A Mestiça do Mississipi

I've never been a great fan of Lex Barker Westerns, but DOTM pleasantly surprised me, though I overlook the curiosity of Patricia Medina leading a gang of robbers and the unlikelihood of her relationship with Barker; and there were no surprises about the ending.

But the cinematography was excellent and colourful, and there were a couple of good duels. Barker performed better than in those of his other Westerns that I've seen. It was good to see the dependable John Dehner, aged 40 at the time of the film's release, playing a much older patriarch.

Duel on the Mississippi (1955)

** (out of 4)

Plantation owner Andre Tulane (Lex Barker) finds himself in debt to the gambler Lili Scarlet (Patricia Medina) and the two are at each other's throats until one day when Tulane comes to the rescue and soon they are teaming up against some pirates.

William Castle's DUEL ON THE MISSISSIPPI is another film from the cult director that is mildly entertaining but at the same time it's pretty mediocre as far as its technical qualities. I say that because watching the film you couldn't help but give Castle a little credit since the film was well-made for the most part but there just wasn't enough here to bring the film alive and a lot of blame can go towards the screenplay.

The biggest issue I had with the screenplay is that there was a lot of plot and subplot but very little brains. In fact, the film was so watered down with various characters being introduced that it was very easy to lose track of what was going on. I never really cared about the battle between the two leads and there really wasn't anything happening in the story that kept my attention.

The cast, for the most part is good and Barker gets to show what he could do outside of Tarzan and the jungle. I thought he was pretty good for what the role required. The supporting players were good and that includes Medina. When all is said and done, DUEL ON THE MISSISSIPPI will appeal to fans of Castle but there's not enough here for most people.

No surprises from this movie. But a rare one. It Takes on the shores on the Mississippi, with gamblers, land owners, planters, pirates and pistol duels between Lex Barker and the bad guy - I don't remember his name. I have already seen that a thousand times.

Patricia Medina is also foreseeable in this second rate production.

But what could we wait from a Sam Katzman one, even directed by William Castle, no the Castle who will amaze us several years later with his chillers such as Macabre, Tingler, House on the Haunted Hill, Mr Sardonicus, etc...

We can however watch it without boredom.

I do not know why so many of the reviews of this film are negative. It is a thoroughly enjoyable film with lots of action. There are so few films whose stories are set in the immediate post-Louisiana Purchase period. The real history behind the story is fairly accurate and, despite some movie-serial tropes, it is well written. I was pleasantly surprised to see the iconic John Dehner affect a Franco-American accent, which would have been the norm for a second generation, Louisiana plantation owner. It also fits that his son, ably played by the handsome and dashing Lex Barker, would have no trace of the same accent, because by that time, English was becoming the norm in New Orleans post Louisiana Purchase. The weapons are accurate to the period, as is the idea that sugar was a rising commodity that Cajun Bayou-Raiders would steal. As in most of the Antebellum South, only a small few wealthy plantation owners would own all the land and slaves, while the rest of the citizenry had to survive as best they could. Now, was the movie a bit unrealistic and trite? Yes, but it is not a documentary! It is a good escapist film that has conflict, swordfights, romance, and light comedy. All the actors were wonderful in their roles, particularly. Ian Keith, who chews up the scenery and steals every scene he is in. Then there is the beautiful, copper-haired Patricia Medina as the apropos named Lili Scarlet. She brings a modern-day, feminist ideal of a woman-in-charge, good at business as well as skilled in wily, feminine charm. I enjoyed this film very much and think you will too. Just do not watch it expecting a Western film or a Documentary, just watch it with popcorn and enjoy.

Well, I have had to go back on my word one more time with respect to non-Horror films by the director incorporated both as part of my centenary tribute to him and my Epic Easter marathon; given its riverboat/gambling/Old South backdrop, I had mentally classified this as more of a Western but, looking at stills from it and checking out its plot line, the sight of swordfights and the mention of piracy sure changed my mind! Anyway, the addition of the film to my schedule had its downside as well, as the gorgeous-looking (albeit TV-sourced) print I watched proved problematic – with the image getting scrambled every once in a while!

The film, then, was a mere 68 minutes in length: indeed, I must say that, had Castle not subsequently embarked upon his Horror career, his reputation would probably never have been made – despite his prolific pre-1958 output; that is not to say that it is bad, but it certainly had routine, journeyman, even cheap (produced by Sam Katzman: enough said!) written all over it – with this in mind, this early phase of his work has not been pursued by avid fans of his Horror efforts nearly enough.

This, again, co-stars Patricia Medina who unsurprisingly begins as an antagonist to hero Lex Barker, only to eventually reform (she is the spirited daughter of the leader of a gang of raiders stealing the sugar from various plantations, one of which is owned by Barker's father John Dehner) and fall for him; interestingly, when the old man is threatened with bankruptcy and a spell in debtors' prison, Barker offers his services as a personal slave to Medina…but also contrives to challenge her hot-headed foreman Warren Stevens (who prides himself on his lethal abilities with a rapier) to a duel which, if killed in, would effectively discharge Dehner from all obligations to Medina! Obviously, he survives (even wounding Stevens himself) – but the two men ultimately settle their score via another face-off, albeit fought by way of a machete!

The film is colourful and enjoyable, but also ordinary and forgettable; the cast helps, with Ian Keith (as Medina's brandy-loving father) relishing his roguish part, as opposed to the humourless villains he was often relegated to playing, a role here filled – quite ably, I might add – by Stevens. As for leading man Barker (who numbered actresses Lana Turner and Arlene Dahl among his five spouses!), he had a pretty continental and varied filmography – which saw him going from Hollywood Tarzan to German Winnetou (aka Old Shatterhand) and various other adventures and thrillers along the way, before prematurely expiring from a heart attack in 1973. Incidentally, thanks to this viewing, I have just added a quintet of the star's vehicles (3 of them Italian costumers!) to my collection...