Era de violencia

There's one well organized ring of gold smugglers operating out of the gold strike camp of Cripple Creek, Colorado. There's so much gold being smuggled out of the place that the Secret Service is concerned. Remember the USA was on the gold standard back then.

So the Secret Service assigns agents George Montgomery, Richard Egan, and Jerome Courtland to go undercover and apprehend this gang. Courtland is young and impulsive, but both Montgomery and Egan think pretty fast on their feet as you'll see as the story unfolds.

Just about everybody of any importance in Cripple Creek is involved in the smuggling which is why the government hasn't been able to get a handle on it so far. That's why our agents really have their work cut out for them in this fast paced western.

Cripple Creek is a competently made B western with a real twist at the end. Two twists in fact, especially when you find out who the head of the smuggling ring is and what's the purpose behind all the gold smuggling.

Cripple Creek is one western not just for the kid trade.

Set in the 19th century West, we have lawmen trying to catch some outlaws who have been a little too crafty to catch.

This is one of those "darkness before the Dawn" films that aren't that common. It's a story of a person in a situation where it looks totally hopeless and full of horror, with all allies destroyed, all hope of help from outside gone, and nothing to fight with.

In this case, it's an undercover cop in the old West, infiltrating a gang. We get a feeling of what is to come, and since most movies are stereotypical "all nice guys have to die" plots, the only thing that makes us think it's possible the undercover cop will live is because tough guy Montgomery portrays him. That makes it suspenseful, because now we feel it is an even money chance he will pull out alive some how.

Real Saturday morning western with enough surprises and cliffhangers to have been a serial. Saw it today on TV and wondered why I'd never come across it before. Unusual subject matter for a western. Secret Service men brought in to deal with a gold smuggling operation in Cripple Creek , Colorado. Interestingly, a gang is stealing wagonloads of freshly mined ore, instead of the smelted gold. Why? Unless they're smelting it themselves? But then; where is it taken afterwards? It's up to agents Iverson (George Montgomery), Larry Galland (Jerome Courtland) and Strap Galland aka Gillis ( Richard Egan) to find out and thwart the operation, which they do by two of them posing as bandits on the run looking for profitable employment. As you would expect, they find it remarkably easy to be taken on by saloon owner William Bishop. Is he the big guy, surrounded by villainous henchmen? And what role does saloon gal Julia play? The final reveal, and the scale and purpose of the operation, come as something of a surprise. However, there is a big clue dropped early on, if you're paying attention. But,before that there's plenty of gunplay, fisticuffs, ruses and twists to satisfy any fan of the genre.

This western is ably directed by Ray Nazzaro, a veteran director, and stars George Montgomery who is an undercover agent, who along with his gun toting partner, is assigned to sort out the gold smugglers in Cripple Creek. It's routine plot is given a punch by some of the action, the hideout where the gold is processed, the well-staged fist fight, the nail biting Russian roulette sequence and the killer twist at the end. Having said that, a little more investigation by the hero would've been great, but it's still an entertaining western, which is the most important thing.

The script sprawls some, but the oater's well cast and entertaining. Three Secret Service agents led by Ivers (Montgomery) go undercover to break up a gold smuggling ring in Cripple Creek, headed by a smug city slicker, Silver (Bishop). Two sequences are real nail-biters—the Russian roulette scene that's really well done, and the smelter scene that pays good attention to detail. Then again, there's the silly barroom brawl that suggests the influence of a kids' matinée feature. Really, George Cleveland's crusty old grouch is all the comedy relief that's needed. Anyway, the western's uncommonly well cast with familiar faces up and down the line. The script even manages a good surprise at the end. As a former resident of the real Cripple Creek, however, I'm surprised at how much that mountain town is supposed to resemble LA's San Fernando Valley, as though that matters entertainment-wise. Anyway, it's a pretty good western somewhere between an A and B production.

(In passing-- the Cripple Creek gold camp was a boom town for several decades; then became a near-ghost town in the 1950's after the price of gold was frozen; but has lately revived with casino gambling and a and a return to market pricing. It's got a magnificent scenic view across a hundred miles of South Park to the main range of the Rockies. So visit there if you can.)