The Silver Star

This film essentially begins with a young man by the name of "Gregg Leach" (Earle Lyon) accepting the position of town sheriff which a colleague named "Will 'Bill' Dowdy" (Edgar Buchanan) had strongly urged him to accept. Likewise, his fiancé "Karen Childress" (Marie Windsor) also talked him into accepting that position even though she knew his heart wasn't really into it. Unfortunately, not long after accepting the position, three cowboys ride into town and upon entering the saloon, tell everyone that they are there to kill him. Naturally, realizing that the odds are not with him, Sheriff Leach is alarmed to learn that everybody there--to include his fiancé--fully expects him to simply go to the saloon and disarm all three by himself. Even worse, they consider his concern about the odds being against him as cowardice. Meanwhile, the longer he hesitates the worse those 3 cowboys behave. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film reminded me of the dilemma that Gary Cooper (as "Marshal Will Kane") faced in the movie "High Noon." The main difference being that the local people were urging Marshal Kane to leave town, while in this film they were expecting Sheriff Leach to directly confront the troublemakers--in spite of the fact that the odds were clearly stacked against him. Begging the question of why Sheriff Leach would even want someone like Karen Childress as his wife considering her complete lack of concern about his safety. Be that as it may, although this particular movie wasn't nearly as good as "High Noon", I suppose it still passed the time fairly well and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

While Gary Cooper "did what a man's gotta do" in the classic High Noon, Earle Lyon (as Sheriff Greg Leach) isn't so sure he has the right stuff for the job. When three gunmen arrive in town and tell him to leave, he is forced to search for the moral courage that is the code of the west. Leach will only do the right thing when he is shamed into it by his girl and her father. This movie was scripted by Ian Mcdonald, who played the heavy, Frank Miller, in High Noon. Features a great title song by Jimmy Wakeley. A low budget classic.

UPDATE-2006 When I wrote the earlier review on this movie, I had not seen it in several decades. Now thanks to VCI Entertainment and Kit Parker it is available on a tandem DVD with Lyon and Bartlett's LONESOME TRAIL. So how did SILVER STAR hold up? Amazingly well. As a much younger person I didn't pay attention to things like production values and such, and make no mistake about it, this IS low budget fare. But what sells this little jewel is the screenplay. When SILVER STAR was filmed-1955-we had Cheyenne, Paladin, and Matt Dillion, all doing "what a man's gotta do." Fearless heroes. Here we have Earle Lyon, a newly elected sheriff, running at the first glimpse of trouble. His mentor, an old man attempts to shame him into action, and his sweetheart pleads with him to act like a man. This was pretty heavy stuff for the mid 50s! Jimmy wakely's title song holds up extremely well also, sounding much more like a folk song than a movie theme. If there is a drawback to the picture it is the conclusion...a little of the action seems muddled and the ending is somewhat inconclusive. And I still walk away from this one thinking that if the sheriff is ever faced with a similar situation, we'll have to go through all these motions again! A GREAT low budget B movie.

THE SILVER STAR is a Western about fear. Lon Chaney Jr wants to be sheriff to run the town as he likes but Lyon, whose granddad and dad died in office as town sheriffs, steps up to the plate... until King Daniels (Bartlett) blows into town, accompanied by two murderous sidekicks, and that is when Lyon decides to go for a long ride around, meeting here and there with former sheriff Edgar Buchanon (as spelt in the credits).

Chaney is scared to show his hand. Bartlett is scared enough to come with henchmen. Lyon is obviously scared not just because of past family losses but because he feels the town should be involved, it should not be up to the sheriff alone.

Throw in the ultimate femme fatale in noir films, Marie Windsor, here playing the role of goody two shoes girlfriend who tells Lyon she will not have a coward for her mate, and will not leave town on the train with him.

Which is a reversal of the situation in HIGH NOON, done three years earlier, in which a train brings four bandits to town intent on killing Sheriff Will Kane.

Meanwhile, Lyon keeps going around on his horse while Jim Wakely sings a tune that is not so very different from "Please don't forsake me oh my darling" in HIGH NOON. And so the Hamlet-like young sheriff wanders about before finally deciding to turn in his badge to his predecessor, who is man enough to go out and start the vital showdown that makes Lyon realize that he has to do something, not just stand around.

And so some cosmetic complexity is added to a pointless story whose sole moral lesson is that the sheriff should never have to act alone. What is more, this sheriff portrayed by Lyon cannot shoot straight enough to hit an elephant, let alone moving human targets.

B cinematography, unconvincing direction, laughable script, and one decent performance from the ever reliable supporting actor Edgar Buchanon, better known as Buchanan, here in the leading role. Waste of 73 minutes.

Although this nifty little western drama is seldom available for viewing, it remains as one of the better western character studies of the 50s. Perhaps the lack of action, and the stark reality of the picture account for the poor reviews it received upon it's release, however, in hindsight, it remains one of the better "High Noon" inspired quickies, and is perhaps in some respects even better than it's insparation. Lyon shows signs of real acting brilliance as the cowardly Sheriff, only willing to fight when he is shamed into it. The great title song by Wakely is unforgettable.

November 1954 saw the swift completion of "The Silver Star," the last of Lon Chaney's three releases from Lippert Pictures, this one from a short-lived outfit formed by producer Earle Lyon and director Richard H. Bartlett. A pedestrian ripoff of the superior "High Noon," partially conceived by actor/co-producer Ian MacDonald (main villain Frank Miller from "High Noon"), producer Lyon taking the lead as newly elected sheriff Gregg Leech, while director Bartlett opposed him as top henchman King Daniel, riding into town with two comrades, challenging Leech to face them at 8PM or get out fast (obviously, HIGH 8PM doesn't have the same ring!). Where its inspiration featured a plethora of interesting characters in support, such as Katy Jurado and Lloyd Bridges, this ultra low budgeter falls flat with non descript characters, only top billed Edgar Buchanan, in the retired sheriff role essayed by Chaney before, getting much of a chance to sink his teeth in (there's even a similar theme song, done by Jimmy Wakely rather than Tex Ritter). The cowardly Leech was recommended to replace Buchanan because both his father and grandfather were lawmen, but he simply wanders from one end of town to the other, unable to make up his mind until a certain amount of running time is used up, while the three hired gunmen take over the saloon, a steady supply of whiskey evidently ruining their shootin' eyes for the predictable outcome. Lon Chaney plays crooked attorney John W. Harmon, on the losing end in the election for sheriff, whose smiling demeanor fools absolutely no one, all convinced that he is the one responsible for those hired guns, entering at the 25 minute mark, almost 5 1/2 minutes screen time but a weak villain that hardly taxes his abilities. In cahoots with Chaney is fellow veteran Barton MacLane, again joining together the following decade for the A.C. Lyles Paramount Westerns. Producer Earle Lyon and director Richard H. Bartlett probably did the leads as a budget saving device, but their nonacting isn't helped by the sketchy characters they portray, robbing this modest effort of any possible tension. Lyon continued after their partnership dissolved, while Bartlett moved into television, after directing Chaney once more in a Universal oater starring Jock Mahoney, 1958's "Money, Women and Guns."