La campana ha suonato

Dan Duryea is the reason I decided to watch this western and he is wonderful but far from the only reason I rate the movie an 8. The action starts with Dan and three other riders (Harry Carey Jr and Alan Hale Jr for gosh sakes... you know you're in for a good time) riding into the town of Silver Lode on forth of July. They're looking for the man named "Dan Ballard" but everyone they ask gives them the cold shoulder, one remarks they know a gunfighter when they see one. Turns out Dan is a federal marshal named Ned McCarty (other reviews have noted the McCarthy similarity and I agree with them on that) come to take Ballard -- solidly played by John Payne -- prisoner back to California for a murder rap. The victim is, it turns out, McCarty's brother and there is also a matter of $20,000 stolen at the same time.

At first the town's people are solidly behind Ballard but gradually they come around to bow McCarty's assumed authority and turn against Ballard. This is done rather well, not nearly as heavy handedly as might be. Many reviewers have noted the similarity to "High Noon", it's sort of a "High Noon" in reverse. While that's mighty high company the comparison is not out of line and the wonderful direction of Allan Dwan makes up for the lower production values. This is a good story, well made and worth looking for.

Silver Lode (1954) : Brief Review -

Allan Dwan's underrated and misunderstood western gem. I wasn't aware that a film with similar effects as "Ox Bow Incident" (1943) was made in the 1950s and almost became a gem of a film. John Payne was no John Wayne, so forget about the lead being impactful, but I am really in love with the script. The film is about Dan, who is arrested on his wedding day (which also happens to be 4th July), and asks for two hours to prove his innocence. The charges against him are murder and theft of $20,000, which is more than enough to hang him. Marshall McCarthy has brought all the papers, and they are in order, but he is more into revenge on his brother than arrest and justice. Between these two hours, the entire town goes against Dan, as several killings are blamed on him. It goes up to the mob-lynching stage, and then Dan has to do some killings to prove his innocence. It's an intelligent film despite its quick-go and far-fetched conflicts that take place one after another during one hour. The only two people who believe in Dan are his soon-to-be wife and a bar dancer who loves him. They help him in the process of getting a message sent to the US marshal, but by that time, it's too late. The climax sees Dan standing in a jam, up against McCarthy and the entire town, which used to respect him an hour ago. That's how the human mindset changes within a few minutes. A moment ago, they used to respect him, and a moment later, they wanted to kill him. The performances and production are quite so-so, while the direction seemed fine. The film deserved better dialogues and a better score. Nevertheless, the story and screenplay themselves make it a MUST WATCH. I can't believe this was called "misfire" by contemporary critics and has remained so underrated for years. I personally liked it very much and would recommend it to others.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

"Silver Lode" has long been labeled as an anti-McCarthy western and has also been compared to "High Noon" (1952). The McCarthy witch hunt for communists in the motion picture business was in the headlines at the time this film was made. The persecution of the hero was said to be a thinly veiled protest of Senator Joseph McCarthy's persecution of the entertainment industry.

All that aside, "Silver Lode" stands as a pretty good western in its own right. True, the story can be compared to "High Noon" however, it is nevertheless an entertaining movie by itself.

Dan Ballard (John Payne) and Rose Evans (Lizabeth Scott) are about to be married when Marshal Ned McCart (Dan Duryea) and his three deputies (Alan Hale Jr, Harry Carey Jr., Stuart Whitman) ride into town looking for Ballard. McCart accuses Ballard of having murdered his brother and has come to arrest him and "take him back". At first the townspeople are on Ballard's side but gradually they turn against him especially when they believe that he has killed the town sheriff (Emile Meyer). Ballard then has to prove his innocence and expose McCart for the person he really is.

In addition to those mentioned above, there is an impressive list of familiar faces in the supporting cast. Dolores Morin plays saloon girl Dolly, Robert Warwick plays Judge Cranston, Hugh Sanders, the Reverend, Morris Ankrum, Scott's father, John Hudson her brother, Roy Gordon the town doctor and Myron Healey, Lane Chandler, John Dierkes, Gene Roth and I.Stanford Jolley as various townspeople.

Director Alan Dwan keeps the story moving and provides us with some good action scenes. And believe it or not there's not one fist fight in the entire movie.

Forget about the comparisons with McCarthyism and "High Noon" and sit back and enjoy an entertaining western.

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.

The reason that led me to watch this movie is because it's listed in the book ''The 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die'', and in the end it was worth-watching!

This Western follows the footsteps of ''High Noon''; here John Payne plays Dan Ballard, a man arrested by four marshals for a murder he didn't commit, and while he struggles to find the real culprit the townspeople start leaving him to his destiny. The only ones on his side are his soon-to-be-wife Rose (Lizabeth Scott) and saloon lady Dolly (Dolores Moran).

The things I liked about the movie are the music and the supporting cast: Dan Duryea shines as the evil sheriff McCarthy (that was a subtle reference to Joseph McCarthy) and in the end is killed by Payne in the church of Silver Lode; Stuart Whitman, Alan Hale jr. and Harry Carey jr. are great as the sheriff's henchmen, and they were specialized in Western movies.

Still a well-made Western and I liked it very much.