Drums Across the River *** (1954, Audie Murphy, Walter Brennan, Lyle Bettger, Lisa Gaye, Hugh O’Brian, Jay Silverheels) – Classic Movie Review 6827

Audie Murphy stars in Drums Across the River as racist but honest cowboy Gary Brannon, a man who joins up with a band of gold-diggers who invade land belonging to the Indians. But he sees the light and the error of his Indian-hating ways in the nick of time, stops the greedy guys and brings peace to the reservation.

Director Nathan Juran’s 1954 movie is a lively little Western, carefully corralling every much-loved cliché known to the genre, with a tasty cast (especially Lyle Bettger as wicked Frank Walker, Hugh O’Brian as his henchman Morgan, Walter Brennan as Murphy’s dad, Mara Corday as Sue and Jay Silverheels (mid-run as Tonto in TV’s The Lone Ranger) as Taos, and neat direction by Juran.

As well as all that, it is pacy and short at just 77 minutes and well shot by Harold Lipstein in Technicolor at the San Bernardino National Forest, California.

Also in the cast are Lisa Gaye, Emile Meyer, Regis Toomey, Morris Ankrum, James Anderson, George Wallace, Bob Steele, Howard McNear and Lane Bradford.

Drums Across the River is directed by Nathan Juran, runs 77 minutes, is released by Universal, is written by John K Butler and Lawrence Roman, based on a story by John K Butler, is shot in Technicolor by Harold Lipstein, is produced by Melville Tucker and scored by Henry Mancini (uncredited), Herman Stein (uncredited) and Joseph Gershenson (musical director), with Art Direction by Bernard Herzbrun and Richard H Riedel.

Hugh O’Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016).

RIP Hugh O’Brian, who died in 2016, aged 91 (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016).

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6827

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