainous roles. As mentioned, the emphasis is on action; the exasperating Boetticher often put one of Hollywood's best cowboy stars in complex psychological situations while forgoing Scott's long suit.

In "Coroner Creek", Scott is surrounded by three women who manage to slow down the story by their presence; Marguerite Chapman as a moralizing hotel owner, Sally Eilers as a widowed ranch owner, and Barbara Read as Macready's dipso wife. But the storyline is so good that you can overlook these interruptions and await his next confrontation with baddies. There are gunfights and fistfights enough to satisfy the most avid action fan, including a left-handed fist fight with Forrest Tucker (you'll have to watch it for more info). I liked this one enough to rate it an eight.