The Black Whip ** (1956, Hugh Marlowe, Coleen Gray, Adele Mara, Angie Dickinson) – Classic Movie Review 9706

Director Charles Marquis Warren’s 1956 black and white Western film The Black Whip stars Hugh Marlowe as former Confederate officer Lorn Crawford, who, along with his brother Dewey Crawford (Richard Gilden), rescues four dance hall girls (Coleen Gray as Jeannie, Angie Dickinson as Sally Morrow, Adele Mara as Ruthie Dawson, and Dorothy Schuyler as Delilah Ware) from a gang of outlaws when their stagecoach breaks down.

They end up in a small town, where the girls work at the saloon, and then encounter trouble from John Murdock (Paul Richards), a nasty villain wielding a wicked black whip, and his vicious gang known as the Blacklegs, who are planning to kidnap the governor of Kentucky (Patrick O’Moore) for ransom.

This minor, formulaic Western is just par for the Fifties support Western course, but it does have its moments, thanks to the story and cast. Marlowe is a commanding hero and, as intended, the four dance hall girls are good to look at, with Dickinson notable.

The sometimes interesting story and screenplay are written by Orville H Hampton.

Also in the cast are Sheb Wooley, Paul Richards, Richard Gilden, Strother Martin, Charles H Gray, Harry Landers, Patrick O’Moore, William Hamel as Constable, Duane Grey [Duane Thorsen] as Deputy Floyd, Rush Williams as jailer Garner, Howard Culver as Dr Gillette and Sid Cutis as bartender.

The Black Whip is directed by Charles Marquis Warren, runs 81 minutes, is made by Regal Films, is released by 20th Century Fox, is written by Orvill Hampton (story and screenplay), is shot in Regalscope and black and white by Joseph F Biroc, is produced by Robert Stabler, and is scored by Raoul Kraushaar.

Rejecting being a blonde sex symbol because she felt it would narrow her acting options, Angie Dickinson was in danger of being typecast in Westerns instead. Her movie career began with a small, uncredited role as Party Guest in Lucky Me (1954) starring Doris Day, followed by Tennessee’s Partner (1955), The Return of Jack Slade (1955), Man with the Gun (1955), Down Liberty Road (1956), Hidden Guns (1956) and Tension at Table Rock (1956). She had her first starring role in Gun the Man Down (1956) with James Arness, followed by The Black Whip and, later, the John Wayne Western film Rio Bravo (1959).

It was shot at Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, and Iverson Ranch, 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9706

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