Drums Across the River

Fun western that once again covers the old 'Native Americans have something we want so lets go get it' story arc. This time though it has a father son relationship that is explored as the baddies do their thing. Walter is exceptional in this and Audie does what Audie does. There is a small branch of the story that refers to Audie being a bigot but it is never really explored and seems to resolve itself too quickly to really have an influence on the story overall.

Good action, well told, enjoyable fare.

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.

Among the two dozen or so westerns Audie Murphy made for Universal Pictures from 1950-1966, DRUMS ACROSS THE RIVER (1954) is one of the better ones, featuring a gold miners-vs.-Indians plot with Audie caught firmly in the middle. It's fast-paced, full of action, and features a host of lively character actors, including some great villains.

Audie plays a wagon freighter in a Colorado mining town who is, initially, a witting pawn in a plot by a group of Denver mine bosses to stir up trouble with the local Ute Indians in order to get gold concessions on their land. Audie's dad, Sam (Walter Brennan), is a friend of the Indians and, following a shootout with the Utes in which Sam is wounded, Audie meets with the Ute chief (Morris Ankrum) and his son Taos (Jay Silverheels) and negotiates a temporary peace. Unfortunately, the hired guns working for the mine bosses continue to stir things up and force Audie to aid in a stage robbery by abducting his dad and threatening to kill him. When Audie is charged with murder after the robbery, he has to keep quiet to insure Sam's safety. In the final stretch of the movie, Audie has to break free, save his dad, subdue the bad guys, clear himself and avert a battle between Indians and cavalry. The whole story is told in 78 compact minutes.

Unassuming war hero-turned-western star Murphy was at his best in parts like this, playing an ordinary westerner caught up in a tumultuous situation and having to fight his way out and summon up the moral courage to do the right thing. He always looked best when he faced down truly formidable bad guys and here he faces one of the best western villains of the 1950s. Lyle Bettger, who had one of the most sinister smiles in movie history, specialized in corrupt western capitalists (ranchers, miners, saloon owners, railroad men) who could be utterly smooth and charming one minute and murderously evil the next. Here he's the miners' lead troublemaker and is joined by a great rogues' gallery made up of future TV star Hugh O'Brian as the black-clad Morgan, who also smiles a lot, and a quartet of thugs played by frequent heavies James Anderson, George Wallace, Lane Bradford and former B-western star Bob Steele. In addition, there's Mara Corday as a voluptuous (and very attractive) saloon girl who does some of Bettger's dirty work.

Walter Brennan is very good in a rare turn as an upright authority figure and father. Jay Silverheels plays a sympathetic Indian and leads a band of Utes who appear to be played predominantly by actual Indians rather than the usual painted-up white extras. The Technicolor film was shot partly on the Universal backlot with some fine location work at key California western sites, including one dramatic desert spot representing the Indians' sacred burial ground. This was director Nathan Juran's third film with Murphy.

Good Nathan Juran's western, one more starring Audie Murphy for Universal Studios, after GUNSMOKE and TUMBLEWEED. Yes, good stuff, not too long, rather action packed, and offering acceptable performances, despite a weak plot, not that surprising story. Full of charm little western from the fifties. And it is always a pleasure to have Lyle Bettger as a villain, as John Doucette or Robert Wilke...I repeat, no surprise but so much effective for a tremendous time spender - not waster. Universal Studios had the secret of cute and original westerns, a special touch that the other companies had not. Not better, but just different.

Drums Across the River is directed by Nathan Juran and written by John K. Butler and Lawrence Roman. It stars Audie Murphy, Walter Brennan, Lyle Bettger, Lisa Gaye, Hugh O'Brian, Mara Corday and Jay Silverheels. Music is by Joseph Gershenson and Technicolor cinematography by Harold Lipstein.

"This is Crown City, born and build on gold mining, but by 1880 about the only gold left was across a near by river in the San Juan Mountains, Ute Indian land. People get desperate when their means of livelihood's cut off, and I was no exception. I'm Gary Brannon, my Dad and me ran a freight outfit."

There's a reoccurring saying that often crops up when viewing most of Audie Murphy's Westerns, that of them being unassuming afternoon entertainment. Pour yourself a jug of beer or a glass of wine and enjoy the handsome Murphy going about his Oater business with energy and a straight forward willingness to entertain.

Drums Across the River is a goodie in that context, it also boasts some lovely photography by Lipstein out of California locations that include Barton Flats (San Bernardino Mountains), Burro Flats and Red Rock Canyon. The Technicolor is gorgeous (TV print I saw was very good), with the blues and greens very striking, and the story is interesting as Murphy plays a bigoted young man who finds himself trying to avert a war with the Ute's whilst being framed for robbery himself. Bettger (Union Station) is a more than capable villain, as is the black clad O'Brian (The Lawless Breed), Corday and Gaye are underwritten but a treat for the eyes, and Brennan is the class act that he mostly always is.

Juran (Gunsmoke) directs without fuss or filler, proving to have a keen eye for action construction as the film is flecked with a number of hand to hand fights, shoot-outs and horse play, and prolific Western scorer Gershenson offers up another in a long line of undervalued genre compliant flavours. The stunt work is also of a high standard, with one particular leap of death truly worthy of high praise, and the story rounds out to put a smile on your face as the last sip of beverage trickles down the throat. Few surprises narratively speaking, and the odd B Western budget error shows its face, but this is a colourful Audie Oater and it's all about enjoying without having to think too hard about it. 7/10