Brilliant and touching

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Don Ballard((John Payne) was an industrious and lucky man. He had built up a sizable cattle ranch, was considered a leading citizen of Silver Lode, and was about to marry the wealthy knockout blond Rose Evans(Lizabeth Scott). But just as they were about to finish their wedding vows, a sinister force arrived in the form of Fred McCarty(Dan Duryea), and 3 deputies: Johnson(Harry Carey, Jr.), Kirk(Alan Hale, Jr.), and Wicker (Stewart Whitman). Ballard knew McCarty previously as a cattle thief and murderer, although he denied being such. He wanted revenge against Ballard for killing his brother over a card game in which Ballard won $20,000.: enough to start his cattle spread. McCarty claims he stole that money. McCarty claims to be a US marshal now, and insists on apprehending him immediately, and taking him to another town for trial, if he doesn't meet upon an 'accident' on the way. Most of the townies can't believe that Ballard is guilty of these charges, thus do what they can to obstruct his leaving Silver Lode. Although Sheriff Wooley(Emile Meyer) says McCarty's credentials look genuine, Ballard wants this confirmed by officials in San Francisco. Only problem is McCarty(presumably) cut the telegraph wire some distance out of town. This act should have been sufficient to cast doubt on the validity of McCarty's credentials, but little was made over this situation........Ballard gets one of McCarty's deputies(Johnson) to talk for a $5000. bribe, confirming that his marshal credentials are a clever fake, and telling where the telegraph line was cut. But official confirmation of this charge was still needed. An incident followed involving Ballard, Johnson, Sheriff Wooley, and McCarty threatening and shooting at each other in the livery stable. The sheriff, and Johnson ended up dead, and McCarty wounded. Ballard was blamed as the murderer, as MccCarty claimed. The populace turned against Ballard, who now had to fight for his life, killing several deputies or citizens in self defense, as he ran around town. Only Rose and the gorgeous saloon girl Dolly((Dolores Moran) still believed in him. These 2 might seem like natural enemies: a 'good' girl and a 'bad' girl. But they both had romantic attachments to Ballard , and cooperated in forcing the telegraph operator to fake a telegram saying that McCarty was a fake. Rose ran with this message to the church, where a mob was gathered, as Ballard and McCarty were above, in the bell tower. The telegram convinced the mob that McCarty was in the wrong. Ballard and McCarty were now on opposite sides of a large bell. See the film to find out what happened. Meanwhile, a valid telegram was received saying that McCarty was wanted for murder and rustling. In the fade out, Dolly is running with this to the church to show........Duryea is easily the most charismatic male, but in a negative way, with his nasal sneering voice. Payne looks more believable as a westerner than in some of his westerns. Dolores, as Dolly, is much more interesting, if shadier, than the prim Rose. This fits the standard formula of westerns.......See it in gorgeous Technicolor at You Tube.

In this vintage Technicolor western, a decent man relatively new to the town is accused of murder on his wedding day, the accusation leveled by a more than slightly shifty out-of-town U.S. Marshal; conflict and gunfighting ensues, involving almost everyone in town. A critic for Time Out calls this trim little Western an "unqualified masterpiece," but, even with allegorical overtones, the film fails to move much farther than the average Western of the period; compare, for instance, with those made by James Stewart and Director Anthony Mann. Silver Lode is indeed a good shoot-em-up with those allegorical overtones (the fake marshal is named McCarty and this was made in the paranoid 1950's), but John Payne looks tired, maybe even hungover most of the time, strange noir heroine Lisabeth Scott is dreadfully miscast, and only perfectly seedy Dan Duryea seems appropriately enthusiastic about his nasty task. It's not a bad afternoon in Dodge, but it's no High Noon or close to it.

THE SILVER LODE is a pretty good Technicolor western from RKO. The story is good, the cast is top notch, and the photography is particularly fine. This movie is supposedly an anti-Senator McCarthy parable, and if so I'll rate it an "F" and No Stars, but the idea this is about McCarthy is nonsense.John Payne and Lizabeth Scott have their wedding interrupted by a US Marshal (named McCarty, not McCarthy) and played by dependable bad guy Dan Duryea on a charge of murder. Duryea is a fake, and it seems he's more interested in a certain $20,000 than the untimely shooting of his brother. This "parable" obviously has exactly zero to do with investigating Communist infiltration of the film industry during the Cold War Era.One of the most cowardly things a filmmaker, author or journalist can do is to attack Senator McCarthy. McCarthy was a war hero who offended Hollywood's lefties by daring to expose the many Communists in their industry --- as verified by testimony from the much-honored director Elia Kazan. They took their revenge out by attacking the man with mountain-upon-mountain of cheap shots and lies for the past 50 years; and the lies continue today.Almost any American, not just the left, many otherwise well informed people, believe the lies, if only through sheer abundance. To pile more lies on top of this is sheer cowardice -- as is the idea of re-defining this 1953 western in terms of their evil and vindictive spin.Rent this one and enjoy it for the good western that it is.

Federal Marshal Dan Duryea arrives in the town of Silver Lode with three deputies to arrest one of its citizens, John Payne, on a charge of murder. As things start to happen, Payne who at first has the whole town behind him, loses all his friends save for fiancé Lizabeth Scott and former girl friend Dolores Moran who works in the saloon. By the way, Duryea arrives on the 4th of July which was also to be Payne's wedding day.This is a classic version of the ill effects of mob violence. Some have said it's a polemic against McCarthyism, no doubt helped by the fact that Duryea's character name is McCarty. For myself Silver Lode is in the tradition of The Oxbow Incident and Fury, both classic films from major studios about vigilante justice.Silver Lode doesn't have the production values that 20th Century Fox or MGM could bring to a movie, it was done by RKO. Nevertheless supporting Payne, Duryea, and Scott are a solid cast of players, very much at home in westerns. This was also Dolores Moran's last film, she was married to producer Benedict Bogeaus.Payne had already essayed a very good role in Kansas City Confidential of a wrongly accused man and he follows it up here with an equally good portrayal. It's one of his best film parts.Allan Dwan keeps things moving at a brisk pace, Silver Lode doesn't bog down for a fraction of a second. One of the best B westerns ever done.