Le fouet d'argent

Character-driven western whose guiding idea unfortunately is better than the result. Sheriff Tom, tough guy Race, and young man Jess, are friends in a small frontier town. Jess, however, wants a chance to prove himself a man, so he gets trial run as a stage driver. Trouble is he screws up by not driving off to protect doomed passengers when stage is ambushed at a way station. Instead he stays behind to help his friend Race. Now Jess needs to redeem himself by helping Sheriff Tom and posse track down stage robbers before vengeful Race guns them all down. Climax occurs in town when lynch mob gathers to head for Tom's jail.

It's really Wagner's film. As the untried Jess, he shows his acting chops in a vivid performance still early in his lengthy career. Robertson (Race) and Calhoun (Tom) also get a lot of screen time as self-assured westerners. Oddly, they look so much alike, I got confused at times. The oater's unusual since no bad guy gets focal time, while the girls are strictly peripheral. Instead, the highlight is a well-photographed and lengthy chase scene across scenic rocks and hills. There's one unexpectedly jarring occurrence that I guess Hollywood convention couldn't let stand without smoothing out. Had they instead let it go extreme, the movie would be memorable. One key point, I wish Robertson's ambiguous character (Race) were more intense. That would have injected needed emotion to the movie as a whole There's a dramatic potential in the key conflict between Race and Tom that's unfortunately underplayed.

All in all, it's an interesting western with an unusual plot and some riveting scenery, but drains too much story potential.

Based on a novel from the author of "Shane" and "Monte Walsh" comes a much less substantial of western, but an entertaining one none-the-less. Robert Wagner plays a young cowboy who's getting restless in his small town, so to keep him from becoming a no-good drifter the local stagecoach owner hires him as an armed guard for a large gold shipment. After the stagecoach is robbed, young hotheaded Wagner learns from the stagecoach driver (Dale Robertson) and from the sheriff (Rory Calhoun) there are two kinds of justice and he has to decide which one is right. In the hands of a director like George Stevens, this story had the potential to be something really smart, but instead it's merely a diverting western that will entertain fans of sagebrush tales.

Three of the stars became major television stars as well. And Rory Calhoun, Dale Robertson, and Robert Wagner made an excellent trio.

Accompanied by two of the loveliest ladies, Lola Albright and Kathleen Crowley, as well as by some un-credited high-caliber performers such as the great John Doucette, George Cheesbro, and Edmund Cobb, they give us a tense western drama.

Anger and revenge for cold-blooded killing always make for drama, and usually the audience, the viewers know which side to take. Here, though, there becomes a question of the right and wrong of lynch law. Who will defend the "official" law, and who will support the old "eye for an eye" law?

The denouement is not what we expect.

Until then, we are torn, because all the protagonists are good people and it is hard to decide for whom to root.

Un-billed is Chuck Connors, but billed is the superb James Millican, as is J.M. Kerrigan in an undemanding but literate and important role.

"The Silver Whip" is available at YouTube and I highly recommend it.

Western novelist Jack Schaefer's follow-up to SHANE, THE SILVER WHIP is turned into a "shaky A" with Dale Robertson, Rory Calhoun, and Robert Wagner in the lead as an ambitious young stage driver. While this black-and-white effort lacks the visual grandeur of George Stevens' masterpiece, and the cast all right. and.... well, this is a good B western, with some nice outdoor photography by Lloyd Ahern Sr.

Director Harmon Jones doesn't seem to push anyone too hard, but it's a well-told story. It's clear they were feeling ambitious with this one. They screenplay is pretty good. I's simply that they chose to tell the story with melodramatic intentions, rather than the simple way that George Stevens' masterpiece did.

The script is well written, handling clichés very well. The direction is brisk and orderly. The actors are very professional, even the God-awful Robert Wagner. Watching Dale Robertson I am surprised that he didn't become a bigger star: he is at ease in front of the camera, charming when it is called for, and very realistic in his delivery. Rory Calhoun was quite adequate for an undemanding role. This really seemed to be a vehicle for the young Wagner. I must admit I have only enjoyed him in one movie in his career and generally find him uninteresting and sub-par. Was Zanuck gay and in love with him? I will never understand Fox pushing him; but the 50's did bring on the teenage girls in the audience. I guess that was it. Overall, this movie is a little gem that deserves more recognition. I recommend it.