Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

LeonLouisRicci 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.

bkoganbing 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.

classicsoncall Crown City, Colorado was born and built on gold, but by 1880 the town was tapped out, with the only remaining mineral left to mine located in the San Juan Mountains, right in the middle of Ute Indian Territory. Gary Brannon (Audie Murphy) is on the side of the miners, and wants to see his town survive along with it's citizens. But father Sam (Walter Brennan) has been able to maintain an uneasy peace with the Utes and their Chief Ouray (Morris Ankrum), even after the death of his wife at the hands of a drunken Ute brave. Gary finds it harder to forgive and forget, and would rather consider all Indians his enemy based on the actions of a few.Heavy Frank Walker (Lyle Bettger) leads the mining faction and insists on creating havoc with the Indians, finding ways to undo the truce established with the Utes by the elder Brannon. He brings in a black clad gunman named Morgan, enthusiastically portrayed by Hugh O'Brian in an uncharacteristic role. The future TV Wyatt Earp plays his part with gusto until brought down by Gary.Ouray's son Taos (Jay Silverheels) becomes Chief when the elder Indian dies, setting the stage for what will figure in the movie's finale. With young Brannon present for the Chief's burial on sacred ground, Taos warns him never to return at the risk of death. Knowing this, and having been framed for murder by Walker, Brannon leads Walker and his men into the sacred mountain area to be ambushed by the Utes, thereby risking his own neck in order to save it.In 1954, Jay Silverheels was still in the middle of his co-starring role as Tonto in the Lone Ranger Television Series. In this film though, he's brought to more regal bearing as the Indian Chief Taos, and looks particularly impressive in full war bonnet. For his part, the young Audie Murphy looks a bit out of his element among the heavies of the film, though he manages to prevail against every henchman presented. The film ends with the Utes and the Crown City citizens exchanging mining rights for hunting privileges on each other's side of the mountains, a reasonable enough compromise that probably could have been worked out without the bloodshed, but then, there wouldn't have been a story.

NewEnglandPat 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.