Claim jumpers are harassing owners of small mining operations near Silver City, forcing them to sell their claims for $1 and murdering them when they refuse.
Mr. Cromwell is among their latest victims, killed just when his mine was starting to yield some dust.
And when his son Luke (Audie Murphy) returns home to find his dad lying dead in the dust, he vows to get revenge.
In Silver City, Marshal Lighting Tyrone (Stephen McNally) forms a posse, determined to stop the outlaws once and for all.
He leaves retired lawman “Pop” Muzik in charge while he’s gone, but returns to find someone has shot him in the back for the gold nugget he carried in his pocket.
Now he has a death to avenge as well.
When Luke Cromwell — he’s now known as The Silver Kid — arrives in town, he quickly shows a knack for poker and gunplay.
Marshal Tyrone takes him under his wing as his new deputy. He needs someone to watch his back. He was wounded in his right arm in the hunt for the claim jumpers.
And his closely guarded secret is that his gun hand isn’t working as well as it used to.
Stephen McNally as Marshal Lightning Tyrone, finding an incriminating piece of evidence in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Audie Murphy as Luke Cromwell, aka The Silver Kid, looking for the men who killed his father in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Review:
Check out that cast list and you might wonder what kind of hokey hoedown hell you’re about to stumble into.
Villains named Sombrero and Rat Face. Heroes known as Lightning and The Silver Kid. Dames named Dusty and Opal.
But don’t be scared away. This is a tightly woven, entertaining little film, featuring one of McNally’s better performances in a Western.
The romantic rectangle helps. Dusty Fargo (Susan Cabot) has long been smitten with our good marshal. But he’s known her since she was a girl and thinks of her more as a sister than a potential mate.
His head is turned by Opal Lacy, who looks lovely in her lovely gowns. Of course, he doesn’t know she’s in cahoots with the claim jumpers and using her feminine charms to manipulate him.
Meanwhile, the Silver Kid is attracted to Dusty, but knows she’ll have to get over the marshal before she’ll ever gaze at him with romance in her eyes.
Surprisingly, it’s the youthful Silver Kid who figures this all out, trying his best to steer Dusty clear of heartbreak and the marshal clear of Opal’s conniving ways.
Faith Domergue as Opal Lacy, trying to wrap a marshal around her little finger in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Susan Cabot as Jane ‘Dusty’ Fargo, surprised when she reaches the claim jumpers’ hideout in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Directed by:
Don Siegel
Cast:
Audie Murphy … Luke Cromwell, The Silver Kid
Faith Domergue … Opal Lacy
Stephen McNally… Marshal Lightning Tyrone
Susan Cabot … Jane “Dusty” Fargo
Gerald Mohr … Rod Lacy
Eugene Iglesias … Johnny Sombrero
James Anderson … Rat Face Blake
Walter Sande … Pete Fargo
Lee Marvin … Tinhorn Burgess
George Eldredge … Jim Ryan
Runtime: 77 min.
Gerald Mohr as Rod Lacy, boss of the claim jumpers in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Eugene Iglesias as Johnny Sombrero, the fast gun hired by claim jumper boss Rob Lacy in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Memorable lines:
Marshal Tyrone, as he’s about to depart with the posse and Dusty approaches: “Is that sack for me to bring back the claim jumpers’ scalps in?”
Dusty Fargo, laughing: “Smoked venison. You might be gone for a long time.”
Marshal Tyrone: “Just don’t go bothering Dusty while I’m gone. Understand?”
Johnny Sombrero: “Didn’t know it was a marshal’s job to tell a fellow what females he can interest himself in.”
Cavalry doctor, watching the marshal practice shooting with his left hand: “That’s not very good for a marshal, is it?”
Marshal Tyrone: “I could do better with my left foot. Sometimes, I feel like it (his left hand) doesn’t even belong to me.”
Marshal Tyrone, when Opal says she’s heard of his renown as a gunman: “Famous is a pretty big word. I’m afraid most people call me a lot of other things.”
Opal Lacy, when the marshal turns down her dinner invitation: “I must be losing my charm.”
Marshal Tyrone: “Any time you lose your charm, brown eyes, I’ll be glad to help look for it.”
Luke Cromwell to Dusty Fargo, talking about Opal Lacy: “You know, I’ve seen fancy dressers like her before. They can do more harm to a man sometimes than a pair of six-shooters.”
Cliff Barnett as Dan ‘Pop’ Muzik, the retired sheriff left in charge when Marshal Tyrone rides off with a posse in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Lee Marvin as Tinhorn Burgess, one of the men aligned with Rob Lacy in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Walter Sande as Pete Farbo, telling Marshal Tyrone of Dan ‘Pop’ Muzik’s death in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Susan Cabot as Jane ‘Dusty’ Fargo, trying to talk the marshal out of what she considers a bad idea in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Stephen McNally as Marshal Lightning Tyrone with Faith Domergue as Opal Lacy in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Eugene Iglesias as Johnny Sombrero, introducing the marshal to Rate Face Blake in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Audie Murphy as The Silver Kid, offering Jane ‘Dusty’ Fargo some romantic advice in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Stephen McNally as Marshal Lightning Tyrone, losing his patience with his young deputy in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Susan Cabot as Jane ‘Dusty’ Fargo, deciding it’s time to learn The Silver Kid’s real name in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
Stephen McNally as Marshal Lightning Tyrone and Audie Murphy as Luke ‘The Silver Kid’ Cromwell in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
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