weezeralfalfa
The basic plot much reminds me of at least 2 of Scott's later, better remembered, films. both directed by Budd Boettricher: "Seven Men from Now" and "Ride Lonesome". In each of these films, Scott is obsessed with engineering vengeance upon the killer or tormentor of his wife or , in the present case, betrothed. Don't expect much in the way of humor or music. In strict keeping with Chris Danning's(Scott) creed of 'an eye for an eye', and yet , in keeping with admirer Kate's alternative creed of "Vengeance is Mine. I will repay", neither his betrothed nor the man(Younger Miles)Scott blames for her death technically die at the hands of another. The one is a suicide (presumably a reaction to being molested by Miles and perhaps his Apache accomplices), the other an accidental fall while Scott is hunting him in a dark livery stable. Otherwise, there are a goodly number of mostly senseless murders, mostly clustered near the beginning and ending. Yes,, the coroner of Coroner Creek should have been quite busy for a little while. In the beginning, Scott doesn't know the name or looks of his fiancée's tormentor. However, he finds one of the Apaches involved in the stage hold up, who gives a sufficient description, but minus a name.One of the distinctive physical characteristics of this man is a long scar on his right cheek. this didn't have to be faked, as George Macready already had such a scar. It's never explained why he seems to have an affinity with the Apache, learning their language, to the point that his thoroughly inebriated wife mumbles something in an Apache language, giving Scott an important validation of his presumption of Miles as the man he's been looking for. Scott keeps everyone guessing about the reason for his dislike of Miles until their finale confrontation. Forest Tucker plays Ernie: Mile's right hand man, who gets into several altercations with Scott. In one, he breaks Scott's right hand while Scott is out cold. After just a little while, , with the help of his friend, Scott turns the tables and breaks Ernie's right hand(now making Ernie Miles' left hand man?) Relating to their shooting accuracy, shouldn't be that big a deal from fairly chose range. Ironically, although it's Miles that Scott wants to hurt, it's actually Ernie whom he periodically tangles with physically, and the only one of the gang whom Scott kills directly. In this shootout, Scott has female admirer Kathy with him. She contributes to the proceedings by firing a pistol while looking away, managing to hit something that falls on the other badman(Stew), knocking him out, thus enabling him to be used as a human shield in confronting Miles, while conforming to her creed of letting God take the lead in the business of vengeance.Miles is your stereotypical 'town boss', who has stooped to much more crooked means of obtaining his position than anyone is aware off. Actually, his empire seems to consist of land and cattle, rather than town-based operations. Judging by his behavior in the stage hold up, he reveals himself as a senseless murderer, as all the men on or in the stagecoach are shot dead, even without resisting.(Strangely, Miles doesn't cover his face with a mask, although we are not given a look). Later, he orders or carries out the murder of several men who want to get in the way of his operation or plans.There are 4 women who play significant roles. Ironically, the one whose fate precipitates the rest of the story goes nameless, and is not even included in the credits at this site. Danning's(Scott) fiancée is very briefly seen in the stagecoach and utters not a word.....Kate is the manager of the hotel where Scott initially hangs up his hat in Coroner Creek. Clearly she very soon marks him as a very unusual and trustworthy cowboy, trusting him with driving the inebriated Mrs. Miles home from the hotel. Seems Mrs. Miles is distraught over her husband's suspected infidelities and criticisms. Her father(played by Edgar Buchanan) is the stereotypical bought sheriff, who looks the other way when confronted with one of Miles' transgressions. the inimical Buchanan had played a very similar role a cowardly lawman in the previous Scott western "Abilene Town" . ..The 4th woman is Della Harms: a redheaded widow who runs the next biggest ranch in the area, hence is an object of Miles' illegal activities. Although she makes a play for Scott, whom she quickly makes her foreman, clearly he favors the younger, blue-eyed, raven -haired Kate.As with the previous Scott western released in '48 : "Albuquerque",this was filmed in the budget "Cinecolor", which cost much less to film than Technicolor, for example, but has some off-color issues. Scott's '50 "The Nevadan" was also filmed in Cinecolor. George Macready and Forest Tucker returned for their roles as Scott's chief nemesis, albeit in a more complex plot setting. I somewhat prefer that film over this one.As in the case of "Albuquerque", this film was partly shot in the spectacular -looking Sedona, AZ region and partly in southern CA, and both were directed by Ray Enright.
GManfred
Stalwart western hero Randolph Scott is at his stalwart best in "Coroner Creek" - and it wasn't directed by the overrated Budd Boetticher. Scott is a man of action as he attempts to avenge the killing of his fiancée at the hands of George MacReady in one of his most villainous roles. As mentioned, the emphasis is on action; the exasperating Boetticher often put one of Hollywood's best cowboy stars in complex psychological situations while forgoing Scott's long suit.In "Coroner Creek", Scott is surrounded by three women who manage to slow down the story by their presence; Marguerite Chapman as a moralizing hotel owner, Sally Eilers as a widowed ranch owner, and Barbara Read as Macready's dipso wife. But the storyline is so good that you can overlook these interruptions and await his next confrontation with baddies. There are gunfights and fistfights enough to satisfy the most avid action fan, including a left-handed fist fight with Forrest Tucker (you'll have to watch it for more info). I liked this one enough to rate it an eight.
alexandre michel liberman (tmwest)
In this western made in 1948 you see all the elements that would show up in the great westerns that would follow, in Anthony Mann, Budd Boetticher and Peckinpah. There is no western without violence, but if it comes in the form of a cliché, it does not reach the spectator, also if it is overdone like in many spaghetti westerns. But the anger you feel in Randolph Scott's face when he fights against Forrest Tucker (mentioned by other reviewers) will definitely reach you, his fight will become your fight. And that's what makes a good western. The fact that such a good film comes in the package of a B western makes it even better and shows the way for future westerns to be made. Also the three women in the film have very important parts, one that drinks to escape the horror of her marriage, another that tries to hide from reality and another who tries to convince Scott to follow what religion says, "Vengeance is Mine", to which he replies "one eye for an eye". The end of the film will show which one is right. Wonderful western!!!
JoeytheBrit
It seems like Randolph Scott made a million of these near-homogenous Westerns in the 40s and 50s. Every time one pops up on the schedules – which they regularly do (usually on a weekday afternoon when they're frequently interrupted by excitable chaps selling cheap loans or offering to make you rich for tripping over your own feet, or actresses you thought were dead selling life insurance to the over 50s, or riding very slowly on a stairlift) - I think I must have seen it already, but it seems like I never have… Anyway, this is a fairly typical example of his work, although a couple of truncated scenes suggest that Ray Enright's direction was found lacking during post-production. Randy's a man on a mission to hunt down the cad who murdered his fiancée. He's provided with clues to the killer's identity by a central-casting redskin whose brief sentences comprising of mostly two-syllable words ending in A somehow translate into fulsome paragraphs when translated into English. He travels around the old West until he comes to the town of Coroner Creek where he finally finds his man, and you can guess the rest… Except you can't really, because the film's only half-an-hour old by the time Scott stumbles upon icy, steely-eyed George Macready, and instead of facing him down in a showdown, Scott's character embarks on a crusade of psychological pressure that slowly whittles away at Macready's self-satisfied hold over the eponymous town. In the hands of a more accomplished writer and director this could have made for a more compelling movie than we actually have but, like I say, it's entertaining enough. There's the regulation sidekick whose loyalty to the hero inevitably proves to be fatal, an ageing widow whose crush on Scott is barely alluded to (suggesting further deleted scenes) until he leaves her, an ineffectual sheriff, a fetching hotel manageress (and you just know where that's going to end – it's been 18 months after all) and a small coterie of secondary villains who all fall foul of Scott sooner or later.
