User reviews

Drums Across the River is directed by Nathan Juran and written by John K. Butler and Lawrence Roman. It stars Audie Murphy, Walter Brennan, Lyle Bettger, Lisa Gaye, Hugh O'Brian, Mara Corday and Jay Silverheels. Music is by Joseph Gershenson and Technicolor cinematography by Harold Lipstein.

"This is Crown City, born and build on gold mining, but by 1880 about the only gold left was across a near by river in the San Juan Mountains, Ute Indian land. People get desperate when their means of livelihood's cut off, and I was no exception. I'm Gary Brannon, my Dad and me ran a freight outfit."

There's a reoccurring saying that often crops up when viewing most of Audie Murphy's Westerns, that of them being unassuming afternoon entertainment. Pour yourself a jug of beer or a glass of wine and enjoy the handsome Murphy going about his Oater business with energy and a straight forward willingness to entertain.

Drums Across the River is a goodie in that context, it also boasts some lovely photography by Lipstein out of California locations that include Barton Flats (San Bernardino Mountains), Burro Flats and Red Rock Canyon. The Technicolor is gorgeous (TV print I saw was very good), with the blues and greens very striking, and the story is interesting as Murphy plays a bigoted young man who finds himself trying to avert a war with the Ute's whilst being framed for robbery himself. Bettger (Union Station) is a more than capable villain, as is the black clad O'Brian (The Lawless Breed), Corday and Gaye are underwritten but a treat for the eyes, and Brennan is the class act that he mostly always is.

Juran (Gunsmoke) directs without fuss or filler, proving to have a keen eye for action construction as the film is flecked with a number of hand to hand fights, shoot-outs and horse play, and prolific Western scorer Gershenson offers up another in a long line of undervalued genre compliant flavours. The stunt work is also of a high standard, with one particular leap of death truly worthy of high praise, and the story rounds out to put a smile on your face as the last sip of beverage trickles down the throat. Few surprises narratively speaking, and the odd B Western budget error shows its face, but this is a colourful Audie Oater and it's all about enjoying without having to think too hard about it. 7/10

Drums Across the River concerns freighters Walter Brennan and his son Audie Murphy trying very hard to prevent a full scale Indian war which Lyle Bettger and sidekicks seem bound and determined to start.

There's some rich mineral deposits on Ute land which is separated by a river boundary. Lyle Bettger plays on the greed of the white folks to invade the Ute treaty land so the government will send in troops to move them.

Brennan sees the game for what it is, but it takes Murphy a while to come around. When he does he's the heroic Audie we know in most of his B westerns.

Lots of action and a really nice performance by Jay Silverheels as the young Ute chief. Silverheels was on hiatus from the Lone Ranger and he ought to be remembered for more than just playing Tonto.

There's also a nice performance by Mara Corday who is Bettger's squeeze and does quite a bit more for him than the usual moll.

Despite that the film probably suffered from some poor editing and a script in which the character's motivations in doing certain things are a bit vague.

Nevertheless Drums Across the River has enough action to satisfy any western lover.

This unheralded western is a solid yarn about a familiar plot of greedy whites scheming to mine rich gold deposits on Indian land. Audie Murphy's role as an Indian-hating cowboy is a bit out of character for him but he's okay in spite of his clean-cut, easygoing manner. Walter Brennan, a surprise member of the cast, is great in the role of Murphy's father and friend of the Indians. There are nice battles between the cowboys and Indians and the scenery is terrific. Lyle Bettger is the heavy and gives his usual fine performance. Jay Silverheels figures prominently in the picture and is stern but dignified as an Indian chief. Morris Ankrum and Mara Corday are also good in limited roles.

Among the two dozen or so westerns Audie Murphy made for Universal Pictures from 1950-1966, DRUMS ACROSS THE RIVER (1954) is one of the better ones, featuring a gold miners-vs.-Indians plot with Audie caught firmly in the middle. It's fast-paced, full of action, and features a host of lively character actors, including some great villains.

Audie plays a wagon freighter in a Colorado mining town who is, initially, a witting pawn in a plot by a group of Denver mine bosses to stir up trouble with the local Ute Indians in order to get gold concessions on their land. Audie's dad, Sam (Walter Brennan), is a friend of the Indians and, following a shootout with the Utes in which Sam is wounded, Audie meets with the Ute chief (Morris Ankrum) and his son Taos (Jay Silverheels) and negotiates a temporary peace. Unfortunately, the hired guns working for the mine bosses continue to stir things up and force Audie to aid in a stage robbery by abducting his dad and threatening to kill him. When Audie is charged with murder after the robbery, he has to keep quiet to insure Sam's safety. In the final stretch of the movie, Audie has to break free, save his dad, subdue the bad guys, clear himself and avert a battle between Indians and cavalry. The whole story is told in 78 compact minutes.

Unassuming war hero-turned-western star Murphy was at his best in parts like this, playing an ordinary westerner caught up in a tumultuous situation and having to fight his way out and summon up the moral courage to do the right thing. He always looked best when he faced down truly formidable bad guys and here he faces one of the best western villains of the 1950s. Lyle Bettger, who had one of the most sinister smiles in movie history, specialized in corrupt western capitalists (ranchers, miners, saloon owners, railroad men) who could be utterly smooth and charming one minute and murderously evil the next. Here he's the miners' lead troublemaker and is joined by a great rogues' gallery made up of future TV star Hugh O'Brian as the black-clad Morgan, who also smiles a lot, and a quartet of thugs played by frequent heavies James Anderson, George Wallace, Lane Bradford and former B-western star Bob Steele. In addition, there's Mara Corday as a voluptuous (and very attractive) saloon girl who does some of Bettger's dirty work.

Walter Brennan is very good in a rare turn as an upright authority figure and father. Jay Silverheels plays a sympathetic Indian and leads a band of Utes who appear to be played predominantly by actual Indians rather than the usual painted-up white extras. The Technicolor film was shot partly on the Universal backlot with some fine location work at key California western sites, including one dramatic desert spot representing the Indians' sacred burial ground. This was director Nathan Juran's third film with Murphy.

Fun western that once again covers the old 'Native Americans have something we want so lets go get it' story arc. This time though it has a father son relationship that is explored as the baddies do their thing. Walter is exceptional in this and Audie does what Audie does. There is a small branch of the story that refers to Audie being a bigot but it is never really explored and seems to resolve itself too quickly to really have an influence on the story overall.

Good action, well told, enjoyable fare.

An Audie Murphy western from 1954. A father/son transpo enterprise are hired to bring a shipment of gold to an embattled location where the Ute Indians hold a tenuous truce w/the passersby. Murphy & Western vet Walter Brennan play the business owners & what they don't know is there are outside forces at play hoping that a war will ignite between the white man & the native peoples so that the Ute's land can be properly exploited. Brennan is hurt in an early skirmish so its up to Murphy to smoke the peace pipe, as it were, w/the Indian elder but he carries a deep seated grudge against them since the chief's son caused the death of his mother. Being a film on the cusp of being truly great & memorable, it's a shame some of the individual elements are glossed over (something a more insightful director may've focused on) so that finish line could be crossed at the 90 minute mark. Look for Jay Silverheels (TV's Tonto from the Lone Ranger series of the 50's) in a pivotal role as the chief's son.

Like every film he was ever in, lyle bettger definitely portrays the image of slime ... he oozes it from start to finish ... if you ever need a slime ball, then hire him

A Colorful, Winner Western with Audie Murphy in His Element and a Solid Back-Up Cast including Walter Brennan in an atypical Super Serious Role as Murph's Dad.

Some Recognizable Bad-Guys including the always Grinning Lyle Bettger, Bob Steele, and Hugh O'Brian as a Psycho Gunslinger. Jay Silverheels and that always Recognizable Voice has a Small but Important Role as an Indian Chief.

It is quite Striking just how much Plot was Woven into these 80 Minute Westerns, it's just a Treat to Watch it Unfold at a Blistering Pace. The Action Never Lets Up and the Story Layers are Simple and Significant.

The Movie features that Glorious Technicolor that Drips from the Screen, a Look that has been Lost in Time. Overall, this Cowboys and Indians Movie is the Stuff that made Saturday Matinees the Favorite Spot for Kids of the Fifties.

Downtown at the Movie Palace there were Western and Sci-/Horror Entertainment along with Color Cartoons, and Short Subjects and the Kids were there because that was where it was at, through the 1950's.

Nice Audie Murphy recital giving acceptable acting as a tough man who has to solve conflicts between greedy white men and Ute Indians . While he becomes a peaceful man who attempts to avoid an Indian war. But then things go wrong when his father , Walter Brennan, is kidnapped by villainous Lyle Bettger . A wildernes of danger¡ An empire of savage hate ¡

Decent Western with thrills , emotion , betrayals , assaults , Indian attacks and cavalry . It is a routine Western but it has some elements that make this oater an above average yarn . Audie Murphy , as usual , is pretty well , this time he resolves problems by keeping calm among contenders ,in which mean prospectors attempt to rob Indian mines and along the way confronting the always nasty Lyle Bettger , providing the best acting of the movie . Support cast is frankly good , with plenty of Western familiar faces as Hugh O'Brian, Emile Meyer , Regis Toomey , Morris Ankrum , Gregg Barton , George Wallace , Bob Steele , lone Ranger's Jay Silverheels, the beautiful Mara Corday and the great secondary Walter Brennan . It contains a thrilling and rousing score from Herman Stein and Henry Mancini , though uncredited . As well as colorful cinematography in Technicolor by Harold Lipstein. The motion picture was well directed by Nathan Juran for Universal Pictures . He was a notorious art director winning an Oscar for art direction on How green was my valley by John Ford . Then , he turned to directing in the the Fifties. Juran handled mostly low-budget Westerns and oaters such as : Law and order , Gunsmoke, Tumbleweed, as well as Sci-Fi opuses , his most famous were Attack of the 50 foot woman 1958 , The brain of the planet Arous , The deadly mantis, 20 million miles to earth . On the other hand he was also responsible for great fantasy adventures as The 7th voyage of sinbad, Jack the giant killer , 1958 . In the early Sixties he travelled Europe where he made Spaghetti Western as Land raiders . Furthermore , he directed a lot of episodes of popular TV series as Daniel Boone , Lost in space , Land of giants , Voyage to the bottom of the sea , A man called Shenandoah , The three musketeers , World of giants, among others . Rating , 6.5/10 . Better than average . The movie will appeal to Audie Murphy fans and Western aficionados .

It is unfortunate that Audie Murphy's oeuvre hasn't been lost or destroyed. His acts of heroism is WWII notwithstanding.

Crown City is a played-out mining town. Just a few hundred yards away across the river there are vast reserves of gold - but across the river is Indian territory and it takes a brave man - or a stupid one - to risk incurring the wrath of Ouray, Chief of the Ute.

At the start of this fast-paced western, there's a group of guys heading into Ute territory seeking gold, then there's a shootout between the utes and the gold-seekers, a fist fight around the campfire, and a swap goes wrong and there's another shootout - and this is all within around thirty minutes, and the rest of the film is the same, the plot is twisty and fully-charged like a sidewinder, the pace is frenetic, and the action is energetic( Audie gets to show off some Judo moves in some combat scenes), but most important the narrative flows freely.

Audie Murphy is gaining his confidence here, is really good as a guy transitioning from having bitter hate for utes to one who is on their side, Walter Brennan as his father is his usual excellent form, Hugh O'Brien makes an appearance as a gunslinger clad in black and a grin to shame a crocodile's grin, and Lyle Bettger does his usual turn as the slimy villain with a perpetual smirk. Mara Corday is a bad girl hottie and eye candy Lisa Gaye flutters her eyelashes and coos "Gary, Gary" repeatedly throughout the film.

This is one of my favourite Murphy westerns, it's energetic, action-packed, a busy plot and the story is just great. Saw this on BBC2 back in 1989, and I just have fond memories of watching it countless times afterwards.

When the story began, I saw that Lyle Bettger was in the movie. I immediately turned to my wife and said "He'll being playing the big bad guy who is behind all sorts of evil" and, sure enough, this was the case. Bettger nearly always played slimy jerks in westerns...and it seems back in the day, audiences liked such type casting. However, this isn't always the case, as Morris Ankrum is also in the film. He mostly played the same sorts of roles though occasionally he DID play good guys, like judges. Here he plays an Indian chief. And, although I prefer such roles being played by Indian actors for realism sake, at least his son in the film, Jay Silverheels, was a real life Indian and he later played the chief.

As for the film, like many westerns mostly of the 1950s and 60s, it takes a more positive view of the various Indian nations. Like Audie Murphy's later film, "Apache Rifles", it has a rather sympathetic view of these people and also has Murphy evolve through the course of the story. At first, he sees these people as the enemy but over time he recognizes their plight and works to stop the jerks from starting a war with the Ute just in order to rob their land of gold. Their reasoning is that a war would force the US government to take action...hopefully displacing the tribe from their land. Stuck in the middle are Murphy and his father, played by Walter Brennan.

So is the film any good? Well, it's probably one of Murphy's best westerns...and he mostly made westerns. It helped that the cast was so good. In addition to the folks I already mentioned, Hugh O'Brian (in his first film) plays a real psycho gunslinger. Bob Steele (who used to star in B-westerns in the 1930s) plays a supporting role as does, of all people, Howard McNear...'Floyd' from "The Andy Griffith Show"! McNear plays a rather pusillanimous character early in the story.

By the way, after seeing the film, my wife asked me "Was that an A-list film". Well, I'd say A- (if there is such a thing). It has a great supporting cast, is in color and is an excellent story. It's just that Murphy, though popular, was not John Wayne nor Jimmy Stewart when it came to westerns.