Powder River (1953)

Rory Calhoun is Chino Bull, descended from a long line of lawmen but eager to stop living by the gun now that he’s in gold country with partner Johnny Slater.

But while Chino is buying supplies in Powder River, someone kills Slater and snatches the gold.

Chino returns to town, pins on a sheriff’s badge and vows to get the killer, who he figures to be Lonely Logan, brother of saloon owner Harvey Logan.

He also gets into a dispute with a pretty saloon owner named Frenchie (Corinne Calvet) and makes friends with her protector, a fast gun named Mitch Hardin (Cameron Mitchell).

Hardin has two secrets and a devoted fiancee from back east named Debbie Allen (Penny Edwards), who shows up in Power River intent on dragging him back to marry her and resume his practice as a doctor.

Problem is, Hardin is suffering from a brain tumor, doesn’t want to saddle her with his illness and isn’t afraid of putting his life on the line in hopes a bullet will kill him instead.

As for Chino’s quest for the man he’s after — well, a stagecoach carrying a small fortune in gold might just be the perfect bait to bring Lonely Logan out of hiding.

Rory Calhoun as Chino Bull, looking for a badge to help his avenge a partner’s death in Powder River (1953)

Cameron Mitchell as Mitch Hardin, Frenchie’s hand-picked protector in Powder River (1953)

Review:

Mediocre Calhoun outing that borrows heavily from the Wyatt Earp-Doc Holliday story.

Oh, there’s a twist because it turns out Calhoun is blaming the wrong man all along. And there are some light-hearted moments as he exchanges barbs with Calvet, who looks lovely as always.

For a change of pace, there’s a gun battle while the stage is crossing a ferry and a neat climax that the filmmaker’s manage to spoil with an oh-really resolution.

Corinne Calvet as Frenchie Dumont, owner of the Bella Union Saloon in Power River (1953)

Penny Edwards as Debbie Allen, the girl from the East who heads West to retrieve her fiance from Powder River (1953)

Directed by:
Louis King

Cast:
Rory Calhoun … Chino Bull
Corinne Calvet … Frenchie Dumont
Cameron Mitchell … Mitch Hardin
Penny Edwards … Debbie Allen
Carl Betz … Loney Logan
John Dehner … Harvey Logan
Raymond Greenleaf … Prudy
Victor Sutherland … Mayor Lowery
Ethan Laidlaw … Lame Jack Banner
Robert Wilke … Will Horn
Harry Carter … Bo Curry
Robert Adler … Pike Kendreck
Frank Ferguson … Johnny Slater

Runtime: 78 min.

Rory Calhoun as Chino Bull meeting Harvey Logan (John Dehner) in Powder River (1953)

Rory Calhoun as Chino Bull with his mining partner Johnny Slater (Frank Ferguson) in Powder River (1953)

Memorable lines:

Chino Bull, apologizing for his short fuse: “I blew up again.”
Johnny Slater, his partner: “Yeah, but nobody died. You’re getting better.”

Chino Bull: “You seem to be in the wrong place, mister.”
Juggler being heckled by saloon crowd: “Mister, I’m in the wrong hemisphere.”

Mitch Hardin: “There’s only one thing to do with a man like me. This!” He shoots his reflection in a mirror.

Chino Bull: “You didn’t have to sell the Bella Union.”
Frenchie Dumont: “With another bank opening next week? When the town begins to grow and the boys begin to save their money, that’s no town for me.”

Victor Sutherland as Mayor Lowery, the man who recruits Chino Bull as sheriff in Powder River (1953)

Robert Wilke as Will Horn, a quick gun friend of the Logan brothers in Powder River (1953)

Corinne Calvet as Frenchie Dumont, expecting trouble in the streets in Powder River (1953)

Rory Calhoun as Chino Bull, well-armed for trouble in Powder River (1953)