Silver Lode

I must admit here and now that I have not seen this film. However, in my research of such B-Westerns, I found that this film was originally shot in 3-D. That has not been mentioned anywhere.

Perhaps the IMDb crew can investigate and make the appropriate notation wherever it is that such notations are made.

I certainly would like to see this film, as it appears to have an interesting cast... John Payne, Dan Duryea, and Lizabeth Scott usually do good work, and the other reviews have generally been positive.

From the reviews, this could perhaps be one of the best 3-D movies made during the 3-D movie craze in the early 1950's... Hondo being another one that could be better.

Released in 1954 - Silver Lode stands tall as a pretty decent Western in its own right. True. Its familiar story can easily be compared to "High Noon" in many ways, but, nevertheless, it is an entertaining cowboy flick, all the same.

Filmed with the obvious restrictions of its B-movie budget, this vintage, Technicolor Western tells the tale of Dan Ballard, a decent man (relatively new to town) who (on his wedding day, which also happens to be the 4th of July) finds himself being accused of cold-blooded murder and the theft of $20,000.

This unjust accusation is leveled at Ballard by Marshal McCarty, a very mean and forceful lawman, who unexpectedly arrives in town from Discovery, California, in the company of his 3 rough-looking deputies.

Needless to say, an intense conflict takes place that quickly escalates into an all-out gunfight which has almost every able-bodied man in town involved (and even some of the women).

With his life now hanging delicately in the balance, Ballard soon finds himself a hunted man in his own hometown. A vicious, mindless mob-mentality takes over as the citizens of Silver Lode pursue Ballard with a blind, hateful vengeance.

Silver Lode was a film that was very much a product of its time. It was produced during the "McCarthy" era, when film producers, writers and actors were called to account during a (literal) political witch hunt.

This film's screenplay reflects the concerns of the American people of that time in regards to matters such as truth and liberty in what they believed to be a free society.

With a running time of only 80 minutes, Silver Lode moved along at a really good clip. Its cast included John Payne, Dan Duryea, Harry Carey Jr., and Lizabeth Scott.

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.

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.