The Silver Star

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.

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.

There is a lot going on in this little low budget western drama, and there is absolutely NO WASTE OF TALENT! Lyon plays the sheriff, who's father and grandfather were both gunned down while wearing a badge. It seems that he has just taken over from Buchanan, who has let a lot slide during the 15 years he was wearing the badge.

I think that many viewers, especially immature ones, will have a tough time with this tale...it deals with the fear of cowardice. All men and women experience it at some time, however it is not considered macho to talk about it, hence we have more movies with Cooper and Wayne portraying the fearless, card board cut-out protagonist, rather than real life characters.

The scene where Windsor and Buchanan berate and grind Lyon into action is unforgettable.

The movie could have benefited from a more rugged realistic conclusion, however after all these years, this one remains a minor classic.

This may have been the worst Western ever made. Edgar Buchanan must have been embarrassed to be a part of this disaster - he alone gave this movie what little professionalism it possessed. From a faulty storyline to a horrible script - it was painful to watch.

Lon Chaney Jr. Must also have been desperate to participate in this fiasco give the many films he completed that were classics.

The plot line was so paltry, that the viewer is actually puzzled as to the purpose of the conflict. The Sheriff's cowardice was well done - but the plot line dissolved it by simply changing scenes. The sheriff goes from coward to hero in seconds - and even when he finally acts like a sheriff he appears to be a bungling amateur.

One star is too much for a movie that throws a shadow on the two actors (Chaney and Buchanan) who were outstanding in many other films.

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.