La Rivière sanglante

Nice Audie Murphy recital giving acceptable acting as a tough man who has to solve conflicts between greedy white men and Ute Indians . While he becomes a peaceful man who attempts to avoid an Indian war. But then things go wrong when his father , Walter Brennan, is kidnapped by villainous Lyle Bettger . A wildernes of danger¡ An empire of savage hate ¡

Decent Western with thrills , emotion , betrayals , assaults , Indian attacks and cavalry . It is a routine Western but it has some elements that make this oater an above average yarn . Audie Murphy , as usual , is pretty well , this time he resolves problems by keeping calm among contenders ,in which mean prospectors attempt to rob Indian mines and along the way confronting the always nasty Lyle Bettger , providing the best acting of the movie . Support cast is frankly good , with plenty of Western familiar faces as Hugh O'Brian, Emile Meyer , Regis Toomey , Morris Ankrum , Gregg Barton , George Wallace , Bob Steele , lone Ranger's Jay Silverheels, the beautiful Mara Corday and the great secondary Walter Brennan . It contains a thrilling and rousing score from Herman Stein and Henry Mancini , though uncredited . As well as colorful cinematography in Technicolor by Harold Lipstein. The motion picture was well directed by Nathan Juran for Universal Pictures . He was a notorious art director winning an Oscar for art direction on How green was my valley by John Ford . Then , he turned to directing in the the Fifties. Juran handled mostly low-budget Westerns and oaters such as : Law and order , Gunsmoke, Tumbleweed, as well as Sci-Fi opuses , his most famous were Attack of the 50 foot woman 1958 , The brain of the planet Arous , The deadly mantis, 20 million miles to earth . On the other hand he was also responsible for great fantasy adventures as The 7th voyage of sinbad, Jack the giant killer , 1958 . In the early Sixties he travelled Europe where he made Spaghetti Western as Land raiders . Furthermore , he directed a lot of episodes of popular TV series as Daniel Boone , Lost in space , Land of giants , Voyage to the bottom of the sea , A man called Shenandoah , The three musketeers , World of giants, among others . Rating , 6.5/10 . Better than average . The movie will appeal to Audie Murphy fans and Western aficionados .

Good Nathan Juran's western, one more starring Audie Murphy for Universal Studios, after GUNSMOKE and TUMBLEWEED. Yes, good stuff, not too long, rather action packed, and offering acceptable performances, despite a weak plot, not that surprising story. Full of charm little western from the fifties. And it is always a pleasure to have Lyle Bettger as a villain, as John Doucette or Robert Wilke...I repeat, no surprise but so much effective for a tremendous time spender - not waster. Universal Studios had the secret of cute and original westerns, a special touch that the other companies had not. Not better, but just different.

Drums Across the River is directed by Nathan Juran and written by John K. Butler and Lawrence Roman. It stars Audie Murphy, Walter Brennan, Lyle Bettger, Lisa Gaye, Hugh O'Brian, Mara Corday and Jay Silverheels. Music is by Joseph Gershenson and Technicolor cinematography by Harold Lipstein.

"This is Crown City, born and build on gold mining, but by 1880 about the only gold left was across a near by river in the San Juan Mountains, Ute Indian land. People get desperate when their means of livelihood's cut off, and I was no exception. I'm Gary Brannon, my Dad and me ran a freight outfit."

There's a reoccurring saying that often crops up when viewing most of Audie Murphy's Westerns, that of them being unassuming afternoon entertainment. Pour yourself a jug of beer or a glass of wine and enjoy the handsome Murphy going about his Oater business with energy and a straight forward willingness to entertain.

Drums Across the River is a goodie in that context, it also boasts some lovely photography by Lipstein out of California locations that include Barton Flats (San Bernardino Mountains), Burro Flats and Red Rock Canyon. The Technicolor is gorgeous (TV print I saw was very good), with the blues and greens very striking, and the story is interesting as Murphy plays a bigoted young man who finds himself trying to avert a war with the Ute's whilst being framed for robbery himself. Bettger (Union Station) is a more than capable villain, as is the black clad O'Brian (The Lawless Breed), Corday and Gaye are underwritten but a treat for the eyes, and Brennan is the class act that he mostly always is.

Juran (Gunsmoke) directs without fuss or filler, proving to have a keen eye for action construction as the film is flecked with a number of hand to hand fights, shoot-outs and horse play, and prolific Western scorer Gershenson offers up another in a long line of undervalued genre compliant flavours. The stunt work is also of a high standard, with one particular leap of death truly worthy of high praise, and the story rounds out to put a smile on your face as the last sip of beverage trickles down the throat. Few surprises narratively speaking, and the odd B Western budget error shows its face, but this is a colourful Audie Oater and it's all about enjoying without having to think too hard about it. 7/10

Crown City is a played-out mining town. Just a few hundred yards away across the river there are vast reserves of gold - but across the river is Indian territory and it takes a brave man - or a stupid one - to risk incurring the wrath of Ouray, Chief of the Ute.

At the start of this fast-paced western, there's a group of guys heading into Ute territory seeking gold, then there's a shootout between the utes and the gold-seekers, a fist fight around the campfire, and a swap goes wrong and there's another shootout - and this is all within around thirty minutes, and the rest of the film is the same, the plot is twisty and fully-charged like a sidewinder, the pace is frenetic, and the action is energetic( Audie gets to show off some Judo moves in some combat scenes), but most important the narrative flows freely.

Audie Murphy is gaining his confidence here, is really good as a guy transitioning from having bitter hate for utes to one who is on their side, Walter Brennan as his father is his usual excellent form, Hugh O'Brien makes an appearance as a gunslinger clad in black and a grin to shame a crocodile's grin, and Lyle Bettger does his usual turn as the slimy villain with a perpetual smirk. Mara Corday is a bad girl hottie and eye candy Lisa Gaye flutters her eyelashes and coos "Gary, Gary" repeatedly throughout the film.

This is one of my favourite Murphy westerns, it's energetic, action-packed, a busy plot and the story is just great. Saw this on BBC2 back in 1989, and I just have fond memories of watching it countless times afterwards.

A Colorful, Winner Western with Audie Murphy in His Element and a Solid Back-Up Cast including Walter Brennan in an atypical Super Serious Role as Murph's Dad.

Some Recognizable Bad-Guys including the always Grinning Lyle Bettger, Bob Steele, and Hugh O'Brian as a Psycho Gunslinger. Jay Silverheels and that always Recognizable Voice has a Small but Important Role as an Indian Chief.

It is quite Striking just how much Plot was Woven into these 80 Minute Westerns, it's just a Treat to Watch it Unfold at a Blistering Pace. The Action Never Lets Up and the Story Layers are Simple and Significant.

The Movie features that Glorious Technicolor that Drips from the Screen, a Look that has been Lost in Time. Overall, this Cowboys and Indians Movie is the Stuff that made Saturday Matinees the Favorite Spot for Kids of the Fifties.

Downtown at the Movie Palace there were Western and Sci-/Horror Entertainment along with Color Cartoons, and Short Subjects and the Kids were there because that was where it was at, through the 1950's.